Schools Boards in America: A Flawed Exercise in Democracy
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TAKES FIVE; GENE MAEROFF; Focusing attention on earlier grades |
| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2006-08-29 |
| By: SARAH CARR |
| At a time when Milwaukee and other cities are moving at a rapid clip to convert middle schools into kindergarten through eighth- grade (or K-8) schools, Gene Maeroff, author of several books about education, argues that the model can be bad for the youngest students. Maeroff, a former education reporter for The New York Times, writes in his new book, "Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School," that schools should focus on grouping together kids in pre-kindergarten through third grade, the age range in which most students learn to read. Otherwise, he argues, the youngest children might get lost in an environment more focused on the needs of the older students. He recently spoke with education reporter Sarah Carr. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.
Q. Do you think there's been a science behind changes in grade configuration over time, or that it is more random? A. I think they are somewhat random. I don't think that there was anything scientific that said high school should start with the 10th grade or the ninth grade. This attests to the fact that there is a certain kind of randomness to it. . . . It's based on a combination of what seemed to make sense at the time and a certain amount of arbitrariness. The fact that elementary schools have had so many different configurations also shows that there has never been total agreement. Q. What about the current push for more K-8s in cities like Milwaukee? A. I am very concerned . . . that the youngest children will get lost in this setting for several reasons. One, there's a lot of emphasis on getting kids ready for high school and also (No Child Left Behind) testing. It's the easiest thing in the world to just overlook the youngest ones. If, in fact, schools go to a K-8 configuration, I would say there's that much more reason to have a pre-K-3 setup within it that would have its own assistant principal, its own separate space within the school, and various other areas that would make sure those kids get the attention they need. Q. Why do you focus on the early childhood through third-grade continuum? A. Third grade represents the point at which you pull together early learning to ensure that as many children as possible go into the fourth grade ready to do the work. . . . You can do great things in preschool and kindergarten, and if you don't have really good programs in those primary grades in first, second and third the gains can be lost. . . . You have to have this cohesiveness that follows through. Q. Why do you think kindergarten has more traditionally been seen to start at age 5? A. What we are talking about is something that is more philosophical than anything else. . . . There is no scientific reason why kindergarten should be there for 5-year-olds, and not for 4-year-olds or 3-year-olds. It's just a matter of philosophy and happenstance. Q. Do you think the philosophical concerns about kids starting school at earlier ages have been overcome? A. I think that (the push for expanded pre-K) has probably overcome a lot of the philosophical opposition, but not entirely. It will have to do with pragmatic needs of parents and the willingness of Americans to invest in 4-year-olds and possibly 3-year-olds, as well. Copyright 2006, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. |
| Article retrieved from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20060829/ai_n16694023/ |