Issue #12: There has been improper or incomplete presentation of program characteristics. Usually this is the presentation of program characteristics as if they were measurable outcomes. Sometimes this is lack of presentation of characteristics. Sometimes this is the presentation of a characteristic that may be unrelated to the length of time spent in the all-day Kindergarten class.
- The Board of Education bulletin dated January 14, 2010 cites “expanded and enhanced instruction” as if they were measured results of the all-day Kindergarten pilot instead of characteristics. In fact, a good all-day Kindergarten pilot would have started with the information about the amount of time the average half-day Kindergarten student spends on reading instruction, math instruction and self-directed activities in a Hebron classroom.
- That data would then be compared to the amount of time the average all-day Kindergarten student spends on reading instruction, math instruction, and self-directed activities in a Hebron classroom.
- We would then have a clear picture of how much expanded and enhanced instruction all-day Kindergarten provides. There would then be a set of skills that would be quantitatively tested to see how the resulting expanded and enhanced instruction benefited each student.
- The statement that the students in all-day Kindergarten are “less rushed” is often presented as an outcome, when, again, it is a characteristic. In many cases, being less rushed may be a positive characteristic of the program but it is not an outcome.
- Interestingly enough, as the children move out of Kindergarten and into 1st and 2nd grade they are taught to be “more rushed” by being timed on “magical math minutes” or “speedy sight-words”. With the educational and societal push to do things quickly, is it possible that half-day Kindergarten is actually better preparation for what is yet to come? (This is not intended to be a scientific claim, but simply an observation that might warrant more research.)
- There is a lot of stress on the added three hours in the school day for all-day Kindergarten, but as was noted in a previous topic, this usually amounts to 15 minutes more per day of reading and math (Lee et al., 2006*). What fills the other time? Self-directed tasks, lunch, and nap/rest time. These are all important pieces of the day for 4-6 year olds, but are they really the part of the day that needs to provided by the public education system at the potential expense of other programs or teachers salaries?
- Another oft-stated characteristic of the all-day Kindergarten classes in Hebron is that they are calmer and more organized than the half-day Kindergarten classes. This is probably the case. However, are there any full-day first and second grade classes that are calmer and more organized than others? Yes. Often the personality of the teacher affects the environment of the classroom.
- Is it possible that the all-day Kindergarten classes are calmer and more organized not only because there is more time in the day, but also because the teachers who were offered the positions were the most experienced and most tenured and have produced similar environments in their half-day classrooms? This is not intended to be taken as a statement of fact (the public has no way of knowing the qualities and characteristics of the various teachers), but an illustration of how all the influences of the class environment must be factored – and that not all of them are necessarily a result of the extended length of the day.
When planning a curriculum, it is important to understand the desired outcomes. It is important to understand what part of the curriculum leads to what type of outcomes. To follow the mantra of the Hebron Board of Education that “we always do more with less” it is imperative that we know the difference.
* “Full-Day Versus Half-Day Kindergarten: In Which Program Do Children Learn More?” American Journal of Education 112: 163–208. Lee, V. E., Burkam, D. T., Ready, D. D., Honigman, J., and Meisels, S. J. (2006).