Reclaiming kindergarten: Making kindergarten less harmful to boys.

Abstract

The kindergarten curriculum has undergone fundamental change over the past 50 years. The shift in curriculum in favor of reading preparedness has had the effect of emphasizing boys' weaknesses and girls' strengths. Two changes are proposed. First, alternative kindergartens emphasizing group activities and nonverbal skills must be established. Second, boys must be encouraged to enter such a kindergarten when they turn 5 years old. After 1 year of alternative kindergarten, the boy would enter contemporary kindergarten at age 6. Girls would continue to enter kindergarten at age 5. Most boys would therefore enter first grade at age 7, most girls at age 6. Substantial evidence suggests that such a change would have many benefits, particularly for boys. Adults think it wise to focus children's education on what adults need to know, without considering what children are in a position to learn. . . . You should begin, rather, by studying your pupils more carefully.

Child Maltreatment and Offending Behavior

“…This indicates that early disengagement from school for boys versus later performance declines for girls may actualize CM long-term influence on crime. Developmental researchers have noted that boys are more inclined to withdraw from the school process earlier than girls (Sax, 2001). Moreover, limited support exists for the finding that later school success prevents offending behavior more readily for girls versus boys (Daigle et al, 2007).…”

Who First Suggests the Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

“…If so, why? Sax 8 has documented a shift in the kindergarten and early elementary curriculum during the past 10 to 20 years, from a play-based curriculum to a more academically oriented curriculum, with the major emphasis today being the early acquisition of literacy skills. Sax suggests that this shift to a more academic curriculum in early elementary education may be partly responsible for the increased propensity of teachers to suggest the diagnosis of ADHD, as well as the increased willingness of parents to consider stimulant medication for their children.…”

“…Sax suggests that this shift to a more academic curriculum in early elementary education may be partly responsible for the increased propensity of teachers to suggest the diagnosis of ADHD, as well as the increased willingness of parents to consider stimulant medication for their children. 8 An academically oriented kindergarten, in which 5-year-old children are expected to sit at a desk and do paper-and-pencil exercises, poses a major challenge for some children. A child who is fidgety and inattentive in such a classroom might well be labeled "ADHD" by the teacher, when in fact that child may have no underlying psychopathology but merely needs a more developmentally appropriate curriculum.…”

Effective Approaches to Motivate and Engage Reluctant Boys in Literacy

“…Quite simply, boys are required to do more than what their brains are developmentally ready to do (Sax, 2001(Sax, , 2007Zambo & Brozo, 2009). As Sax (2007) asserted, "Timing is everything in education… It is not enough to teach well.…”