Monday, April 05, 1999
Parents struggle with decisions on kindergarten
BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — Jordan Rubinstein-Towler is already anxious to hop the bus to go to kindergarten.
His mom, Haguit Rubinstein-Towler, is already feeling like a nervous mother at the bus stop.
READY, OR NOT?
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There is no single factor in determining whether your child is ready to start school, according to the National Association of the Education of Young Children in Washington, D.C.
Instead, experts suggest parents consider five key things about their child:
• Health and physical well-being.
• Social and emotional well-being.
• Approaches to learning.
• Language development.
• General knowledge about the world around them.
Also, readiness depends on schools' expectations of kindergarten programs.
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This month, many Tristate parents will sign up their children for fall kindergarten classes. In Ohio, parents typically register their children in March and April. In Kentucky, parents do so in April and May.
Parents preparing to register their children must first weigh whether their child is ready. That means deciding whether their size, academic ability and emotional and social skills are advanced enough for them to enroll.
Jordan, who won't turn 5 until September, would be a young kindergartner at J.F. Burns Elementary in the Kings Local School District this fall. In Ohio, kindergartners must be 5 by Sept. 30 to enroll. In Kentucky, they must be 5 by Oct. 1.
Mrs. Rubinstein-Towler wonders whether Jordan will be small for his class, although he is bright and more than ready academically. “It's really a tough decision,” she said.
Many parents share her angst. Last month, about 70 parents attended a presentation on kindergarten readiness given by Sycamore schools psychologist Terri Land.
“(Parents) have the understanding that the first few years are the foundation of learning,” Mrs. Land said. “That sets the stage for whether their child is going to be successful for the next 12 years. They're realizing they hold the key in their hands as to whether their child is going to be successful or not based on that first year.”
Some at the forum raised concerns about parents who hold their children back an extra year with the hope they'll excel academically
and/or athletically.
“It's almost as if they want to give their child the advantage of one more year so they'll be that much more experienced when they do enter, so that they have an advantage over others,” Mrs. Land said.
While she has mixed feelings about parents with that kind of motivation, Mrs. Land does support holding children back a year if they're not ready.
“I would say, when in doubt, wait,” said Mrs. Land, a psychologist at Mapledale and Blue Ash elementary schools.
The issue of kindergartner readiness is being raised nationally.
“I think a lot of the reason is, we're having increasingly inappropriate expectations for 5-year-olds,” said Diane Early, an early-childhood development expert and researcher for the National Center for Early Development and Learning at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
“My guess is because as more and more children are in school-type settings prior to kindergarten, some kids come with these skills. Because some kids know them, suddenly there's this expectation that every child should know them,” she said.
It's important to look carefully at each child's abilities, said Kathy Weber, a kindergarten teacher with Mason Early Childhood Center.
“I think we really look at children and the basic issues, how do they feel about separating from their parents?” said Ms. Weber, also the early-childhood curriculum leader for Mason City Schools. “How do they do in social groups?”
Mrs. Rubinstein-Towler has decided she will register her son for kindergarten later this month. Her concerns are tempered by knowing Kings has its “Kinderfirst” program, which gives children extra time to mature after kindergarten before entering first grade.
The decision was not easy.
“You don't want to leave the decision to a 4-year-old. But if he did not go, he would be very upset,” she said. “He's ready to get on that bus and say goodbye.”
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