First Grade Fun

As someone who likes to avoid awkward situations, I'm not a fan of hugging total strangers. But, when the strangers are all six-year-olds, my personal bubble disappates - a good thing considering the first graders I met Friday seemed to possess no bubbles of their own.

While observing Ms. Salazar's class at Sahuarita Primary School, I received approximately 36 hugs, 1 pinecone, 1 piece of broken plastic, 1 flower and held 1 million hands (more or less). First graders are apparently still in the adult-loving stage. They are also constantly moving, rarely quiet and generally have no sense of independence. All of those cute (though occasionally annoying) characteristics pre-kindergarten - first grade teachers must deal with lead many people to assume those teachers are more like glorified babysitters. That assumption is rather stupid, according to me, and completely misguided, according to a study published in Developmental Pschology.

How much children know early on is the single most important factor
in predicting academic achievement in high school, the study says.
A mastery of basic math and reading concepts heading into kindergarten sets a kid up to succeed in the future - regardless of any emotional or social problems the child might have. The disruptive, aggressive kids learn as much as the well-behaved ones, provided they both start school with academic skills. Math skills are especially important - knowing what numbers are and the order they go in predicts future math and reading achievement. It doesn't work the other way - reading skills apparently don't predict math success.

Based on those findings, it seems teachers charged with educating the youngest students may have the most influence over their future success. Another study says the learning rate of first graders is 10 times that of high school students. So, for the kids who come into kindergarten or first grade without the skills they need, a teacher capable of catching them up right then may be their ticket to the high school honor roll. Sounds a little tougher than babysitting.