Focus on academic skills causes stress among preschoolers

Focus on academic skills causes stress among preschoolers

T.Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

The five-year-old girl pouted and shouted: "I don't want to go
to school. I am tired." As her mother stared at her, the girl
took back her words and said that she was just kidding.

Eny, the mother, sighed in relief, but she understands why her
daughter acted like that.

"Tomorrow, she is having an oral English test. She has to
study hard, but she is tired."

Eny said that her child, a kindergarten student at Theresa, a
Catholic school in Menteng, Central Jakarta, has to memorize many
words, including colors and shapes, and learn simple instructions
such as: Be quiet; Sit down, please and Open the door, please.

English is a compulsory subject in the class, which is taught
by a teacher hired from an English language school. For this,
each student must pay an extra fee of Rp 20,000 or Rp 30,000 a
month. Students also learn computer, a favorite for those who
enjoy the subject, but a pain for others.

"My eldest daughter went to the same kindergarten four years
ago, but at that time, things were different. She had lots of fun
and never complained," Eny, a mother of two, said.

She observed that the lessons at the elementary school had
also changed, especially after the introduction of the
competency-based curriculum by the government two years ago.

Many preschools have put more emphasis on basic academic
skills such as writing, reading and mathematics to enable
toddlers to pass the entrance tests at elementary schools.

"It seems that the lessons are more difficult. Like
mathematics -- they are given much more complicated problems to
solve. What a curriculum!" said Eny, who herself is a high school
teacher.

"Hopefully, the new government will pay more attention to this
problem," she said.

The requirements of elementary schools apparently affects
kindergarten students, who must adjust to the new standard.
Despite their young age, children have to work hard to prepare
themselves for their future education.

Yanti Kusumawardani, a working mother, has two children. The
eldest is in his fourth year at Al Azhar Islamic elementary
school in Cibubur, East Jakarta and the young one, who is only
three, is going to a nursery school.

Like other elementary schools, it requires new students to be
able to write and read well. Therefore, when they are in
kindergarten, the children, like it or not, should learn their
ABCs.

"New students who can't read and write well will find it
difficult to follow the class," she said.

Yanti said that learning academic skills in a preschool also
had advantages. "However, if preschoolers are given too many
academic skills, the students can get stressed.

A preschool is basically a medium for children aged between
three, four or five years to behave themselves, to mingle with
others and to prepare themselves to go to the "real" school.

Some experts say that at preschools, it is not necessary for
the children to seriously learn calculus, let alone math, reading
and writing skills. They warn that lessons may put the children
under pressure, and after a few years, the students will get
bored and have no interest in studying.

But some parents even push their children who are still in
kindergarten to study hard because they fear they will not be
able to follow the lessons at the elementary school.

"I wonder why my daughter is not able to read. What does she
learn at school?" said Willy, a veterinarian, talking about his
five-year-old daughter.

"Am I expecting too much?" he asked. "But I hear that children
who can't read will not be accepted at elementary school. Is that
true?"

Father Antonius Paryanta, the principal of Pangudi Luhur
elementary school in South Jakarta, said that the lessons at
school are provided in accordance with each school's
interpretation of the national curriculum, and parents'
expectations.

He said many parents are happy if their children, who are
still in kindergarten are good at reading, writing and calculus.
They are also proud if the children can speak a little English
and work on the computer.

"That is the reality. And schools that fail to meet parents'
expectations will be abandoned," Father Antonius said. "As an
individual, I don't agree. This is quite a dilemma."

Despite his objection, adopting a realistic outlook, Antonius
said that any school which wants to meet the parents'
expectations should apply the proper teaching and learning
methods for the students.

"It should be fun, creative and communicative," he said.