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"I even think Raffi might be able to improve his digital etiquette—to get better at waiting his turn to speak without slamming the computer shut because he’s bo
by chiyc 6y ago
"I even think Raffi might be able to improve his digital etiquette—to get better at waiting his turn to speak without slamming the computer shut because he’s bored, to sit through a lesson without whining or screaming.
But is digital etiquette something I want Raffi to learn at age 5? He’ll have the rest of his life to figure out the niceties of interacting with people through a screen. I can’t accept that he should get acclimated to this form of school."
The author is almost onto something with this comment. I'm not an expert in this area, but virtual "education" for pre-K seems to miss the point of going to school for a 4 year old child. I would venture a guess that the impact is more about socialization and acclimating to the routine of school than learning things.
- wink 6y agoThis honestly has me puzzled. German here, no kids, so not 100% sure how it is today, but to the best of my knowledge it's still 3-5 kindergarden (no idea why you would do this via screen) and then school from 6-7 (depends on birth month, etc). And the "this should be daycare" argument doesn't fly because how would you babysit a 5y old via a video conference? Maybe I'm just old, but I don't see anything wrong in not teaching kids a lot in a structural way before school?
- dorchadas 6y agoForgive me if I'm wrong, but I think you're misinterpreting what kindergarten is in the States. Kindergarten here is the first year of schooling, and is associated with primary schools. Generally, 5 is the minimum age to start, with a cutoff month. Thus, the kids are expected to be taught in the structural way of school.
- jnwatson 6y agoIt is sort of structural. Kindergarten is to help kids transition to the structural aspect of schooling. It is usually very much filled with physical activity and creativity.