#39. The Cruelty of U.S. Kindergarten Practices

Since Common Core, kindergarten teachers have been forced to treat little children in ways they know are wrong.

Credit GPE/Kelly Lynch

Dear friends,

Among the many harmful effects of Common Core on U.S. education practices, perhaps the most obviously cruel are those that have trickled down to kindergarten. I’ve written about this before, on my Psychology Today blog, but here I will repost some quotations from teachers themselves about what they see.

A Letter of Protest from Brookline, MA Kindergarten Teachers, 2019

I start with a letter of protest signed, in the spring of 2019, by 27 of the 34 public school kindergarten teachers in the city of Brookline, Massachusetts, which was read aloud to a meeting of the Brookline School Committee. Here, in part, is what the letter said:

"We have dedicated our careers to teaching 5- and 6-year-olds, and we see that some current practices are leaving an everlasting negative impact on our students’ social-emotional well-being. Therefore, we are here tonight to share with you our concerns about a new kind of gap that is emerging in Brookline Kindergarten. It is a "reality gap"—a gap between the way research shows that young children learn best and the curriculum the district requires us to teach. It is a reality gap between Brookline educational values and what is actually happening to children in our classrooms.

“We have all worked with our literacy coaches and specialists to implement the various reading and writing lessons with fidelity. However, block scheduling—90-minute reading and writing blocks—comes at the expense of thematic units, play-based learning, and social-emotional opportunities.

“We are seeing the effects of this loss. We see many of our Kindergartners struggle with anxiety about school because they know they are expected to read … It is now common to hear their little voices announce to us, "I don’t know how to read, I hate reading, I hate school, I am not good at anything." This is our greatest concern.

“Current academic pressures on 5- and 6-year-olds are contributing to increasing challenges with our kindergartners’ ability to self-regulate, to be independent and creative … Study after study has shown that young children need time to play, but in Brookline, because of academic demands, time for play-based learning has been shortened and, on some days, eliminated entirely. As Kindergarten teachers, we know that play is not frivolous; it enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function, which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions. It helps children learn to persevere, increase attention and navigate emotions.

“Young children are also meant to move around and explore. Many children who sit for long periods of time experience frustration, muscle cramps, and disruptive behaviors. We have seen an increase in the number of children diagnosed with ADHD and behavior issues within our schools and we know why this is happening. Yet, we are doing things that will only exacerbate the problem rather than make it better.

“We are not advancing equity. As mentioned with play and social-emotional development, the district is asking us to teach our children in ways that reduce equity in the classroom. We are told that everything has to be the same. Please think about what ‘the same’ means. It is not uniquely tailored to maximize the joy and learning for every single child. Standardization is not equity.

“Where once teachers were trusted to use their judgment and teach to the needs of each unique class, now we are directed to follow set curricula from textbooks. We are being given directives, not empowerment for our students.

“Let’s envision our children being excited to come to school each day, developing a deep love of learning, having confidence in their abilities as learners, strengthening social-emotional skills, creating deep relationships with peers and teachers, and being part of a community of learners. Imagine a classroom where teachers are spending time working directly with students, forming trusting relationships, and engaging in meaningful teaching experiences that address students’ needs as a whole.

“Imagine a future where the educational power of play is returned to Brookline Kindergarten. There is no arguing that our students learn best through play and real experiences that allow them to explore and make connections, build some background knowledge, and develop problem solving skills. The play can be purposeful (teacher guided), but there also needs to be time for children to explore freely without teacher direction. This is essential in the development of curiosity, and the ability to follow an idea or a project through. This is the bedrock of kindergarten practice. In fact, it is the bedrock of lifelong learning.

“Brookline Kindergarten can be a place where children explore relationships with others in order to develop a sense of empathy. It can be a place where they master amicable and respectful dialogue with their peers. It can be a place where they learn how to justify their own ideas and solve problems. Imagine a classroom where children learn how to fail, so they can try again and find their way.

“We ask you to envision with us a future in which our Kindergartners are deeply engaged in fun, integrated content areas. Envision with us classrooms where learning to read is fun, purposeful engaging and organic. We ask you to imagine Brookline Kindergarten classrooms where teachers are trusted to use their judgment about what’s best for each class. Imagine a future where love of learning, not test-based performance, returns to the heart of our children’s very first educational experiences.”

