Word: math
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...what the kids are seeing in the mass media about how much of the class is filled before the regular admissions take place," Singer said. "They see the statistics that Harvard has a freshman class of 1,600 and over 1,000 are admitted early action. They do the math...
Wampler and her students illustrate the latest math concept in elementary education: kindergarten = first grade. Kindergarten--so fondly remembered by baby boomers for show-and-tell and building blocks--has changed. Standardized curriculum and testing in primary schools are causing what educators call "push-down" academics. The need to perform well on tests filters down, landing on the youngest learners. As a result, kindergartners spend less time on social skills while interacting with one another in the "dress-up corner" or building wood-block skyscrapers. They spend more time sitting still, listening to the teacher and drilling on the basics...
Kindergarten's new emphasis on reading and math conflicts with the "developmental" model: helping children with story comprehension before teaching them to read, and letting them discover math concepts in a tactile way, with sets of objects. But many parents like the speeded-up approach because reading and math skills offer tangible evidence of what their children are learning...
...toward a full day. Says James Squires, an early-education consultant for the Vermont department of education: "We need to give these kids more time in the classroom, but we should still try to preserve childhood for them as well." Child-development experts and educators say reading and math instruction can be fine for kindergartners, as long as they're also allowed to learn through play and creative activities. And like the rest of us, they also benefit from a snack and a nap now and then...
TEACHING TEACHERS The American Council on Education last week called for an overhaul of the way teachers are taught, reporting that more than half of America's students learn math and science from instructors who are not qualified to teach the subjects. And the demand for qualified teachers is rising faster than the supply. What can parents do? Some schools allow you to request certain teachers for your child. If your school is one of them, check the credentials of the available candidates before you state your preferences...