Kindergarten

The research project I am doing for English class is getting me down.  At first I thought kindergarten had gone to full day because working parents didn't like messing with half-day and of course it would save them money on childcare.  Then I started to see all the politicians supporting it as a way of showing their support for education.  I remember Obama quoting research that showed that children lost what ever edge they had gained from preschool by third grade and he used that to say that "we need to do a better job at early childhood education". I heard that and thought that preschool just isn't that effective and we don't need to worry about it so much. The more research I have done the more discouraged I have become.     Teachers and schools like full-day kindergarten because is keeps them in business and it makes it easier for the teachers to cover all the curriculum they are required to teach.  It costs the tax payers money and few people are concerned that with budget cuts where that money is coming from. I've seen this happen is the district just this last year.  The teachers at the middle school and high school level were told that they needed to pick up an extra class to save the district money.  They were not happy about this and tried everything to stop it.  The decision was made and everyone picked up another class.  It may have saved some money overall when you look at subjects like math and English, but it did not work the way the school board intended it to.  The Food for Today teacher added a more advance cooking class which she is going to take to competitions. The band teacher added another music class. And the choir teacher added an advanced performing arts class which puts on an evening performance every quarter. The district was worried about money but, not the schools. Schools are not concerned about cost of their programs to the district unless someone asks them to justify their choices.   The learning that goes on in a full-day class room is not double the instruction time. Such young children can not handle a day sitting at a desk with books and work sheets. Developmentally they are not ready, so kindergarten has changed to adapt.  Rather than be the transition to first grade as in the past it looks more like a longer preschool day.  In fact it looks very much like the kinds of activities I supply for my children at home.   Even parents who stay at home with their children are feeling the need to put their children in school earlier and earlier thinking it will help get them further ahead.  The research just doesn't support this idea. As soon as first grade and no later than 3rd grade any gains the children make are gone.  This research had been around for years yet the trend continues to grow.  Society seems so interested in academics without any proof of any benefit in the course they are pursuing. What about the rest of the child's development. Even the most caring teacher is only invested in their students for one year. I have had enough dealings with school boards to know that they are more interested in being elected and looking good than they are in the individual children.  They don't mind experimenting with a new curriculum because if it succeeds they will be see as daring cutting edge educators and if it fails they can go back to the tried and proven effective methods.  It doesn't matter to them but it does matter to the children they experimented on and who ended up with second best education. Why isn't anyone making decisions based on valid research? Why hasn't anyone looked to see if there are any detrimental effects of children from so much school? Is anyone worried about what kind of children we are turning out? I was taught in Jr. high school social studies that the family was the basic unit of society.  Why do politicians and educators think they can do a better job of raising children than the parents? There are dysfunctional families out there but there are plenty who are really trying. The Department of Education has a plan to implement full-day preschool for 3 year olds, full-day preschool for 4 year olds and mandatory full-day kindergarten.  Some of us would like a choice in the matter that doesn't involve home schooling. There is no way government can replace caring parents.