Fido and Five-Year Olds

Krayton Kerns
4.18.07

The exact fate of full-day kindergarten remains unknown.  This legislation has been tabled in committee many times only to reappear amended in another bill. Personally, I question expansion of this program.  I did a quick search and found three interesting points by James Elicher published in Phi Delta Kappa International 2000, after reviewing full-day kindergarten research conducted between 1970 and 1997:

            *Full-day students consistently progress further during the kindergarten year compared to half-day or alternate-day students.

            *There is tentative evidence that full-day kindergarten has stronger, longer lasting academic benefits for children of low-income families.

            *There is no current, strong evidence that academic achievement gains of full-day kindergarten persist beyond first grade. 

(Read that third point again, “no evidence of…academic gains…beyond first grade.”) With that said, there are other reasons I question full-day kindergarten:  It is expensive ($15.6 million annually) and, in my opinion, it discriminates against boys.  For those readers who have accepted the conventional wisdom that today’s educational system cheats girls you will find nothing of value in the remainder of this column---please turn the page.  For others, here is my point: 

Did you lie to your mother when you were a kid?  I did; every day.  After a 45 minute bus ride home from school I would sprint down the driveway, streak through the back door, and begin rummaging through the refrigerator. 

“How was school today?” Mom would ask. 

“It was fine,” I would mumble over a mouth full of food.  But, it wasn’t fine, it was boring.  For 55 minutes, seven times a day I was expected to sit still, be quiet and color inside the lines.  This is impossible for a young boy. While our minds are filled with daydream adventures of slaying dragons, our skinny butts fidget about our desks as we struggle to concentrate on the day’s lesson.  Once in school, boys either give up and pay attention or they are diagnosed as ADHD and drugged on Ritalin.  I gave up. 

Lastly, five-year olds are like your dog.  When you get home tonight call Fido into the room.  With man’s-best-friend sitting attentively at your feet call his name again.  He will cock his head sideways and look at you like you are the smartest and most amazing thing in the world.  In reality you may be the foul and nasty type that cheats on your wife, your business partner, your taxes and you clean your yard by pitching pet droppings over the fence to your neighbor but, to your dog you are special beyond description.  That is the exact look you get from your five-year old.  By the time your child is 9 or 10 that look will be gone forever…and there is nothing you will ever do to bring it back.  They are five-year olds only once, so make good use of that year.  It is a tragically short period that slips past many parents; I learned that fact from my son.  Full-day school and separation from Mom and Dad, starts early enough at age six.