Kindergarten

Concerning “Postponing Kindergarten Spurs Debate,” Aug. 30:

The debate has been raging since I began teaching kindergarten in 1972 and before that. There is no one answer, as each child is unique and comes to kindergarten with different experiences and degrees of readiness, regardless of age. At some point age does become a critical factor, as one looks beyond the kindergarten years. Feeling out of step with one’s peers in the teen years can be very uncomfortable.

Changing the cutoff date to September can certainly not hurt and may help many children whose parents consider kindergarten a baby-sitting function rather than the critical building block that it is intended to be. The key, however, is for the incoming school to involve parents in the decision by helping them make the crucial educational plan for their child, whether very young or older. That will be crucial in making an informed, intelligent decision regarding early or late placement in kindergarten.

MICHELLE SMITH

Yorba Linda