Words matter. What we say and how we say it matters. I recently had a conversation with a district principal that gave me new words to use when I talk about how the library can support children entering school.
Our conversation came about when the principal noticed a library program with the phrase “school readiness.” We chatted about what this phrase actually means and what it doesn’t. Then she said:
“All kids are ready for school. Schools need to be ready for all kids.”
Boom! It was just the phrase I have been looking for to express how I feel about the myth of school readiness. It is an inclusive way to talk to families, and it’s grounded in a strengths-based approach to education.
When talking to caregivers in the library about the transition to kindergarten, I’m going to be using this phrase a lot. I also like the phrase “building kindergarten confidence.” When we can support kids in feeling confident we build their resiliency and set up a growth mindset. Life skills, y’all.
Even if the things we do in our programs are exactly the same, I’m ready to change the way we talk about the early years and why we do what we do.
What do you think? Any words or phrases you’ve been loving lately?
As someone with a child who is going into kindergarten in the fall, I love this. I struggled so much with figuring out if he was ready or not. Then I visited a Reggio-based kindergarten program where they told me that they realize that kids aren’t the same and have different needs so they treat them as such. It was eye-opening.
A recent phrase as a parent I have loved that I keep in mind with my child is: “My child is not giving me a hard time, they are having a hard time.” It was in a workshop that talked about how our kids have ALL the emotions, but not all the skills to be able to handle them and that’s our job as the adults to help them. It’s not us vs. our child. It’s us and our child together as a team.
I love that sentence, Kim, and can also seeing it apply to my adult life! Anytime I am able to reframe things in my mind as a cooperative effort rather than an us. vs. them situation, it always turns out better for everybody. And of course we should give this grace to kids as well. I hope your little one has an amazing time in kindergarten! I do think the Reggio and Montessori methods do a better job than traditional schooling at allowing kids to move at different paces.
I LOVE this! I’m a pre-school teacher turned Children’s Programmer and I have such a heart for that age group.
It’s not so library-related but I loved saying “There’s no such thing as a bad baby!” when I was regularly asked if my second baby (now almost 15 months) was a “good baby.” Of course he is! I’ve never met a a baby that wasn’t! 😉
Wow, you just made me realize how many times I have heard the question, “Is he/she a good baby?” It usually references things like sleep and crying, but you are absolutely right. It reminds me of the saying, “You can never spoil a baby!” No such thing as a bad baby and no such thing as too much love 🙂
Yes!!!! 10 years teaching K and I became so exhausted listening to admin and other teachers complain about readiness. The kids are exactly where they are supposed to be developmentally. They are great and wonderful just as they are. Love the phrase “Kindergarten Confidence” for the moments when we do need something in that train of thought.
10 years, wow! I bet you have so much knowledge and experience to bring into the library field. Let’s get this Kindergarten Confidence train of thought moving on the tracks 🙂
I love this so much! Our program is offering an “On Our Way to School” group that was developed by our local children’s museum. It really challenges the idea that school readiness is about knowing letters and numbers, whcih a lot of parents feel pressured to teach their kids. Instead, it focuses on things like building confidence so kids feel comfortable sharing with a group, teaching kids how to deal with frustration so that they are better prepared to wait their turn.
That’s awesome! I always remember one kindergarten teacher who told me she, the TEACHER, would have a much easier time teaching letters, numbers, etc. if the kids had developed executive function skills and social skills. And we do just as much of that in storytime as other pre-reading activities.
I remember reading your 2019 post Early Literacy Research is Not Neutral and being like, woah – great article, great synopsis, great points. This is definitely harkening back to that. I just gave the end of that blog a re-read. Good stuff Lindsey 🙂
I love that the principle said that! What a great phrase. Libraries should be ready for all kids too!
My son is just finishing up kindergarten at public school and wow, it was more like what I did in the first grade. As a parent, I make sure to keep afternoons, weekends, and breaks free of extracurriculars for him so we can do lots of independent play and explore esoteric things he’s drawn to (enter THE LIBRARY) but I have the privilege of a flexible schedule. So many parents do not.
I think we should be most concerned about ACCESS to services, not having to suddenly be experts on school readiness – but a conundrum arises funding-wise…it’s kind of a chicken or the egg situation.
Working in libraries we run into the same thing that arts organizations run into, which is having to play the game of proving our worth in order to get support. In the process, sometimes we lose sight of what’s right in front of us. Even if well intentioned (SO well-intentioned) I think it’s so helpful to zoom out.
Attending library storytimes as a patron with my own children gave me such a valuable perspective on this, and encouraged me to continue to follow my instincts in my own work to make storytimes more developmentally appropriate, play-based, and therefore enjoyable and inclusive!
While the library can also certainly be a tool for academic success at any time, I don’t see that as it’s most important function, especially not for a child under 5. Lifelong learning is not the same thing as academic “success,” nor should we promote that line of thinking. However, there are lots of people who disagree with me for a variety of good reasons! It’s a conundrum!
The funding question is so tough! I did a literature review of the value of Summer Reading programs a few years ago and it kept popping up over and over again: Tie your summer reading program to academic achievement and then you’ll get money! Align all of your programs with the core curriculum standards because then you’ll get money! When libraries face tough economic and political times, it is hard to resist the urge to tie everything we do to schools. I see it related to the larger issue of libraries losing their sense of identity as we try to be all things to all people, again in an effort to prove our worth and that we are deserving of funds. I have no magic solutions here either, but I so appreciate smart people like you letting me think out loud 🙂