“A Tale of Two Boys” (2005)

By

Gerry Niskern

This ongoing debate about funding all day kindergarten in Arizona is confusing, isn’t it? Let me tell you about two little five-year-old boys that I know who started kindergarten last year, in different schools and districts.
Tristan was enrolled at an all day kindergarten where he learned to read proficiently by the end of the year. He’s lucky. He attended private preschool the two previous years. His mother is a stay-at-home mom. Actually, the only problem occurred in February when the school decided to eliminate the afternoon recess. He went on strike and refused to work; that is, until his daddy explained that kindergartners can’t walk-off the job.
Only half-day kindergarten was available in Daniel’s district. He loved school and didn’t miss a day. He told his mother, at least once a day, “I’m the smartest kid in the class!” However he was not up to the state standards by the end of the year so he is repeating kindergarten this year. Daniel’s mother has two jobs. She waits tables and cleans houses too. There is little time to read to him when both parents are struggling to make ends meet.
Perhaps he could have achieved more if he had been in a Head Start class in pre-school, but Head Start is based on income. His parents made too much to quality for Head Start, but too little to afford private pre-school. All kids need at least a year of pre-school to learn what used to be taught in kindergarten.
Many citizens think kindergarten is still just play, snacks and naptime. “What is the use of spending millions of state dollars to fund a baby sitting service for parents?” they ask. Those questions would certainly be justified if they were indeed the whole story.
The fact is times have changed drastically; the bar has been raised. The State of Arizona Education department has a standard that all schools must follow. Look up the requirements yourself, all 164 pages! It is mandatory that all children must be reading by the end of the kindergarten year or they must repeat kindergarten. Research shows that children who learned to read in kindergarten are higher achievers throughout their school careers.
Any kindergarten teacher will tell you that three hours is not enough to teach all the requirements under today’s stringent guidelines. They need extra time to incorporate art and music into the learning process and make it fun to learn. All day kindergarten would also give them time to work with the kids who weren’t exposed to preschool, don’t know the language or are a little on the young side. They usually add, “Come to my class anytime to get a picture of the situation.”
If every child is expected to achieve the same high levels of learning, then let’s give them the tools. All the little Tristans and Daniels should be provided with the opportunity to learn so that when they start first grade, they can “hit the ground running!”
I can’t believe I wrote those words in 2005 in a column for the Arizona Republic because:
Now here we are again, having the same debate in Congress; trying to get a bill passed to fund preschool for our kids. We know how very important investment in the youngest ages are and how much we benefit from that investment and yet, in the developed world the United States is at the lowest level of financial support for young children’s education. Maybe contacting your Senators and Representatives would help. Can’t hurt!