Nearly 80% of U.S. educators say young people feel as unprepared to start elementary school as in previous years — the most disappointing percentage of any country participating in the global survey.
Nearly half of US teachers surveyed – 47% – blamed delays Impact of Covid-19 Disruptions are being caused by the difficulties faced by our countries' youngest students.
The survey asked teachers, “From your experience, how do you think school readiness among children has changed over the years? Are children more ready for school than they were a few years ago? Are children just as ready for school than they were a few years ago? Are children less ready for school than they were a few years ago?”
An astonishing 78% of American teachers said American students were underprepared, only 4% said they were more prepared, and 18% said they were equally or nearly as prepared.
Most American teachers find that a large proportion of children between the ages of 4 and 5 are unable to wash their hands, go to the toilet independently, recognize numbers and letters, or read simple words, including their own name.
The perceived lack of preparation in the US is far worse than that reported by teachers in Britain, the Netherlands, Brazil, South Africa and India, according to the survey conducted for a UK-based global children's charity group. Their worldIn partnership with Hall & Partners.
By comparison, 60% of teachers in the UK said their youngest students were underprepared, 64% of instructors in Brazil said the same, and 55% in the Netherlands.
The trend was the opposite in India, where 70% of teachers in the world’s most populous nation said students entering their schools were more prepared, while 45% of teachers in South Africa said the same.
Seventy percent of American teachers also said that young American students are underprepared for school because children have not attended pre-K, which has been a major problem. available everywhere Pre-K has been available in New York City for about a decade. But the lack of pre-K has been a problem in most parts of the US for decades.
Nearly 57% of teachers also cited poverty as a reason and said parents were not teaching their children “school ready” skills.
The parents of a 5-year-old autistic boy in the Bronx who is entering first grade told The Post on Monday that it’s parents’ responsibility to prepare their children for kindergarten, and suggested society should stop making excuses.
Nail-salon mom Ruth Valladares, 43, said her son, Tayden, is ready for school and knows how to do the basic tasks listed in the survey.
“He knows his name, knows how to write it, knows how to wash his hands and goes to the toilet alone,” he said.
He said Covid is not a good excuse for parents whose children are underperforming.
“Everybody says ‘COVID’ for everything right now, but it’s not,” Valladares said.
She said Tayden attended preschool before starting kindergarten, and she sat with him and taught him how to write his name.
“You have to help your kids at home,” Valladares said.
State Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx), a retired elementary school special education teacher, said the more pre-K and 3-K education available, the better it will be to help parents meet their needs, while also helping young people.
But he said parental responsibility is also an important part of the equation.
“Parenting matters a lot. Home life matters a lot. Eighty percent of education comes from home,” Benedetto said.
Releasing the findings, Theirworld President Justin Van Fleet issued a call to action for more public funding for early schooling such as child care and pre-K.
“Without urgent investments in children’s early years, the youngest and most vulnerable children in the United States will begin their lives in profound adversity,” Van Fleet said.
“Its consequences could last for generations.”
He stressed that increasing spending on elementary education would help better address inequality and labour shortages.
“90 percent of a child's brain is developed by the age of five, making the years between birth and school the most critical in a child's life,” Van Fleet said. “Our leaders must recognize that investing in these early years is one of the most cost-effective ways to build a healthy, prosperous and green society.”
The global survey asked questions of more than 2,600 teachers, including 506 U.S. teachers.
