Kids are taught to read, write and so much more at school, but it turns out, they’re now showing up without some of the basic skills they used to know before the first day. A new survey of teachers around the world reveals that many educators here in the U.S. say little ones aren’t as prepared to start elementary school as they were in the past.
According to the poll from global children’s charity group Theirworld of more than 26-hundred teachers, including 506 in the U.S.:
- More than three-quarters (78%) of U.S. teachers say American students are less ready for school now than in previous years, while 18% say they’re just as ready and only 4% say they’re more ready.
- While teachers in other countries also feel their incoming students are less prepared these days, U.S. teachers report higher rates of it. In the U.K, 60% of teachers say kids are less ready, as do 64% of teachers in Brazil and 55% in the Netherlands.
- Nearly half (47%) of teachers in the U.S. blame the lingering impact of disruptions from the pandemic for the setbacks.
- American teachers point out that a large percentage of kids ages four and five can’t wash their hands, go to the bathroom independently, identify numbers and letters or their own name.
- Here in the U.S., 70% of teachers say kids aren’t as ready for school because they didn’t go to pre-K, while 57% say poverty is a factor and that parents aren’t teaching their children “school ready” skills.
“Ninety 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,” explains Justin van Fleet, president of Theirworld. “Without urgent investment into children’s early years, the youngest and most vulnerable in the United States will begin their lives at a severe disadvantage.”
Source: NY Post