I was reading the news and came across this article on a new program to help kids “sit still” in the classroom.
WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok. Pardon me…was that my inside voice? What is wrong with this picture?!!
I’m not an educator, but from what I know and understand, everyone learns differently. If I’ve read the literature out there and if the experts i’ve had the pleasure of speaking to know what they’re saying to be true…then sitting still at age 5 is not an appropriate expected behavior. Especially for boys.
We know that boys have more energy and tend to learn by doing. How can it possibly be justified to spend such an enormous amount of money on something that developmentally doesn’t seem appropriate? To make sure to provide the necessary skills prior to completion of kindergarten – such as reading and math skills – I support that. But teaching them to sit still?!
There are so many kids who come from struggling families in this country…and money is being spent on this. Sure kids should learn how to behave and sit still better, but they should also learn about sharing, responsibility, respect, compassion, and patience. Kids (especially boys) at this age are just excited – they’re little boys and girls being kids. Why would we want to remove the chance for them to be little and create unrealistic expectations?
What do you think? Am I off base here?
