One of the saddest things I have seen lately was in the Dollar Store which featured Test Prep booklets for Kindergarteners and first graders. The covers were formatted to look like prep courses for the SAT or GRE even though these were for little kids. When I was in Kindergarten, all we did was color and learn the alphabet and I think I turned out fine.
I have a first grader living next door and I think he should spend his time on the silly stuff that he is doing rather than using a workbook to prep for testing. He’s trying to cut a piece of a downed tree so he can sell it for $5. He’s throwing water balloons at his sisters. He’s scaring the dickens out of me as he uses a “flinger” to whiz tennis balls for the dogs.
Let’s hope these books were in the Dollar Store because no one bought them elsewhere. I’m a big believer in education — and I’m a big fan of pure kid-ness as well. Stop the prep and pressure and let the little kids just play.
