Ayla
13-06-2009, 11:34 PM
http://www.smh.com.au/national/no-time-for-play-20090612-c64t.html
June 13, 2009
Homework for infants is crowding out the good times of being a kindergarten kid. Anna Patty reports.
Once upon a time, kindergarten was a place to play: afternoons spent asking Mr Wolf the time, and doing the hokey pokey. There was nap time on the floor, and the skipping rope, ball games and shared imagination with friends.
These days, some children are so busy travelling from one after-school activity to another, and then doing their homework, they have little time for play. Parents who cannot remember homework when they were in kindergarten now help their five-year-olds with up to 45 minutes a day of sheets filled with literacy and numeracy problems.
Even those who doubt the wisdom of homework at such an early age reluctantly go along with it, driven by fear of their child falling behind.
A new report Crisis In The Kindergarten, by the Alliance for Childhood, an American-based research group, warns of the dangers of working children too hard in school's early years and denying them time to play.
Despite many studies showing that child-initiated play is vital for the social, emotional and academic development of young children, many parents and teachers assume it is a waste of time. There's a widespread misconception that the earlier children begin mastering literacy skills, the better they will succeed at school.
Research shows children's complex dramatic play - pretending and inventing scenes - develops better social and language skills and makes participants more empathetic, imaginative and self-controlled, and less aggressive.
A sample of 254 New York City and Los Angeles kindergartens found they spent much of the day teaching literacy, numeracy and preparation for standardised tests. Little time was left for play. Australia has not introduced standardised testing for kindergarten children but the NSW Government recently began testing them so their teachers have an idea of their progress.
Catholic schools have different homework policies from government schools, and independent schools deal with homework strategies individually. As a general rule, however, all encourage homework at kindergarten level. In the end, once basic requirements are met, the concentration of homework is an individual matter for teachers and parents.
A tour of some Sydney schools shows an emphasis on reading at home. A consensus of experts suggests this is sound. Problems emerge, however, when five-year-olds are assigned sheets of mathematics, literacy and other problems.
At Petersham Public School, three times a week Heather McDonald gives her class two books to take home. Once a week, they are given five sight words to learn at home and a news item to prepare to present to classmates. Children stressed by the homework are advised not to do it. "I tell them homework is not compulsory," McDonald says. "Homework is there, but it shouldn't be an issue."
Mel Strong, who teaches kindergarten at St Charles, a Catholic primary school in Waverley, says she sometimes has to discourage parents from pushing their children into doing too much. "My concern as a teacher is that we don't want kids and parents to see homework as a chore," she says.
"I tell some parents who are concerned about not doing maths to use real life experiences like measuring ingredients in the kitchen. I encourage getting them outside for imaginative play. I discourage the use of sheets after sheets of maths and English."
Some Sydney schools, however, push kindergarten students hard. Katrina Crooke, on Sydney's North Shore, has a child in year 2 and another in kindergarten at a private school. "I find the homework in kinder is really out of hand," she says. "It is increasingly difficult to find time just to play."
Reading was not a problem, but the combination of mathematics, spelling, sight words and five words that had to be identified on a word map using visual cues "would take up to 45 minutes a day".
Crooke says she regulates the homework. She told the kindergarten teacher she wanted it limited to less than 15 minutes a day. "I think it is excessive giving more than that. The theory about homework is that it gets kids into a routine for high school, but they still need time to be kids. Free play is going out the window because children are overscheduled with homework or activities."
Crooke says the children at her daughter's kindergarten are tested weekly on spelling and dictation. "There is a level of anxiety for kids if they are not doing perfectly," she says. "Some personalities don't cope well with the tests."
Patricia Bennett, from Woronora Heights, says her son Lachlan, 5, takes home from his Catholic school a list of spelling words, counting and readers each term. Official homework - sheets on maths and spelling - begins next term. Bennett - the mother of Jasmine, 7, and Andrew, 9 - says she has no problem with Lachlan doing a basic level of homework, but is concerned that from next term it will be too much.
"He is fine with the reading," she says. "We read before bedtime and that's a special time." But a recent school project proved frustrating. "Lachlan is not interested in doing it and it is a real struggle," says Bennett. "It puts stress on all the family. If he can't do it right, and gets frustrated or tired of doing it, he bursts into tears."
After he completed the project, it seemed inferior to many others, which obviously had been completed by parents. "It becomes a competition between the parents about who can do the best projects," says Bennett. "One mum freely admits she does all her child's projects - she loves it. My point is why keep bringing the projects home when the parents are doing it. Homework has to benefit the child."
Bennett juggles her job with Thursday soccer *****ing, Friday netball and Monday afternoon acrobatics and dancing. "Tuesday is our only day at home because all of the kids have to be with me when I take one of them to an activity," she says. "If it gets stressful the kids end up in tears because I am pushing them to get their homework done. They end up not having enough play time."
