Requested Information
I would like to know where Kindergarten educational materials are procured from, and what quality control standards are applied to the material. Also I would like to understand the teaching plan that accompanies these materials and how they are presented to students. I've lately noticed a number of materials included in my Kindergarten student's folder that are incorrect or strange. See these two images as examples.
The first is a calendar that was part of my child's President's day pamphlet. There are NUMEROUS and obvious errors with this calendar. (Examples: The arrow points to the second Monday, but the text describes the third Monday of the month. The days of the month are incorrect for February 2019. The calendar shows 31 days in February (literally never occurs). There are two February 15th dates on the calendar.)
The second is a cutting/pasting/coloring activity depicting our first and current President. The portrait of President Washington is in a general drawing form with a neutral expression. The portrait of President Trump is in a photo-based drawing where his eyes are half-closed and his mouth slack-jaw.
Whatever the political climate in our country, our children should be taught to respect our political system and elected officials. My child has come home multiple times indicating that President Trump is "bad" or an "enemy" - takeaways that are far beyond a Kindergarten curriculum. I doubt those sentiments are part of their instruction, but when I see imagery like what I described above, I question the partiality of the educational review material.
The first is a calendar that was part of my child's President's day pamphlet. There are NUMEROUS and obvious errors with this calendar. (Examples: The arrow points to the second Monday, but the text describes the third Monday of the month. The days of the month are incorrect for February 2019. The calendar shows 31 days in February (literally never occurs). There are two February 15th dates on the calendar.)
The second is a cutting/pasting/coloring activity depicting our first and current President. The portrait of President Washington is in a general drawing form with a neutral expression. The portrait of President Trump is in a photo-based drawing where his eyes are half-closed and his mouth slack-jaw.
Whatever the political climate in our country, our children should be taught to respect our political system and elected officials. My child has come home multiple times indicating that President Trump is "bad" or an "enemy" - takeaways that are far beyond a Kindergarten curriculum. I doubt those sentiments are part of their instruction, but when I see imagery like what I described above, I question the partiality of the educational review material.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes
Actual teacher plans for the unit referenced below, as provided by the Curriculum Office, are available for in-person review due to volume/location as an online resource for teaching staff.
Under the MPIA process, and as advised in the Fourteenth Edition of the Maryland Public Information Act Manual created by Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General, an agency is only obligated to produce existing records and is not required to answer questions that would “create records to satisfy a PIA request.” Thus, responding to questions regarding the specific selection of a particular resource is best addressed through direct discussion with school administrators or Curriculum staff.
Responsive Documents
The phases of curriculum development for all grades can be found within the Implementation Procedures for this policy. Specific to the unit referenced in Kindergarten, the Social Studies curriculum was developed during a 2016 summer curriculum writing workshops with content offices and teachers, using the state standards, Understanding by Design and Universal Design for Learning curriculum design principles. Following the conclusion of the workshops, curricular staff edit materials and make them available for teacher use.
An overview of the Social Studies program for Kindergartners. Under the What Your Child Will Learn section, the particular unit related to U.S. Presidents would fall under My Country ‘Tis of Thee.