HBO's series "Kindergarten"

[Anonymous]

PP who let her child skip homework, I would probably do the same thing. But it would still really anger me that homework was expected in K. Because if you allow the child to skip homework that's expected, that sets a bad precedent. But, I think it's WORSE to make a tired child who has already sat through a very long day sit there and drill more work at home. Some parents report their children "love" homework, while others do not.

I'm opposed to homework in most grades. It is even too much in high school. It is time for this "tradition" to be changed. Children are in school for a long time. They have plenty of time to learn in school. I'd love to see children doing inspired homework (in older grades) that involves context and creativity, but that's not what most kids get.

I DO think we are burning these children out. I'm not going to do it. I'm just not.

[Anonymous]

I know it sets a bad precedent but the poor kid got home at four and his bedtime was 7. I only had three hours to feed him, bathe him, and play with him. On days when we attempted homework it would take an hour because I was constantly after him to put his answers to paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP who let her child skip homework, I would probably do the same thing. But it would still really anger me that homework was expected in K. Because if you allow the child to skip homework that's expected, that sets a bad precedent. But, I think it's WORSE to make a tired child who has already sat through a very long day sit there and drill more work at home. Some parents report their children "love" homework, while others do not.

I'm opposed to homework in most grades. It is even too much in high school. It is time for this "tradition" to be changed. Children are in school for a long time. They have plenty of time to learn in school. I'd love to see children doing inspired homework (in older grades) that involves context and creativity, but that's not what most kids get.

I DO think we are burning these children out. I'm not going to do it. I'm just not.

Yeah, zombie or robot children.

[Anonymous]

I loved and love this show. I have tweens and I STILL watch it. My kids tolerate me having it on sometimes. Yeah, weird, I know. I just well up watching it sometimes--it is almost exactly like what our kids k class was like. The teacher is the most awesome wonderful person. Ok, I could go on and on....

[Anonymous]

Omg stop stamping out your two year old's creative thoughts by forcing academic stuff on them you weirdos. Creative thinking is what leads to success, not learning to please adults by acting like a trained monkey. Help the child out by encouraging creativity and problem solving, not rote memorization. No one is impressed that your two year old is good at counting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Omg stop stamping out your two year old's creative thoughts by forcing academic stuff on them you weirdos. Creative thinking is what leads to success, not learning to please adults by acting like a trained monkey. Help the child out by encouraging creativity and problem solving, not rote memorization. No one is impressed that your two year old is good at counting.

But we need worker bees to carry out the ideas and decisions of the outliers. You can't be a worker bee without trained monkey characteristics and skills. Sheesh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nyack is not Long Island!!!

It is. It's actually Long Island,New York; in a town called Nayack....

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten? I thought it was a documentary on the 112th Congress.

[Anonymous]

Aw. Is this show still on? I remember the first season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aw. Is this show still on? I remember the first season.

http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/082301/ins_0823010009.shtml

New HBO series features little actors
Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2001
By MARK KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK -- On HBO, Carrie is worried about being engaged. Miranda is battling body-image depression. And Samantha has lust in her heart for a $4,000 Hermes handbag.

Over on the HBO Family channel, Julian is nervous about how to read long words. Tyeese refuses to talk. And Anna is suspicious about where exactly the tooth fairy gets the money.

At first glance, the gals on ''Sex and the City'' don't seem to have a lot in common with a new documentary series that follows 23 pint-sized kiddies through their first year of formal schooling.

But that fades as ''Kindergarten'' gets rolling.

Over 13 half-hour episodes, viewers get to watch the 5-year-olds interact, solve crises and wrestle with the outside world -- much like their fictional counterparts on an adult comedy -- at Upper Nyack Elementary School in Nyack, N.Y.

It's a reminder that kindergarten was where we first learned to socialize, to get along, to develop personalities -- and where getting the red crayon was a big deal.

''It's kind of eavesdropping on the kindergarten experience that you never get to do with your own kids,'' says Karen Goodman, who put the series together with husband, Kirk Simon. They have a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old, who's just about to enter kindergarten.

