To the editor: I really wish this article went into more detail about the whole point of why kindergarten attendance is so important (“Kindergarten is important, but illness, tears make chronic absenteeism a challenge,” Sept. 22). It’s certainly a heck of a lot more than “Play-Doh and coloring.”
I was privileged to be able to volunteer in three of my grandchildren’s (ages 11, 9 and 7) public school kindergarten classrooms. I spent three hours one day a week for a year seeing first-hand what these young children were learning. Sure, there was some coloring, but they learned all their letters, numbers and punctuation marks. They learned how to add and subtract. They learned about different animals and famous people. By the end of the year, most of these kids were writing multi-sentence essays (sure, the spelling wasn’t perfect, but it was a start), reading books and answering complex questions. That’s not to mention the development of their socialization skills and learning to follow directions. This is why it’s important for young children to go to kindergarten. Those who don’t are woefully unprepared for first grade and beyond.
I can’t guarantee that all schools offer this level of instruction, but I’m willing to bet that most do. This was not a private or charter school. It was a standard elementary school in the Chino Valley Unified School District. I hope future reporting on this issue explains further how beneficial kindergarten is for a child’s educational growth.
Elaine Regus, San Dimas
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To the editor: Like so many articles regarding public education lately, most of the blame is placed on the schools. The first half of the article referenced a few parent-focus groups and their complaints. In short, schools need to do a better job of defining chronic absences, teachers yell, school is boring, etc. The second half of the article highlighted a few strategies schools can implement to improve attendance.
Maybe I’m misguided, but isn’t it a parent’s responsibility to get their kids to school? Why are we afraid to hold people accountable for their behavior, especially when it directly impacts the future of their children? Teachers have a lot of responsibilities, but getting kids out of bed and on their way to school is not one of them. There is only so much schools can do. They cannot fix society’s ills.
It’s OK to hold people accountable. My parents did it to me. I do it to my students every day. And I did it to my own children throughout the years. We rise to the level of expectations put upon us. Right now, we don’t seem to expect much from parents, and we’re seeing the effects.