masonkauweke:
Mason couldn’t help but smile when he heard the word that she chose to call the parents, something he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard – yet it sounded so familiar. “Huh, yeah. As a father of two four year olds, I have to say, neither of them have hand-writing that good.” In fact, he could barely decipher whatever ‘letters’ they attempted to write out. Half of the time, he let them think they were writing when there were tiny projects for them or if they wanted to write a ‘letter’ to someone. But mostly, he had to translate at the bottom. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. But, I suppose some children must find it hard to write. I know my kids can’t read yet.” However, his had started programs a little earlier, he figured. “Could a kid fail kindergarten?”
She contemplated his words and slowly nodded along, absorbing everything he said as if she were a sponge. She sighed as she righted her chair, glancing over to make sure that the door was closed, before she started to speak. “Theoretically, thanks to Common Core, it is possible to fail kindergarten. Before, when I was in school, kindergarten was for playing and making friends. It was meant to be a socializing exercise more than anything. Now, children are expected to know how to read and write by the end of the year and when I say read, I don’t mean simply parroting what they’re being read. They actually have to recognize and understand the reading material. I don’t envy them, especially the ones that, for whatever reason, struggle with their academia.” She said quietly, rubbing her brow. “Buuuut... I’m guessing you didn’t come in here to hear me complain about the system, huh?” She teased, her mood lightening significantly.