The episodes range from ''Doin' the Right Thing'' about getting in trouble to ''Open Wide'' about losing teeth.

The filmmakers visited up to 90 schools before selecting one a half-hour from New York City.

''We wanted a school that would be both a model and the typical public school,'' says Simon.

Over 55 days of filming with three cameras -- plus 25 days interviewing the kids at home -- the filmmakers captured the wide-eyed enthusiasm of life at age 5.

. . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nyack is not Long Island!!!

It is. It's actually Long Island,New York; in a town called Nayack....

Nyack is in Rockland County NY...no where near Long Island...it is across the Tappan Zee Bridge (which you get in lower Westchester). It is a quaint town, pricey and lovely (I used to live there).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HOly cow! My kid's kindergarten last year was writing (stories and poetry by the end), learning time and money (and adding coins, etc), intense reading instruction, science lab, etc. K is this area has definitely changed. I think this is why kids are turning 6...this is pretty intense for a 4-year old (anyone with a Sept bday in VA). I don't think a single kid in any of the 5 classes turned 7 (it would have been a kid that had a May/June bday) this just is not done in our public school system. Maybe it is more common and encouraged by privates.

My son's Kindergarten was pretty intense too. I loved it and I approve. My son soaked it all in and is going into first grade a strong and eager reader.

He has loved learning and i've been astonished at how much he was able to absorb last year.

If you think public school is intense, you haven't seen ANYTHING. I looked into sending my son to a very very academically strict private school. He would have been one of a handful of white kids, as all of the seats were filled with Asian and Indian children. The stuff that that those kids were doing was insane. All of the pre-K kids could read. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. They could all do basic math. By the end of K, they were working on their multiplication tables.

At the end of the day, I simply was "too American" to send my child to that school. The kids were drilled and for sure the school was pumping kids into Thomas Jefferson, but at the end of the day, I did want my son to be able to have a little more down time.

What school is this, please?

[Anonymous]

Does anybody know where the kids who were filmed on the show "Kindergarten" are now? The show was filmed in 2000, which means that these children are now between the ages of 16 and 18, so some are probably about to graduate from high school. I think it would be a great idea for these teenagers to be filmed now, just to see how they are doing and what their thoughts are on the show and their old teacher Jennifer Johnson. Maybe they should all have a small get together with Jennifer and talk about the positive impacts and memories of their kindergarten experience, given that they were exposed to many different types of learning through hands-on activities. After watching this show I realized how creative and fun Jennifer was as a kindergarten teacher. I really wish she had been my teacher when I was in kindergarten, because her teaching allowed her students to apply their learning in real-life situations, such as brushing your teeth well and knowing how to take care of a pet.

[Anonymous]

I am not a fan of the NCLB K which is why I chose to leave my son behind for a year (pun intended). We sought the advice of his preschool teachers, pediatrician, etc and everyone agreed with this decision. So, he got the old fashioned K experience in a Pre-K class and it was a decision we will never regret. I don't care if all the kids look the same by whenever. We did it for his own development and to let him enjoy being a kid and focus on social skills and all of that. Once he entered K he truly was ready to sit still (to some degree) and his mind was ready for all the academics. He had a great year. I feel strongly this would not have been the case if we had sent him earlier.

Every child is different. I highly suspect few of us red-shirting parents do it for sports or to increase our kids chances of AAP, TJ or Harvard. Many of us do it because it is what our kids need and we believe there is value in the old fashioned K experience.

[Anonymous]

Haven't seen the show, but here's something interesting-

We discovered, when living in Switzerland, that children don't start elementary school until age 6.5/7 (you must be 6 years old by May 1st in order to start in the fall).

For ages 3/4 - 6/7, there is "Kindergarten". Kindergarten is smaller & more local (not physically located in the elementary school), and is ALL PLAY and socialization. It's also not typically full-day. No letters or numbers - nada.

By around 4th grade or so, kids have caught up academically to their American counterparts (and start to surpass them).