Kindergarten, and, children ready to learn

We have at least one magnet program in our network of Primary Centers which screens for "children ready to learn". Children who aren't, aren't accepted. As many people involved the Dream Team For Unity mentoring program will know, we find children unready to learn in later grades.

So one thing we might want to really concentrate on is a way to get all of our children off to the best start possible. Maybe the job of Kindergarten should mostly be about getting all of our children ready to learn.

The National No Child Left Behind program has controversies at many levels. (Yet another federal unfunded mandate comes to mind). But the one you hear the most is that it forces schools to "teach to the test". Actually, I worry that the situation is worse than that.

The tug is to abandon efforts aimed at long-term systemic improvement for school districts and corporations - in favor of short term test score enhancement strategies. In other words, the distraction isn't confined to the classrooms.

It's a bit ironic, because comprehensive, systemic improvement approaches are bound to improve test scores over time. And the better test scores achieved through this approach will indicate true and continued success.

I would want to talk with experts in this area - which certainly includes the teachers who meet with our young children five days a week - before proposing a formal approach. But I have some general ideas.

If we want the children who leave Kindergarten (and I've already said I believe it should be universal and full-day) "ready to learn", we may need to be more focused on learning skills than on learning certain things. Some of the focus should be on these areas:

The thirst - Our children are born curious, born learners. Tough circumstances can discourage these qualities at an early age. In those cases, the qualities must be restored.

Critical thinking - This comes naturally to humans... think "The food is hot; therefor, I should wait a bit to eat it". Helping our children move from this example to more complex issues isn't all that tough and might be one of the most effective tactics of real learning.

Imagination and/or visualization - Seeing the possibilities. Coupled with critical thinking, our children become skilled innovators, challengers to conventional wisdom.

Collaborative skills - Working with another child or more children works towards an appreciation of others' talents and learning negotiation and compromise. (I don't know how your house works, but in my house - with our five-year-old - negotiation and compromise happens fairly frequently).

This list is meant as examples of what I mean and likely incomplete. It is also quite raw. I'm looking forward to the input of educators and other interested parties to form an effective strategy.

But I continue to believe that our High School graduation outcomes will improve when we ensure successful launches for our youngest learners.