I read an article in Newsweek yesterday titled "The New First Grade: Too Much Too Soon?".  Before I even read the article, I knew my answer to their rhetorical question would be yes.  The only things I remember about first grade were meeting a new friend named Martin (no relation to the ones in my family), a girl named Becky barfing all over her desk, and being told that I was holding my pencil incorrectly (which I still do).  But pressure in first grade?  Certainly not.

I believe in the basic premise of the No Child Left Behind act - that students should have equal and fair opportunities to learn.  However, I don't believe that pushing standardized testing to the point where kids in Kindergarten and first grade have excessive homework or pressure makes any sense.  There is plenty of time later for pressure, leave the little kids alone.

I recognize that I was born with a pretty good ability to learn, to parents who helped me with my homework, in a home where I didn't have anything to worry about - all of which provided me with above average opportunities to do well in school.  I see the benefits of NCLB for kids who don't have all those things, and applaud legislators for making money available to fund programs that help students who have less than I did.  In fact, at the core of this, I think it's common sense and am glad to see the basic parts of that idea coming from a Republican President.  But somewhere in the rule writing it got very complicated and restrictive - to the point that kids are being highly pressured to perform even in Kindergarten. 

I realize that Principals are forced to push their teachers who have to push their students this hard just to maintain their federal funding.  If they don't make adequate progress each year, they're faced with consequences like losing money, losing students to other schools while still having to pay for them, and possible takeover.  But is it worth it to see schools teach to the test and place excessive pressure on students to succeed for the sake of success?  With the focus on NCLB and making adequate yearly progress as mandated by states, it seems that the focus has shifted from making sure everyone has opportunities to learn to everyone freaking out about the test.

Worse than the pressure created by legislators/administrators, is the terrible pressure some parents are placing on their kids.  There was a dad quoted in the article who said that he enrolled his 5 year-old in after-school tutoring because he needs to get good grades to get into an Ivy League school.  Yeah, sure you do, but hey, he's five.  Another family decided to keep their 5 year-old out of Kindergarten until he was six so that he could spend that year focusing with a tutor because they heard Kindergarten "was a killer".  That's just so wrong.  All of it.

Another dad wanted to know how his child stacked up against classmates.  The teacher explained that they didn't do class ranking in Kindergarten, but the dad persisted.  He wanted to know if his son would be in the top 10.  I wish I knew where that dad lived.  I would make him a bumper sticker that says "My child is in the Kindergarten Top 10!  Now get out of our way, we're late for therapy."

I don't see how this level of pressure can continue with our smallest school kids.  While I applaud the impact that learning to read early could have on a child's continuing education, I wonder what the impact of all that anxiety and pressure will be?  Will we see 3rd graders developing ulcers?  Will grade-schoolers on anti-anxiety medication become the norm?  Will there be a valedictorian in each grade with elaborate graduation ceremonies at the end of each year (and would that be held before or after summer tutoring)?

I hope that by the time my kids start school that things back off a bit.  I can see that I would be the kind of parent trying each night to reverse the impact of high pressure in the classroom, while still making sure that they are keeping up with the rest of the class.  Which would probably make me anxious.  Maybe we could get a family discount on the anti-anxiety medication we're all going to need.