Stop treating 4 and 5 year olds like children
Sent to the Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 5
Pre-K testing is a step in the right direction (“Time for another test — this one for 180,000 pre-K children,” Sept. 3).
Required (not “voluntary”) testing is what we need to toughen up pre-school, and make sure it includes a full dose of pre-phonics (phonemic awareness) and math. We should require all children to know the alphabet and be able to spell their names as a condition for entering kindergarten. And let's insist that parents properly prepare their children for pre-school.
There is no hope for the US is to compete internationally if we continue to treat 4 and 5 year olds like children.
Stephen Krashen
President: Society for Kindergarten Kalculus
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-03/features/os-pre-k-test-disagreement-2-20120903_1_preschools-new-test-child-care-management#mod-blogs
Pre-K testing is a step in the right direction (“Time for another test — this one for 180,000 pre-K children,” Sept. 3).
Required (not “voluntary”) testing is what we need to toughen up pre-school, and make sure it includes a full dose of pre-phonics (phonemic awareness) and math. We should require all children to know the alphabet and be able to spell their names as a condition for entering kindergarten. And let's insist that parents properly prepare their children for pre-school.
There is no hope for the US is to compete internationally if we continue to treat 4 and 5 year olds like children.
Stephen Krashen
President: Society for Kindergarten Kalculus
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-03/features/os-pre-k-test-disagreement-2-20120903_1_preschools-new-test-child-care-management#mod-blogs