Don’t Tell Me What My Child Can Handle

I know that kindergarten has changed since we were children, that it has become more about academics, less about socialization. Nothing, however, could prepare me for what I saw on a recent visit to a local public school as we checked out kindergartens for our daughter, who turns 5 on Sept. 13.

“Oh, my God,” I said to my husband, pointing. “Look at that!”

On the chalkboard, white-on-green proof that the “academic” kindergarten has gone too damn far: multiplication problems, involving decimals.

.25 X 5 = 1.25 and .30 X 5 = 1.50.

“Are the children in this class some kind of geniuses?” I asked the teacher, incredulous.

She smiled patiently, the way kindergarten teachers always do.

“Heavens no,” she said. “Those are for the parents so they can figure out the milk and snack money each week.”

I felt something between relief and regret.

“And are these parents--do you happen to know--graduates of California public schools?”

The teacher just smiled patiently, the way kindergarten teachers always do.

At least some things never change.

*

In her 1990 book, “Kindergarten: It Isn’t What It Used to Be,” Susan Golant describes a “moment of shock” when she and her co-author husband, Mitch, discovered that kindergarten readiness had become a “political hot potato.” Seven years later, it still is.

Three weeks ago--and for the third time since 1985--state legislators took up the issue of when California schoolchildren ought to start kindergarten. Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster), former executive director of a Christian school, offered a bill that would change the cutoff birth date for kindergartners from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1. Under his plan, my daughter would be one of 118,000 children forced to postpone school for a year.

Any number of benefits would accrue from such a move, according to Runner. Children would do better in school, he says, citing studies that find younger children fare worse academically (and, potentially, emotionally) than older children and are more likely to fail a grade. (Other studies suggest, however, that differences disappear by the third grade. And many educators believe that schools should accommodate children, not the other way around.) If the bill were enacted, Runner says, the number of children eligible for kindergarten would drop by 25% for one year, giving the state the opportunity to shrink class size more easily and save millions of dollars a year for the next 13 years.

Creating an older, more experienced kindergarten population would translate into higher test scores for California, he says, since 37 other states have earlier cutoff dates, mostly in September.

But Runner does not specifically address the burden this would place on poor or working-class parents whose children would be forced--at a hefty cost--to remain in day care for another year.

Ah, well, let them eat peanut butter and jelly.

*

We remain deeply conflicted over the role of government in family matters. School boards routinely turn down federal school breakfast dollars as an intrusion into family life. While we make a universal financial commitment to children starting in kindergarten, we offer only patchwork programs or nothing at all until then.

With all the recent attention on early childhood development--including that splashy White House conference weeks ago (why, it’s almost as hip to be a preschooler as it is to be a lesbian these days!), it’s hypocritical at best to force some children to delay kindergarten a year without guaranteeing them high-quality, affordable care while they wait.

Runner’s political hot potato--by a narrow committee vote--has been tabled for now, destined to be revisited again, perhaps early next year, after studies have been reviewed.

“Researching the research gives no one an advantage,” says Runner, vowing to fight on. “This bill simply places the children of the state in an advantageous position for the rest of their lives.”

Not true, says Susan Golant. “What developmental psychologists say is in total contrast to what legislators say.” Many psychologists, she says, say that “kindergarten should not be used as an academic year. It’s a time when kids learn how school works and about each other, and to sit them down at a desk with work sheets is counterproductive.”

Philosophically, I look upon the issue as I do on school prayer. We don’t need a constitutional amendment for kids to pray. If your child wishes to pray during school, by all means, pray away. Just don’t force my child to pray too.

Likewise, we don’t need a law hiking kindergarten age. If you want to redshirt your kid, be my guest. I promise not to second-guess you. But please return the favor: Don’t stop my almost-5-year-old--or anyone else’s--from starting school just because yours isn’t ready yet.

* Robin Abcarian co-hosts a morning talk show on radio station KTZN-AM (710). Her column appears on Wednesdays. Her e-mail address is [email protected].