The Baltimore Sun made their back to school story substantive by reporting on the challenges of the transition to full-day kindergarten. Article links full day to concerns about kindergarten becoming too academic and to NCLB. Critics quoted say that kindergarten shouldn't be about stuffing kids' heads with facts. While supporters, such as Maryland schools Chief Nancy Grasmick, said the longer day gives teachers time to develop understanding of key concepts in reading and math as well as social skills.

To bolster the case that the kids and the teachers are under academic pressure, the article states:

"She has only nine months to get her 5- and 6-year-olds to identify the sequential property of numbers using the calendar, learn the alphabet, recognize letter sounds, learn how to sort by color and number, and learn to share and play nice with one another."

Isn't this what kindergarten has always been about? Learning to count, sort, start to read and play nice? This is overly academic? This is stuffing kids' heads with facts? These are exactly the domains and expectations in good pre-k programs and, because most of these kids will have been in pre-k, they've probably mastered or are very close to mastery of them all. The other idea in here that always bothers me is that, because there is the potential that a teacher, school, or district will make developmentally unwise choices, they shouldn't be given the opportunity to make such a mistake.

Piece has a nice video of a enthusiastic teacher who is new to kindergarten talking about what she hopes to accomplish for the year....worth watching.