A recent survey conducted by the Auckland Primary Principals' Association and released by the ECE sector partnership, found nearly 90% of Auckland primary schools have reported an increasing number of children starting school without basic skills, such as talking, eating, and toileting. To be very clear, these are not children who have mental and or physical disabilities.
These are erstwhile normies, kids who should be able to do all of these basic, basic skills. The same survey, undertaken with 120 primary and intermediate schools, said all but 2% of those who responded said there's a real prevalence of new entrants having trouble with following directions and sharing. 92% of schools have new entrants who don't know the letters of their own names. Schools also reported new entrants who have real challenges dressing, identifying their name, they're unable to hold a pencil or drawing utensil, those fine motor skills.
Now, probably there'll be retired teachers sitting there muttering, going, well this is nothing new, there have always been children in new entrant classes who have required extra help. But the schools in the survey have around 15 children per cohort, per new intake cohort, who need extra help in getting them learning ready. That's a lot of kids, and a lot of extra time and effort to spend on children to get them to the same start line as the other new entrants. One of the schools has introduced, in effect, streaming. At Massey Primary, they've set up two new entrant classes to support children at the different ends of the school readiness spectrum. So, those who are able to identify their names, who are hungry to learn, who can hold pencils, they're in one class, those who need help in going to the toilet are in another class. It's a sensible solution to a problem that really should not exist.
The report is, in effect, talking up the value of quality early childhood education, and it's calling for more funding for the sector. It can make a huge difference to the school readiness of a child, which is quite true. But so too does a parent who takes an interest in their child. The report, while talking up ECE, is very quick to excuse parents. It says this should not be attributed, the lack of school readiness should not be attributed to parents who are juggling a myriad of obligations in an increasingly busy environment that includes a cost of living crisis.
So the lack of a child's ability to be ready for school should not be attributed to parents who are juggling myriad of obligations in an increasingly busy environment that includes a cost of living crisis. Come on – how can it not be a parent's responsibility? I would have thought it would take an enormous effort to dumb a child down to the extent that some of them are turning up at school. Children are naturally curious, they want to learn. That's why we're not still primordial slime – we have a natural, innate desire to know. Children also naturally want to be clean, they don't want to be in a nappy at six, unless that's what they've had to get used to. It doesn't have to cost anything to develop a child's natural curiosity, it's just time spent with them. Every single child psychologist will tell you that, those first 1,000 days. It's not about the flashiest pens and pencils and buying them books and it's not even, it's just having a safe, warm, dry place, which can be difficult for some, but then spending time with them. And if you're not confident about answering questions or reading to them, or you can't be bothered taking them to the park, then you can send them to childcare where the well-trained educators will do the hard work for you. There's free hours at childcare centres.
Please, when we're talking about the readiness or not of children for school, sure, talk up early childhood education, ask for more money, but please, do not exculpate parents who know they can and should be doing better by their children.
Kerre McIvor, is a journalist, radio presenter, author and columnist. Currently hosts the Kerre Woodham mornings show on Newstalk ZB - where this article was sourced.
Now, probably there'll be retired teachers sitting there muttering, going, well this is nothing new, there have always been children in new entrant classes who have required extra help. But the schools in the survey have around 15 children per cohort, per new intake cohort, who need extra help in getting them learning ready. That's a lot of kids, and a lot of extra time and effort to spend on children to get them to the same start line as the other new entrants. One of the schools has introduced, in effect, streaming. At Massey Primary, they've set up two new entrant classes to support children at the different ends of the school readiness spectrum. So, those who are able to identify their names, who are hungry to learn, who can hold pencils, they're in one class, those who need help in going to the toilet are in another class. It's a sensible solution to a problem that really should not exist.
The report is, in effect, talking up the value of quality early childhood education, and it's calling for more funding for the sector. It can make a huge difference to the school readiness of a child, which is quite true. But so too does a parent who takes an interest in their child. The report, while talking up ECE, is very quick to excuse parents. It says this should not be attributed, the lack of school readiness should not be attributed to parents who are juggling a myriad of obligations in an increasingly busy environment that includes a cost of living crisis.