Bennett admires a friend who opted out of homework for her young child, but is not "brave" enough to do the same because of the risk of seeing her children fall behind.
Alison King, of Forestville, says she was relieved her son's school allowed her to "opt in or out" of homework from kindergarten to year 4.
The school he attends issued a letter to parents advising them that homework did not have a "measurable impact on achievement".
King, who did not study seriously at home until her senior years at high school, was one of the few parents to opt out. Other parents favoured homework because it allowed them to see what their children were doing at school.
"Homework was just another thing to argue about, so I was keen not to do that and opted out. It was good not having to fight the school about it," says King.
"Homework, on top of everything else in the early years, seems like a lot. I see a lot of parents struggling with the anguish of the amount of homework their kids are doing."
A professor of education at the University of Sydney, Tony Vinson, says young children should consolidate the day's learning - no more than 15 to 20 minutes at home. "At that stage they are struggling to remember the sounds of the words they are learning, so it serves to show the parents what they are doing and confirms the learning of the day," he says.
A Sydney University researcher, Andrew Martin, says the link between homework and academic achievement is strongest in the middle to late high school years. The link is weakest in kindergarten and year 1. "Some people say you shouldn't do it because of the weak link, but I disagree," he says. "There is not such a strong link in the early years because they haven't yet learnt the homework skills. But as those skills develop, the link gets stronger and stronger."
Martin recommends children in kindergarten through to year 2 should spend 10 to 20 minutes a night on homework. Reading should be the only homework at weekends and holidays. Homework that consolidates skills is good, "but it must not dominate the balance in the child's life and the child must have free time and exercise".
Robyn Ewing, the dean of education at Sydney University, says the time parents spend reading with their children is invaluable, but extra homework that puts pressure on young children is not useful. "A lot of really good learning comes out of play and using our imaginations," she says. "They need time for play to create and imagine, and just to be children."
Research has shown cognitive overloading can damage children. "I find it hard to understand why we would be setting so much formalised technical exercise for kindergarten children," she says. "Spelling and stuff like that is not what we would hope would be happening in early childhood classrooms."
Ewing warns against following the British example.
"They are the most over-assessed and tested children in the world and not doing any better for it," she says. "It's about parents wanting their children to do well at school and thinking that they have to have a homework regime."
Contrary to preparing good habits for later, homework could make children resist learning.
"Children are tired after five or six hours of school and want to run around," she says. "We sometimes forget about how important it is to use our imaginations."
Stressing children through homework will only "turn them off learning".
Anna Patty is the Herald's education editor.
June 13, 2009
Homework for infants is crowding out the good times of being a kindergarten kid. Anna Patty reports.
Once upon a time, kindergarten was a place to play: afternoons spent asking Mr Wolf the time, and doing the hokey pokey. There was nap time on the floor, and the skipping rope, ball games and shared imagination with friends.
These days, some children are so busy travelling from one after-school activity to another, and then doing their homework, they have little time for play. Parents who cannot remember homework when they were in kindergarten now help their five-year-olds with up to 45 minutes a day of sheets filled with literacy and numeracy problems.
Even those who doubt the wisdom of homework at such an early age reluctantly go along with it, driven by fear of their child falling behind.
A new report Crisis In The Kindergarten, by the Alliance for Childhood, an American-based research group, warns of the dangers of working children too hard in school's early years and denying them time to play.
Despite many studies showing that child-initiated play is vital for the social, emotional and academic development of young children, many parents and teachers assume it is a waste of time. There's a widespread misconception that the earlier children begin mastering literacy skills, the better they will succeed at school.
Research shows children's complex dramatic play - pretending and inventing scenes - develops better social and language skills and makes participants more empathetic, imaginative and self-controlled, and less aggressive.
A sample of 254 New York City and Los Angeles kindergartens found they spent much of the day teaching literacy, numeracy and preparation for standardised tests. Little time was left for play. Australia has not introduced standardised testing for kindergarten children but the NSW Government recently began testing them so their teachers have an idea of their progress.
Catholic schools have different homework policies from government schools, and independent schools deal with homework strategies individually. As a general rule, however, all encourage homework at kindergarten level. In the end, once basic requirements are met, the concentration of homework is an individual matter for teachers and parents.
A tour of some Sydney schools shows an emphasis on reading at home. A consensus of experts suggests this is sound. Problems emerge, however, when five-year-olds are assigned sheets of mathematics, literacy and other problems.
At Petersham Public School, three times a week Heather McDonald gives her class two books to take home. Once a week, they are given five sight words to learn at home and a news item to prepare to present to classmates. Children stressed by the homework are advised not to do it. "I tell them homework is not compulsory," McDonald says. "Homework is there, but it shouldn't be an issue."
Mel Strong, who teaches kindergarten at St Charles, a Catholic primary school in Waverley, says she sometimes has to discourage parents from pushing their children into doing too much. "My concern as a teacher is that we don't want kids and parents to see homework as a chore," she says.
