Education: How did we get where we are?

As a national board certified kindergarten teacher, I have seen first-hand the decline in abilities (social and academic) and understandings of students entering kindergarten over the past fifteen years. You are probably saying, what – with the technological advances we should be improving? Yes… we should be, but we are not! Several factors have led to the decline of student readiness and eagerness for learning in this new global society:

1. More single parent homes – according to The State of Our Unions 2005, a report issued by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, only 63% of American children grow up with both biological parents — the lowest figure in the Western world. As of 2003, 43.7% of custodial mothers and 56.2% of custodial fathers were either separated or divorced. The United States Census determined that three out of every ten children being raised in America are living in single parent homes.The single biggest investment necessary for a child’s success in school and life is time. Time to motivate, time to model, time to mentor, time to share in learning activities, time to appreciate each other’s strengths and work to develop weaknesses. As one adult pulls the weight of two, there is just never enough time!

2. More moms working full-time outside of the home – In the United States, the labor force participation of mothers with preschool-age children tripled between 1960 and 1990, rising from 20 percent to 60 percent. According to Stanford researcher Paula England, the workforce participation of mothers continued to rise during the 1990s, but at a much slower rate, so that by 2000, 65 percent of mothers of preschoolers were working.

Working moms often cope with chaos, tantrums, rushed dinners and fights over bedtime. Instead, this should be a time when working moms enjoy the precious few moments with their kids. These moms need an organized and quick resource to ensure their special time together is spent in a fun and meaningful way to relieve some of the guilt plaguing the working mother.

3. Unaffordable Childcare options – Many American women are full-time homemakers because they cannot afford to work. They do not have the education or job experience to earn a salary that would cover the costs of child care or transportation, even though the family could really use a second income. This often leads to children sitting in front of the television for the majority of the day because the mother isn’t armed with the tools and information necessary to build skills in the home environment. Many studies have clearly linked excessive television viewing (at an early developmental age) with ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

4. Rise of the battery industry – Take a stroll through any toy store or your child’s room, for that matter, and count how many toys don’t need batteries to operate. If a toy needs batteries, then it does the work for your child. Therefore, no real learning is occurring. The toy has a preset function triggered by your child’s reaction with the toy. Long gone are the days when toys allowed children the opportunity to use their imagination to build higher order thinking skills, problem solving and advanced concepts about cause and effect. Even baby swings, bouncy seats and high chairs now come with lights, bells, whistles, moving toys and so much more to over-stimulate the little one. Children learn through play but the Energizer bunny doesn’t build dendrites in the brain.

To be continued…