It’s pushing us and challenging us as humans right now, RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE! As I write this, a pandemic continues to rage and our government continues to transition, and whether or not my students can effectively recognize where and when to place commas in a series of words seems trite in comparison. You know, the “hard skills” of spelling, math and reading comprehension.Īnd yet, the Universe at large does not agree. Of course, Common Core standards and standardized tests have kept classrooms mired in an analytical model, where teachers, students and parents value and foster in children what is both quantifiable and easily addressed through interventions and direct teaching. Well, luckily, the world of education has not sat back and passively allowed this mentality to take hold. That Kindergarten is a utopian environment, never to be repeated once a person steps outside that environment and transitions into the hardened, academically ruthless world of first grade. The title of this book insinuates something: that, as adults, we have forgotten to acknowledge and value those tenets in our more complicated adult world. Fulghum discussed sharing, being kind to one another, cleaning up after themselves, and living 'a balanced life' of work, play, and learning (Wikipedia). Love it or hate it, know it or not, this book emphasized that the basic tenets of life are laid down at the very beginning of one’s academic career in Kindergarten.

A few decades back, the book All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten was published by American minister and author Robert Fulghum.

Robert fulghum kindergarten poster