Page 43 - 2022-Mag_88-4

Classroom Practice/Program

with the teacher as they are written on the board for all to see and discuss.
In our graded school system, we have created what some would call an artificial
paradigm; we expect children to fit into the system and be ready for school by a
given cut-off age or date. What if, instead of requiring the children to be ready,
schools were ready for the variety of children who enter? “It’s critical for schools
to take responsibility for being ready for children—not the other way around,” said
Sherry Cleary, executive director of the New York Early Childhood Professional
Development Institute at the City University of New York (Schimke, 2017).

Detailing The Challenges
Given the nationwide push in the United States to teach children more
complex concepts at earlier ages, one might think there surely must be
extensive scientific literature to support these efforts. Instead, an emerging
body of research indicates that attempts to accelerate intellectual development
are counterproductive. Gaps between high- and low-performing students in
the upper grades have widened (Post, 2019). Increasing numbers of children
are identified as “behind.” Many believe pressuring students to do too much
too soon has stolen the joy from reading and turned it into a chore.
One challenge for teachers is determining the difference between maturity
and ability or disability. Often when one
compares academic achievement, an
older student is perceived as advanced
rather than more mature, and the younger
student is perceived as remedial. Such
perceptions are then used for grouping
and instruction, and a general impression
of those achieving and failing is
formed. When children are given more
developmentally appropriate tasks,
this determination is easier to make.
Another challenge for teachers
is an increase in behavior problems
and a sense of failure among students
asked to do tasks beyond their level
of development. This becomes cyclical, impacting self-concept as well as
feelings of failure for children, parents, and teachers. Some teachers have left
the profession due to the increased demands on young children. Some have
tried to speak up and change the system but became discouraged. Others have
changed grade levels hoping to find less academic pressure on students. At least
one said that she found children who were “burnt out” by age 8 (Gray, 2015).
Researchers looking at data over a 12-year period found a trend in reading
and math instruction in both kindergarten and first grade: more time is spent
on each, with increasingly complex concepts and skills being taught, while
less time is spent on social studies, science, the arts, and play. They noted that
although both kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers value academics, they value
social skills and self-regulation more, as these have lifelong implications for
success. Simultaneously, changing social structures have contributed to the

Collegial Exchange · 41