Children need a childhood more than they need standards, I 100% agree with this statement.
Missing from many of our kindergarten classrooms are the play centers. Both of my kids attended kindergarten for 1/2 days – they played and learned and they received special education services. They are thriving today in college, we need to bring imagination back into the classroom and stop pushing so hard. We should be taking advantage of full day kindergarten!
Peter Rawitsch teaches first grade. He has been a teacher for 40 years. He was invited to participate in the New York State review of Common Core standards for the early grades.
He deliberated with the group and came away convinced that the standards, however written, will do more harm than good. In this article, he calls for a moratorium on standards for the youngest children.
http://ecepolicyworks.com/first-grade-teacher-demands-moratorium-on-nys-p-2-ela-standards/
He thinks that children need a childhood more than they need standards.