The letter was accompanied by a petition of support signed by more than 500 Brookline parents. It garnered a considerable amount of publicity, nationally as well as locally, including this article in The Washington Post. Did it have an effect? Apparently not. When I called a parent leader of this movement for reform the next school year, I learned that almost nothing had changed.  A huge problem with our educational system since Common Core is that teachers have lost the freedom to do what they know is best in the classroom and they themselves are not treated by higher administration with respect.

Comments Sent to Me by Other Kindergarten Teachers Explaining Why They Have Resigned or Are Planning to

Here are some other quotes from messages I’ve received from individual kindergarten teachers and former teachers:  

•“I had to retire in 2017 because I could not take the pressure of having to force my 5- and 6-year-old students to sit with books… no talking allowed. …. I taught for 18 years and in the last 3 years teaching this stuff to my sweet little kinders I heard students cry, talk about how they didn’t understand, say they hated reading time, and act out. We were basically regurgitating the curriculum script. It was awful. I hated going to work that last 2 years with all the stress of academic achievement expectations… All administrators want to hear is the exact same stuff from one room to another from school to school.”

•“Teachers have been complaining about more testing every year. And every year we hear, ‘We’ll look into that,’ and every year someone higher up decides, ‘We need more data.’ That, in turn, means more testing, more seatwork, and less play. I personally couldn’t take it anymore and took early retirement.”

• “I worked part-time as an art teacher in a kindergarten class. The kindergarten teacher was a drill sergeant, moving the kids from one activity to the next in 15-minute segments. This was covering math, reading, printing letters, etc. Those kids were mostly wound up, usually not settling down. I eventually quit, because I couldn't stand to be around that barking teacher; I can only imagine how the kids felt.

• “I have taught kindergarten for nearly 40 years. Common Core expectations for kindergarten seem to have trickled down from the top, and the people who wrote it thought that they could legislate quicker child developmeent. … Kindergartners are expected to write sentences and stories, have math discourse, and take tests on the computer. Many of them can't even cross the midline and write an X yet… Schools are being driven by ‘data’; and kindergarten teachers are being asked to reduce their students to numbers. Please, let’s allow them to play!!”

•"I taught kindergarten for the last 18 years of my 35-year career. My classroom was play-centered and I think filled with very happy children. I retired 13 years ago, and I’m appalled when I speak to friends who are still teaching. Especially in kindergarten, but throughout school classrooms, there is much too much pressure put on children… Play and unstructured time allow children the chance to explore and find their path in the world.”

•“I’ve taught kindergarten for 25 years and I can tell you that your article is spot on. Last week I gave my 5-year-olds a reading assessment that required them to infer the meaning of ‘bifocals’ after hearing a 5-paragraph story about Ben Franklin (the story had no pictures). This is the kind of madness that permeates curriculum design for kindergarten. I’m retiring earlier than I had planned because I just can’t be a part of this any longer.”

• “This heartbroken kindergarten teacher just couldn’t teach ‘firstergarten’ anymore and retired early. I go back to help my teacher buddies who are still being forced to torture children every day with developmentally inappropriate schedules, expectations, and curriculum."

• “I wanted to be a developmental K teacher, but by the time I received my credential, things went from bad to worse in K classrooms across America. I foolishly thought I could sneak art and play in, but I was wrong. The Curriculum Cops showed up in the class I was doing my student teaching in, and that was the beginning of the end for me. Now I just sub and sneak in fun for the kids whenever I can. Teaching is dull, dry, and stressful when you have to force small children to do what they are not ready to do… The powers that be are getting away with this because teachers (myself included) don’t do anything except complain. When are we going to stand up and say, ‘Enough is enough’?”

• “As a retired early childhood teacher and administrator, I am saddened by the focus and evaluative assessments used to measure growth embedded in public education at this time. Our state mandates assessment that is strictly academic for pre-K and K. Those scores are then 50 percent of the teacher evaluation. If you want to keep your job, you must place focus on academic learning instead of kinesthetic, developmentally appropriate brain, social, and emotional growth.”

•“I have been a teacher’s aide for 15 years... We are asking these 5- and 6-year-olds to do things that they are not emotionally able to do, and we are now seeing many young children with anxiety.”

•“Words that have come out of my mouth this fall: ‘We do NOT play in kindergarten. Do not do that again!’ (to a student building a very cool 3D scorpion with the math blocks instead of completing his assigned task to practice addition.) ‘No, I cannot read Pete the Cat to you. We have to do our reading’ (90 minutes of a scripted daily lesson). ‘Those clips (hanging from the ceiling) are for when we do art. No, we cannot do any art. We have to do our reading lesson’ (my kinders get to go to a 40-minute art class once a month). ‘No, you cannot look at the books/play with the toys’ (literacy toys and games). ‘No, we cannot do a science experiment. We have to do our reading.’ ‘No, we cannot color. We have to do our reading." … I hate my job. Love my kids—hate the curriculum. But I cannot afford to quit. Too close to retirement to start over.”

