Good.is Article

This is an article from Good.is. Normally I would just post a link, but this article really embodies what I am interested in for this degree project. Plus, it's incredibly recent. 

Kindergarten Teachers Say Students Are Behind on Day One 

According to a new survey presented at the annual conference for the National Association for the Education of Young Childrenyesterday, two-thirds of kindergarten teachers say the majority of their students start school without knowing basic preschool concepts like the alphabet. At a time when closing the achievement gap is a national imperative for our nation, veteran kindergarten teachers say students are less prepared for school than ever before.

Just 6 percent of kindergarten teachers say that students are very well prepared academically when they enter the classroom. Students come in lacking the ability to hold a pencil or write their name. Fewer than 9 percent of teachers rated incoming student's oral language skills as very good. Given that the size of a student's vocabulary is an indication of how well they'll do academically for the rest of their lives, that doesn't bode well for ensuring students are on the track toward college or careers.

The problem, of course, is that despite universal acknowledgement of theimportance of early childhood education—and President Obama's support of such initiatives—too few students attend high-quality preschool programs that teach them the basics. Funding for preschool programs has been cut in state after state, and more cuts are on the way. Sure, every parent should spend time reading with her child, practicing the alphabet, and counting to 10, but that doesn't always happen. Even parents who have gone to college are busy working long hours and don't always take the time to read with their kids. Wealthier families have a huge advantage because they can compensate by paying for private preschools.

That's a real shame. If every student had access to early childhood education, they'd all start kindergarten at the same place, essentially cutting off the creation of the achievement gap. Until that happens, we shouldn't be surprised when kindergarten teachers say students aren't ready to learn.

A Collection of Resources

In preparation for next semester, I've spent some time looking into the materials that already exist in relation to what I want to do for my senior thesis. Pinterest has been a valuable resource in this search.

Here is my collection so far.

This folder includes individual activities, links to both parents and teacher resources, possible books that I could read, and websites with more compilations of resources. It's pretty much a goldmine for information.

So far I have been in contact with the kindergarten faculty at Prairie Trail Elementary. This is the school my mother works at, in Texas. They're excited to answer my questions as I come up with them, as well as send me any resources that might be useful.

Moving forward, I will begin looking into other forms of education besides public schools.

Waldorf (Steiner) Education

Montessori Education

The Therapeutic Process of Play

Proposal: Initial Thoughts

School demands a lot from kids these days. And I don’t mean us. I mean, from the get-go, in early education, kids are expected to enter the system already having an understanding of their shapes, colors, letters, etc. Children who attend daycares tend to be more prepared in this area. But as for at-home involvement, there’s often a lack of exposure to the academics that they are now expected to already know.

Children and early childhood development are things that I am particularly passionate about. That being said, I would like to take my senior thesis project as an opportunity to address the issue at hand.

The age I would like to work with is 3-5 year olds (and of course their parents). At this age, they are beginning to develop essential skills like fine and gross motor skills, letters, sounds, colors, shapes, and social acclamation. Through interviews with teachers and perhaps day-care workers, I could like to collect, refine, and catalog the best activities to help children be prepared when they get to school. I have also started collecting from the vast, but incredibly cluttered and confusing, list of early childhood development resources that are on the web.

I imagine this can be applied to many things graphically, which is another reason to be excited. Web and electronic devices are something that children become familiar with at a VERY early age. Also, more tangible items such as branding, books perhaps some packaging (for activities or toys) could be artifacts that I tackle graphically. Very exciting!