Is your private K academic?

[Anonymous]

My dd jut started K and I am finding that she will be learning basically everything that she learned in preshool. Anyone else experiencing this?

[Anonymous]

Yes, although somewhere along the line DS learned to read for real in private NW DC K. Like, read really well during school hours.

But most of the material presented was really childish.

[Anonymous]

I meant, 'babyish.'

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by babyish?

I haven't had this issue, but that's because DD stayed at the same school for K as she'd gone to for preschool. Her teachers are already familiar with her academic level, and so far, she seems to be building on what she did last year.

[Anonymous]

By 'babyish,' I mean presenting material that is consistent with Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues.

Dolphins swim in the sea! Let's count out loud to 10! Which tool would we use to dig a hole for our garden? Did you know: deserts can be hot? What are some other things that are hot?

That kind of thing. This was surprising to me because the curriculum, such as it is, does not seem to meld with the reality of who, exactly, comprises that class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By 'babyish,' I mean presenting material that is consistent with Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues.

Dolphins swim in the sea! Let's count out loud to 10! Which tool would we use to dig a hole for our garden? Did you know: deserts can be hot? What are some other things that are hot?

That kind of thing. This was surprising to me because the curriculum, such as it is, does not seem to meld with the reality of who, exactly, comprises that class.

So, such as it is, who, exactly, comprises the class with the such-as-it-is curriculum?

Too funny.

[Anonymous]

No, and thank goodness.

OP, unless you are in the classroom all day with your child, you have no idea what your teachers are doing with letter recognition, descriptive vocabulary, vocabulary acquisition, early math, etc. A 2 year old who recognizes the letter A will likely learn about A in a different context in kindergarten--things like sound recognition, lower case/upper case, placement within words, etc. A 3 year old who can count in pre-k will still be counting, but likely doing activities that are necessary for addition and subtraction (not rote recitation), multiplication, etc.

Unless you are yourself an early childhood educator, just because you see your child doing somethings that seem repetitive, does not mean that the curriculum is "babyish."

Perhaps an analogy will help you to better understand: Do you think that a 9th grader who reads, for example, Toni Morrison's Beloved, and then re-reads the same book for a PhD seminar on 20th century Af Am literature would be understanding the same material in the same way?

[Anonymous]

That kind of thing. This was surprising to me because the curriculum, such as it is, does not seem to meld with the reality of who, exactly, comprises that class.



So, such as it is, who, exactly, comprises the class with the such-as-it-is curriculum?

Too funny.

Well for starters, more than one family who has swum with the dolphins in Mexico and Florida. So they know dolphins don't live in chicken coops. No what I meant was, it's a small class and I'm 100% positive that every child in that class attended a solid preschool like NCRC and Little Folks and Adas Israel, and has smarty-enough parents.

So no, I don't understand why so much time was spent counting by 1s and learning the difference between hot and cold in K. I think the baseline could've been a bit higher.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we're paying for the SOCIAL CONNECTIONS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Well for starters, more than one family who has swum with the dolphins in Mexico and Florida. So they know dolphins don't live in chicken coops. No what I meant was, it's a small class and I'm 100% positive that every child in that class attended a solid preschool like NCRC and Little Folks and Adas Israel, and has smarty-enough parents.

So no, I don't understand why so much time was spent counting by 1s and learning the difference between hot and cold in K. I think the baseline could've been a bit higher.

Can we add this statement to the "most obnoxious statements by private school parents" list? Please? The failed attempt at being self-deprecatory is especially nice.

[Anonymous]

Sure, to make you feel more at ease I will pretend that my kid's class isn't made up of smart children who attended excellent preschool programs and have accomplished parents in intellectually demanding jobs. I will further pretend that her class is exactly like a Appalachian Head Start class in every respect, that there's no difference in what the children know at age 4.

I'll even go on to stipulate that there is no difference between the 10th grade class at Sidwell and the 10th grade class at Springarn HS, and so both groups of kids should be offered the exact same instruction, at the same pace.

It's really fun to live in this parallel reality! Bring out the unicorns

[Anonymous]

OK my kids went to the Gan at Adas Israel and it is a play-based preschool so while there may have been a bit of counting or measuring or whatever, they learned creativity and problem solving skills, through play. They both went to kindergartens that I suppose had a bit more academics but I don't remember paying attention. I know that my DS who was already a fluent reader in kindergarten when they were learning letters did just fine playing and learning how to participate in group activities and follow a more structured program. My DD on the other hand did not learn to read until 1st grade so I don't know what she was doing in kindergarten.

We chose the school and then left it in their hands. They are both high academic achievers at demanding schools. You need to chill. Its only kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

"Sure, to make you feel more at ease I will pretend that my kid's class isn't made up of smart children who attended excellent preschool programs and have accomplished parents in intellectually demanding jobs. I will further pretend that her class is exactly like a Appalachian Head Start class in every respect, that there's no difference in what the children know at age 4.

I'll even go on to stipulate that there is no difference between the 10th grade class at Sidwell and the 10th grade class at Springarn HS, and so both groups of kids should be offered the exact same instruction, at the same pace.

It's really fun to live in this parallel reality! Bring out the unicorns "

PP, I love you. Spot on and too funny.

I had exactly the same reaction when my first kid started private kindergarten. I literally could not believe how stupid the curriculum was and that they had no plans to make it any more interesting for the 2/3 of the class that already knew how to read. (You should have seen me the day the kid came home with cotton balls glued to a piece of paper in the shape of the letter "C", to help learn the letters). Our child hated it - came home complaining about the baby work being boring nearly every day.

We spoke up, tactfully and quietly. I think it helped; they started pulling the kids out in groups to read with a teacher, etc. But it was more or less a lost year for the child in terms of academic development. It gradually gets better, and by 4th grade there is proper differentiation in most schools. But I think the top third of the classes in most schools are just left to wallow in boredom before then....

I share your shock that, in a sea of high intellect parents with high intellect kids, few of the schools offer differentiated instruction in the early grades. A real bummer for the kids, who just have to hang in there, trying to stay interested, until they get older.

[Anonymous]

OP, you should have saved your $$$ and sent dc to a MCPS. You want academics in the early grades? Come over here!

[Anonymous]

If you feel this way, OP, why did you really, honestly have your children at private school so young? Did you not know that most of these schools do not have academic curricula before 3rd grade or so?

Or really, was it about YOU, not your child, and your social connections, as 13:52 points out?