It’s happening…again. So, again, I challenge The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to rethink their “Kindergarten Here I come” event and message to the community.
July 15, 2010
July 31, 2009
Kindergarten at the Children’s Museum
No, it’s not nearly as “cool” as it might sound. The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is hosting it’s 5th annual hey-let’s-convince-parents-and-kids-that-prolonged-separation-and-early-indoctrination-is-awesome celebration. What’s better, you ask…it’s FREE and they give you stuff!
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Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s 5th Annual Kindergarten!…Here I Come! Celebration
A free celebration will be held from 9 am to 1 pm on August 15 for children going to kindergarten this fall. This is an exciting event to celebrate this milestone and create a healthy transition not just for children, but for their parents as well. We also work to strengthen the idea that community support that is essential as part of our kids’ development of character and emotional well-being.
Children can:
Meet Mr. McFeely
Receive a “Class of 2022″ t-shirt and kindergarten story book
Meet community helpers such as a crossing guard
Climb aboard a real school bus
Take part in activities such as making a craft for their first memories of school and a lot of other “fun” hands-on activities
Have free hearing, vision, speech and language screenings
Take part in a live radio broadcast
Parents and caregivers receive valuable information on preparing children for kindergarten and can consult with experts in nutrition, after school programs, bullying, proper immunization and more.
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While I do give the museum credit for having good intentions and trying to make the inevitable transition from home to school for lots of 5/6 year olds less stressful and seem fun, I have a much much better idea. Why don’t all these children whose parents think that they *have to* send their children to school, want to send their kids to school or need to because of family/financial dynamics get to spend kindergarten at the museum? What I mean is that instead of being trotted off to an institution and made to sit still, color in the lines and ask permission to go to the bathroom (this one really gets my goat — prison-like…no wait, most prisoners have toilets or at least holes in the ground in their cells), they would get to PLAY at the museum during normal school day hours. No actual compulsory “classes”, no testing, no grades, just an open building of fun stuff to explore and LEARN from. AND what is even best about this is that they would be exposed to older and younger children who are members and attending with their families throughout the day as well as an ever changing traveling exhibit and all the neat special events, story times, plays and so on that the museum is known for doing. The children would still experience (and better experience) the “community support that is essential as part of our kids’ development…” as the museum claims it’s Celebration thingy promotes, socializing with diverse groups of people and develop meaningful skills (aka, learn stuff).
What’s EVEN better…is that it wouldn’t have to stop with just kindergarten…
I don’t find this solution better than being free and at home or at worst attending an actual Free School, but it does sound better than going to school in the traditional sense of the word. I’d divert my tax dollars to this effort and even throw in a few extra dollars…
So, how about it? Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, are you up for the challenge?
