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Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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We’re Taxpayers. It’s Our Money. |
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Optional Kindergarten Attendance |
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Many children in our school district are just beginning their public school education by starting to kindergarten.
Since kindergarten attendance is not required by law, each parent must give considerable thought to selecting the appropriate time to enroll his child in public school. There are several options.
Usually the pattern is for children upon turning five to be enrolled in kindergarten. Most children are able to successfully enroll in a kindergarten program.
If one is convinced that public school kindergarten is appropriate, then such enrollment should occur. However, there are extenuating circumstances that may enter in to this decision.
For example, if one’s child is born after the first of the year and is considered to be “young for his age,” the parent may opt to send him to private kindergarten for his first year, and then enroll him in public kindergarten the next year, thus “holding him back” so that he will be physically and socially mature when he starts to school.
Some parents decide to hold a child back so that he will be physically more mature than the other students once he/she reaches middle and high school for athletic reasons. That’s a parent’s prerogative.
For other reasons, some parents send their children to private kindergarten that lasts only half a day. Public schools have in the last few years decided that kindergarten should last a full day. Prior to that time it had always lasted for half a day. Katy ISD made such a decision without much discussion of pros AND cons a few years ago. Only the school district’s side of the issue was mentioned in the rationale given to the public for the change. Parents are often not aware that compulsory attendance begins at age six, not age five.
School boards are responsible for the decision to have full day kindergarten. Go to http://www.tea.state.tx.us/opge/formfund/prek/attend406.html and read about the grant that is bestowed on districts expanding to full day kindergarten. Parents can decide for themselves if the enticement of more money for the school district had anything to do with the decision that was made.
There are actually many good reasons for some children who are five years old to attend kindergarten for only half a day. For instance, many children that age get tired after a half day of school. Their attention span is not developed and cannot endure a structured environment for that long. They need a nap in the early afternoon, otherwise they are quite unmanageable after lunch. Some children just naturally sleep late, and starting their day around noon fits their schedule. I had one of those.
Play is the work of children, and kindergarten children need to play whether they are in a structured school setting or at home. Their bones and muscles are not designed to sit in chairs for any length of time. They need to run and skip and play games and play with appropriate toys most of their day. They need to be outside. If they do not engage in a great deal of boisterous physical activity, their muscular coordination will not develop properly. Their fine motor skills are undeveloped and asking them to color and write all day is not normal for their age group. No one needs an educational doctorate degree to know these things. This knowledge used to just be a part of common sense.
Do a www.Google.com search on “kindergarten skills.” You will find lists of things a four or five year old child should be able to do. Learning these skills is important so that your child can get off to a good start in the first grade.
Some kindergarten classes will include learning to read. Be certain that appropriate reading methods are used by the teacher who teaches your child to read. No other skill is as important to learning as this one.
In my opinion five year old children are likely to be a lot better off in the long run if they stay home with their mothers until they are six and play with their friends in their own backyards. I realize that working mothers cannot enjoy this possibility. Important decisions about matters of this nature are not always easy or comfortable.
Parents may not realize that there are reasons for the current educational philosophy that encourages the government to take charge of our children as soon as they possibly can. Public pre-school for all students is just around the corner. The next step will be to make both compulsory.
Parents should decide for themselves if such an agenda is appropriate. More on that subject another day. |
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Mary McGarr, Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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Date: 09/14/2005 |
