GROWING UP TOO FAST!

by Steve Fair

State Representative Dennis Johnson, (R-Duncan) is the author of House Bill #1465 that would move the cutoff date for pre-K and kindergarten students from September 1^st to July 1^st. Under the bill, all children who are four years old by July 1 would be eligible for pre-K classes and children who are five years old by July 1 would be eligible for kindergarten.

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“The intent of this bill is to make sure the students who are enrolling in kindergarten classes are prepared to be there. We’re seeing strong indications that growing numbers of Oklahoma kindergarteners aren’t quite ready to begin the kindergarten learning process. Waiting until these students are prepared is the best thing for the students, the teachers and the families,” said Johnson.

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With these younger children, a couple months of development can make an enormous difference in their readiness for the rigors of schools,” Johnson said. “It is harmful to a child’s academic development if they begin their learning process behind the older children in their class, and the teachers I have heard from are seeing this every year in their classes.”

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The legislation has passed the House, 78-16, and Senate, 45-0. It is awaiting action from the Senate Education Conference Committee.

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“I hope the Senate conference committee will agree with the overwhelming amount of legislators who have voted for this bill. It is a reform that must be passed to help our students, teachers and families,” Johnson said.

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House Bill 1465 also has the support of the Professional Educators of Oklahoma, which conducted a survey that showed 96.7 percent of teachers believe the cutoff date should be moved from Sept. 1 to July 1.

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There are some advantages of starting kindergarten early. The child can make new friends, learn new things, and get a head start on their education. Many four year olds are developmentally ready to begin kindergarten and do quite well. This means the child will graduate from high school and college early and be out in the workplace a year in advance.

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But there are disadvantages to allowing a child to start kindergarten early. First, most kids who start kindergarten early are physically small compared to the other students which can lead to their getting picked on. Another drawback is that many of the younger students simply are not emotionally or developmentally ready for kindergarten. Today’s kindergarten involves academics and learning and is not just play time. So, the child needs to be ready to learn, be able to pay attention, follow directions, and handle being at school for seven hours a day. The real question is how does starting school early impact a child academically in the long term?

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In a study published in the Journal of Educational Research, Sandra L. Crosser compared academic achievements of seventh through ninth graders who entered kindergarten at age five with those of children who entered at age six. The findings indicated there were significant statistical differences that favored older males and females, especially in reading for older males.

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That lends credence to world famous Australian family therapist, Steve Biddulph theory about boys. He says in his book, “Raising Boys,” that males should start school later than females. “In general, I encourage parents to hold their boys out of school a year longer if they possibly can,” Biddulph says. Most boys I know would agree. School and academics are usually not at the top of their priority list. Ronald Reagan said, “There are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret."

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In a perfect world, the decision on whether a child was mature enough to start school would be left up to the child’s parents, but according to a 2009 survey by Baby Center/Parent Center, one third of parents don’t believe their child is ready for school when they start. Another factor is the decline of parental involvement in their children’s lives. Many parents simply want to get the kids out of the house as early as possible. They use the public education system as a ‘babysitting service.’ Whether the child is ready for school emotionally or academically is the least of their concern.

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Johnson’s bill should be signed into law. It will allow kids to mature and be better prepared for school, help our professional educators in the classroom and improve education in Oklahoma. As kids will soon find out, being grown up isn’t half as much fun as growing up.