• “I’ve been teaching kindergarten for thirteen years. In my first year, kids were expected to read at A or B level by the end of the year. That’s a book that follows a pattern and changes one word and only requires the kid to show some reading behaviors and phonemic awareness… Now it’s D level. Those books include multiple lines of text on one page and do not follow a pattern. They include long vowels and digraphs. Kids have to know all 42 phonemic sounds and their variations in spelling, as well as numerous sight words that don’t follow phonics rules. Sure, some kids rise to the challenge. Their brains are ready and they’re eager to learn. Most, however, don’t…Pushing them to read causes stress. I’ve seen a rise in anxiety in my kids, avoidance of tasks that are 'too hard,' and some pretty impressive breakdowns or meltdowns. I’ve also seen a drop in executive function, imagination, and ability to sit and focus…. I have to give them about 13 different required formal tests throughout the year. Thirteen! I’m seeing assessment fatigue. Who knew five- and six-year-olds could burn out? They certainly can, and I worry about how they’ll continue through school for the 12 years after I have them.”

• “Kindergarten should be a transition—with plenty of play and student-centered learning—from nursery to first-grade academic curriculum, but instead children are forgoing that transition. They are being thrown into a structured environment that is requiring them to be mini robots. They have to sit for extended periods of time (even adults find that hard), they have to use ‘brain’ power without the aid of free movement to stave off boredom. They are not required to use their imaginations or ask questions that stimulate interaction with teachers and peers. … Kindergarten classrooms shouldn’t have desks and chairs; they should have centers, reading nooks, educational and fun games, and space to explore.”

• “I was horrified as a teacher as each school year brought new demands on our five-year-olds. Many of these children were not in preschool, so kindergarten was their first exposure to education. We were required to test them immediately for letter sounds, rhyming, counting, shapes, name writing, adding, and of course words. I was sickened by our practice. A few of the kindergarten teachers tried to fight the system. We presented common sense ideas for play and social skills. This was not embraced by our administration leaders. After many years in kindergarten, I chose to move to second grade. I can tell you the children are socially awkward as well as burnt out by 7 and 8. What the heck are we doing to our children? We are creating a society that will hate to be educated and have serious anxiety and social skill issues.”

• “I teach second grade. I see an ever-increasing gap in social-emotional skills and basics such as pencil grip and penmanship. Outbursts and attitudes of failure enter my room. My mission is to repair that, and then do my best to help them find time to find their passions and talents. The ‘must do’ rigor, drill and kill, and workbooks for all subjects without integration do not let me apply my talent to the craft of education.”

• “I have never been a Kindergarten teacher, but I have taught fourth- to eighth-grade students for 37 years… In 2006, I left the classroom to serve the school district in another capacity… I returned to the district as a substitute in 2015. When I subbed at the school where I had taught from 1997 to 2006, I was shocked to see the misery of the students. They now walked the hallways looking down at their feet. No more smiles, no more laughter from the classrooms. In 2017, I was asked to take over as a long-term sub for a [6th grade] teacher who retired… I had to use the lesson plans given to me… Students were supposed to read silently and answer questions about their reading every day… I spoke to the principal and the assistant principal about my concern that the students were not really learning and was told that instruction had to be done this way so students could cover the material they needed to cover to be ready for tests they had to take every three weeks. The students hated the tests, and so did I… Twelve-year-old students were expected to use a computer to take several parts of a timed test for up to three hours and 45 minutes per day… After I finished my five-month term in this position, I resigned from the school district because I no longer wanted any part of this type of education that I felt was detrimental to the wellbeing of young children.”

Further Thoughts

These comments all come from a few years ago. I’m wondering if there has been any improvement since. From what I’ve heard, my guess is not, but I’m interested in your experience if you have any.

Tragically, we are now even pushing developmentally inappropriate academic training on preschoolers. In my next post I'‘ll summarize some of the research showing, quite clearly, that these practices are not just making children miserable in the short term, but are having long-term harmful effects on all aspects of development—social, emotional, academic, and behavioral. We are burning kids out, making them hate school, shaming them about their performance, even before they start what used to be considered real school.

With respect and best wishes,

Peter