"I tell some parents who are concerned about not doing maths to use real life experiences like measuring ingredients in the kitchen. I encourage getting them outside for imaginative play. I discourage the use of sheets after sheets of maths and English."
Some Sydney schools, however, push kindergarten students hard. Katrina Crooke, on Sydney's North Shore, has a child in year 2 and another in kindergarten at a private school. "I find the homework in kinder is really out of hand," she says. "It is increasingly difficult to find time just to play."
Reading was not a problem, but the combination of mathematics, spelling, sight words and five words that had to be identified on a word map using visual cues "would take up to 45 minutes a day".
Crooke says she regulates the homework. She told the kindergarten teacher she wanted it limited to less than 15 minutes a day. "I think it is excessive giving more than that. The theory about homework is that it gets kids into a routine for high school, but they still need time to be kids. Free play is going out the window because children are overscheduled with homework or activities."
Crooke says the children at her daughter's kindergarten are tested weekly on spelling and dictation. "There is a level of anxiety for kids if they are not doing perfectly," she says. "Some personalities don't cope well with the tests."
Patricia Bennett, from Woronora Heights, says her son Lachlan, 5, takes home from his Catholic school a list of spelling words, counting and readers each term. Official homework - sheets on maths and spelling - begins next term. Bennett - the mother of Jasmine, 7, and Andrew, 9 - says she has no problem with Lachlan doing a basic level of homework, but is concerned that from next term it will be too much.
"He is fine with the reading," she says. "We read before bedtime and that's a special time." But a recent school project proved frustrating. "Lachlan is not interested in doing it and it is a real struggle," says Bennett. "It puts stress on all the family. If he can't do it right, and gets frustrated or tired of doing it, he bursts into tears."
After he completed the project, it seemed inferior to many others, which obviously had been completed by parents. "It becomes a competition between the parents about who can do the best projects," says Bennett. "One mum freely admits she does all her child's projects - she loves it. My point is why keep bringing the projects home when the parents are doing it. Homework has to benefit the child."
Bennett juggles her job with Thursday soccer *****ing, Friday netball and Monday afternoon acrobatics and dancing. "Tuesday is our only day at home because all of the kids have to be with me when I take one of them to an activity," she says. "If it gets stressful the kids end up in tears because I am pushing them to get their homework done. They end up not having enough play time."
Bennett admires a friend who opted out of homework for her young child, but is not "brave" enough to do the same because of the risk of seeing her children fall behind.
Alison King, of Forestville, says she was relieved her son's school allowed her to "opt in or out" of homework from kindergarten to year 4.
The school he attends issued a letter to parents advising them that homework did not have a "measurable impact on achievement".
King, who did not study seriously at home until her senior years at high school, was one of the few parents to opt out. Other parents favoured homework because it allowed them to see what their children were doing at school.
"Homework was just another thing to argue about, so I was keen not to do that and opted out. It was good not having to fight the school about it," says King.
"Homework, on top of everything else in the early years, seems like a lot. I see a lot of parents struggling with the anguish of the amount of homework their kids are doing."
A professor of education at the University of Sydney, Tony Vinson, says young children should consolidate the day's learning - no more than 15 to 20 minutes at home. "At that stage they are struggling to remember the sounds of the words they are learning, so it serves to show the parents what they are doing and confirms the learning of the day," he says.
A Sydney University researcher, Andrew Martin, says the link between homework and academic achievement is strongest in the middle to late high school years. The link is weakest in kindergarten and year 1. "Some people say you shouldn't do it because of the weak link, but I disagree," he says. "There is not such a strong link in the early years because they haven't yet learnt the homework skills. But as those skills develop, the link gets stronger and stronger."
Martin recommends children in kindergarten through to year 2 should spend 10 to 20 minutes a night on homework. Reading should be the only homework at weekends and holidays. Homework that consolidates skills is good, "but it must not dominate the balance in the child's life and the child must have free time and exercise".
Robyn Ewing, the dean of education at Sydney University, says the time parents spend reading with their children is invaluable, but extra homework that puts pressure on young children is not useful. "A lot of really good learning comes out of play and using our imaginations," she says. "They need time for play to create and imagine, and just to be children."
Research has shown cognitive overloading can damage children. "I find it hard to understand why we would be setting so much formalised technical exercise for kindergarten children," she says. "Spelling and stuff like that is not what we would hope would be happening in early childhood classrooms."
Ewing warns against following the British example.
"They are the most over-assessed and tested children in the world and not doing any better for it," she says. "It's about parents wanting their children to do well at school and thinking that they have to have a homework regime."
Contrary to preparing good habits for later, homework could make children resist learning.
"Children are tired after five or six hours of school and want to run around," she says. "We sometimes forget about how important it is to use our imaginations."
Stressing children through homework will only "turn them off learning".
Anna Patty is the Herald's education editor.