A Note of Thanks and Support

          First I would like to begin with a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all of my classmates who made it through our Internship. There was a lot of work and we did it! Second, I would like to thank all of the followers who have read and responded to my blogs and also my discussions in class. It took a lot of feedback from colleagues to make sure I could my topic narrowed and on track for my research paper. And third, I would like to wish everyone good luck for the future and keep on pushing and advocating for what you think is right!

THANK YOU!

What is the real issue to advocate for?

          I am filled with a lot of information about how young children play, why they play, and the importance of play. I believe in advocating for play in young children's learning environment, but I am unsure how this looks. After spending a lot of time talking with the parents who engaged in a kindergarten assessment and then making a decision about sending their child to kindergarten or not leaves me wondering what the real issue is to advocate for. Five separate families who participated in what is called the Gesell Assessment for kindergarten readiness were recommended to wait another year before sending their child on to kindergarten. Three of these families decided to enroll their child anyways. When I discussed their decisions with them, I found many excuses were made because of the parents, not the children. One mother mentioned that if she felt it wasn't working for her child she would just bring her back to preschool. The reason she is going is because the mother wants to do substitute work in the mornings. Another family shared they didn't want their child to be the oldest one in his class when he graduated. They were afraid he would be bored in high school and not do well because of being "too old." And the third family told me it was because they could repeat kindergarten if they really needed too. So what is the real advocacy needed for being ready to achieve academic success in kindergarten?

          What I have gained as insights is the need for the focus to be more on educating the parents about the real expectations in schools and the consequences that may happen when your child is not fully confident to engage in their grade. And to make clear what "play" is for young children. Adults see play as recreational, whereas, young children need it to learn many concepts and academics. I feel like I have opened more doors than I can walk in and struggle with putting all of the information and input into a research paper that will effectively argue the point I want to make. What advocacy issue do you feel is the one needing to be made clear?