To the editor: I would really want this article to enter more details about the objective of why the Infant Garden Assistance is so important (“The kindergarten is important, but the disease, tears make chronic absenteeism a challenge,” September 22). It is certainly much more than “play-doh and coloring”.
I had the privilege of being able to volunteer in three of the kindergarten classrooms of the public school of my grandchildren (of 11, 9 and 7 years). I spent three hours one day a week for a year watching first hand what these young children were learning. Of course, there was some coloration, but they learned all their letters, numbers and punctuation marks. They learned to add and subtract. They learned about different animals and famous people. At the end of the year, most of these children wrote multiple sentences (of course, spelling was not perfect, but it was a beginning), reading books and answering complex questions. Not to mention the development of their socialization skills and learn to follow the instructions. That is why it is important that young children go to the kindergarten. Those who are not unfortunately are not prepared for the first grade and beyond.
I cannot guarantee that all schools offer this level of instruction, but I am willing to bet that most do so. This was not a private school or charter. It was a standard primary school in the Unified School District of Chino Valley. I hope that future reports on this topic explain more how beneficial is the kindergarten for the educational growth of a child.
Elaine Regus, San Dimas
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To the editor: Like many articles on public education lately, most of the fault is put in schools. The first half of the article referred to some parents approach and their complaints. In summary, schools must do a better job by defining chronic absences, teachers shout, school is boring, etc. The second half of the article highlighted some strategies that schools can implement to improve assistance.
Maybe I am wrong, but isn't it the responsibility of a father to take his children to school? Why are we afraid of holding people responsible for their behavior, especially when it directly affects the future of their children? Teachers have many responsibilities, but getting children out of bed and on their way to school is not one of them. There is only much that schools can do. They cannot fix the evils of society.
It is fine to hold people. My parents did to me. I do it to my students every day. And I did it to my own children over the years. We rise to the level of expectations that put us. At this time, we do not seem to wait much from the parents, and we are seeing the effects.
Ray Herrera, Rancho Cucamonga
