Yesterday The Washington Post posted an article about the Common Core requirement that Kindergarten children learn how to read.

The article states:

The Common Core State Standards call for kindergartners to learn how to read, but a new report by early childhood experts says that forcing some kids to read before they are ready could be harmful.

Two organizations that advocate for early childhood education — Defending the Early Years and Alliance for Childhood — issued the report titled “Reading in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose.”  It says there is no evidence to support a widespread belief in the United States that children must read in prekindergarten or kindergarten to become strong readers and achieve academic success.

I think most of us would agree that we want our children to become strong readers and achieve academic success. I think most of us would also agree that there are some children who might actually be ready to read by kindergarten. However, not all children are ready to read by Kindergarten, and are we ready to accept the damage that we will do to those children in the name of Common Core?

Here are some of the findings of the report cited above:

• Many children are not developmentally ready to read in kindergarten, yet the Common Core State Standards require them to do just that. This is leading to inappropriate classroom practices.
• No research documents long-term gains from learning to read in kindergarten.
• Research shows greater gains from play-based programs than from preschools and kindergartens with a more academic focus.
• Children learn through playful, hands-on experiences with materials, the natural world, and engaging, caring adults.
• Active, play-based experiences in language-rich environments help children develop their ideas about symbols, oral language and the printed word — all vital components of reading.
• We are setting unrealistic reading goals and frequently using inappropriate methods to accomplish them.

Please follow the link above to the article to read the rest of the findings.

It is becoming very obvious that the people who designed Common Core did not allow for individual students or their individual personalities and development.

On September 27, 2013, The Washington Post quoted Bill Gates, the money and force promoting Common Core as saying, “It would be great if our education stuff worked, but we won’t know for probably a decade.”

Are you willing to gamble your children’s future on something that is not only untried, but may also be harmful to your children?