welcome back to ABC 15 now should kids
have to take a maturity test to get into
kindergarten some lawmakers in Tennessee
thinks so they are pushing a bill that
would make the cutoff for kids to get
into kindergarten up by one month but
right now children there must turn five
by the end of September in order to
start parents can petition to get their
kids in earlier but those children will
have to take a maturity test first
critics say the state is just trying to
save money by pushing up to four
thousand kids back into daycare for
another year instead of kindergarten
classrooms so we want to know what you
think who should make the decision on
when kids should start school it sounds
like there should be some sort of
testing involved because there could be
some four-year-olds who are very mature
and ready to learn and then you'll have
a four-year-old who just can't
concentrate it'll be a distraction to
the other students yes you're a teacher
or a teacher you can really raise a high
school teacher but they still they still
gave tests to any children or any kid
who maybe was falling behind and any
type of I don't know subject or what not
as far as kids that are three or four
years old it almost sounds to me it's
almost borderlining a parent wants to
just put them in because they don't want
to take care of them
I love the maturity test having just
gone through this with my 7 year olds
they were in kindergarten last year and
I must admit there were some younger
kids in the class who maybe just were
not quite at the level to sit and learn
I mean you're sitting in your learning
and the ending in classes classes tough
it's not just you know circles and
shapes and maturity at that age maturity
is different you know for everyone it's
different I mean I didn't I was
completely immature when I was I was in
grade school
while there are other kids that were far
more studious than I was and they were
far more they were way ahead of the
curve and I always just that was all
about having fun
I mean look at me these days I still
just about learning it's about being
potty-trained it's about all those
things it's about just understanding
what four and five years old is for as a
little young perhaps five and six you
know maybe a little more ready to sit
and and be able to do things on your own
completely and that cognitively I think
they're there too they understand more
they understand consequences and then in
rewards definitely and you know they're
still preschool there's even
pre-kindergarten that
child might benefit from instead of
going straight into kindergarten where
they'll be overwhelmed mhm and there is
testing that is done to make sure they
have the basics the academics part of it
but the maturity that's something that
you can't teach in a book and psychology
and they'll be school psychologists that
will say this kid is completely ready
but you know who knows really truly if a
kid is truly mature to start school at
age four when I was I barely even
remember age three yeah I don't know I
think for us too young yeah here's what
you guys are saying on Facebook
Elizabeth Angulo rights as a pre-k
teacher my opinion is to think about the
social-emotional readiness of the child
as well as their cognitive ability if
the child is truly ready then yes put
him or her in kindergarten and here's
what Tony speaks says I think some
parents are in a rush to get their kids
in school and because of that schools
need to decide there is a need for
exceptions and the exceptional child and
Kim truck rights parents are trying to
enroll kids earlier and earlier schools
are not free daycare wait until your
child is ready all right Ellie here's
Ellie rake off kids need to man up
already JK but I started kindergarten
when I was four Wow and I did just fine
we should expect more from our children
not less there you go there's there's
the exceptional exception to the right
sure children aren't and then I think
the detriment of the friend amy was so
mature when we were in fourth grade that
she could have been probably in the
sixth grade at her age she was so mature
she was on top of it well and you have
kids who are in fourth grade or sixth
grade who are so advanced that they'll
put them a greater - ahead but then
again they are older yeah but we're
gonna keep rolling on on ABC 59 keep the
conversation going