So the lack of a child's ability to be ready for school should not be attributed to parents who are juggling myriad of obligations in an increasingly busy environment that includes a cost of living crisis. Come on – how can it not be a parent's responsibility? I would have thought it would take an enormous effort to dumb a child down to the extent that some of them are turning up at school. Children are naturally curious, they want to learn. That's why we're not still primordial slime – we have a natural, innate desire to know. Children also naturally want to be clean, they don't want to be in a nappy at six, unless that's what they've had to get used to. It doesn't have to cost anything to develop a child's natural curiosity, it's just time spent with them. Every single child psychologist will tell you that, those first 1,000 days. It's not about the flashiest pens and pencils and buying them books and it's not even, it's just having a safe, warm, dry place, which can be difficult for some, but then spending time with them. And if you're not confident about answering questions or reading to them, or you can't be bothered taking them to the park, then you can send them to childcare where the well-trained educators will do the hard work for you. There's free hours at childcare centres.
Please, when we're talking about the readiness or not of children for school, sure, talk up early childhood education, ask for more money, but please, do not exculpate parents who know they can and should be doing better by their children.
Kerre McIvor, is a journalist, radio presenter, author and columnist. Currently hosts the Kerre Woodham mornings show on Newstalk ZB - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
It isn't the parents' responsibility because of the far reaching cultural changes brought about by Jacinda and continued by the current dead beats in Labour, the Greens and TPM.
It's the culture that nobody has to take any personal responsibility. Just leave everything to the State. No one needs to work or look after their kids because the state will. People don't need to take responsibility for their crimes. Children don't need to attend school if they don't feel like it. We don't want routines, apart from sleeping in until midday. Just roll a joint and invent new grievances for the Waitangi Tribunal. Then we'll tax the sh*t out of the greedy businesses to pay for it all.
This is what Kiwi culture has become.
Thanks Kerre, my thoughts were the same when I read the media reports or this report. None of my children could hold a pencil when they started school. One could read and recognise many words none could recognise their name. Only our daughter had pre school . They were always read to every day as pre-schoolers. They had physical freedom not available to urban children and so developed skills and confidence ahead of their years.As adults they are highly literate and numerate employed and well paid.Since when has it been a parent's job to teach a child to hold a pencil.
Despite the myriad social workers, does no one dare communicate to the parents the now general expectations? There was and apparently still is an expectation that the scholastic skills like printing letters are the domain of teachers. But with books, pencils etc now so cheaply available there is little excuse for no head start from home. Some do not know colours or low numbers.
The early colonists functioned without contraception, available abortion, state housing, state benefits, no electric cooking, electric heated hot water, refrigeration, takeaways. Yet, except perhaps where the parents mentally defective, by age 5 children would have basic skills.
Many must know the full story but most reports are very vague about the detail of situations.
To attempt to operate a typical public school without streaming is preposterous. If it was carried right through there would be improvement at all levels. Those with hidden ability can be advanced and at worst would be slightly old for their eventual stream. And at the lower level "students" less likely to be so dispirited that they stay away.
Late last century my mother taught hundreds of children, including those with handicaps, to read as three year and four year olds . My own children entered school with a reading age of seven. For this we were punished wrongly by many sections of society including plunket who declared that we were practising child abuse.
Preschoolers are like sponges and can learn at a magical rate. But crazy psychological beliefs have convinced many in believing through developmental psychology that children have to be innately ready for these skills like learning to read .
Our pre-schoolers are being dumbed down by now disproved psychological ideas. The ideology of play dominates preschools and very little learning for academic subjects occurs. Besides that devices which are a real evil both for parents who through addiction fail to interact with and nurture their children in eg potty training or speech development and children who also become addicted if unsupervised. Like nicotine these devices should not be given to young children since they destroy concentration and deep thinking. Our schools also have far too much screen time.
Buy some black board paint and paint little boards to distribute to every preschooler, on which they can draw and practise letters and numbers. Every preschooler should be taught the letters and sounds of the alphabet every day , along with learning to count. Just reading to children , while good , does not guarantee they will read since , they also need the mechanics of reading drilled into them early. Preschools do not do this . They are failing to keep up with the recent change in schools to
structured literacy. Another big issue is the romantic ideology that children are not to be corrected. This is manifest in 'gentle parenting ' which results in producing undisciplined monsters. Playschools also subscribe to this insane philosophy.
The list of evils destroying children has increased this century with the enormous cost in housing, and junk food just two more destructive forces making NZ which was once godszone to now the devil's playground of horrors for children. Gaynor
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