Research indicates that kindergarten aged kids are capable of learning more challenging concepts. Are kindergarten kids being underestimated? It's Filmweek on AirTalk! Larry and the critics are discussing "Rio 2", "Draft Day", and more! Then, the latest on the fatal California bus crash.
DC Round-up: What’s going down on Capitol Hill?
It’s never a dull week in Washington.
This week, the House approved a “symbolic” Paul Ryan budget proposal. Senate Republicans blocked the “paycheck fairness” bill.
The House voted to hold ex-IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress and requested the Justice Department take a look at her for other various alleged crimes.
Just as the number of Americans signed up for Obamacare tops the 7.5 million mark, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius steps down. Now President Obama calls on Budget Chief Sylvia Mathews Burwell to take her place.
And, Hillary Clinton ducks a projectile shoe with measured wit.
What else is new this week on Capitol Hill? What kinds of partisan politics can we expect as we look forward to midterm elections and the big one in 2016?
Guests:
Lisa Mascaro, Congressional reporter for the Los Angeles Times, based in Washington DC.
Rebecca Sinderbrand, Deputy White House Editor for POLITICO
Don’t underestimate your kindergartener; research shows they can learn more
Pushed by Common Core standards, kindergarten teachers have put academic pressure on their students, pushing out play to make more room for letter and number drills and test prep.
In fact, researchers in 2009 found that eighty percent of kindergarten teachers allotted less than thirty minutes of the school day for playtime. Pressure to meet higher academic standards, however, does not have to mean all fun and no play. Researchers have found that kindergarten students learn more when they are exposed to challenging content through stories, games, and art.
In a study published in the April issue of the American Educational Research Journal, kindergartners were found to learn even more when they are exposed to more challenging content instead of simply the basics. Through fun, real-world teaching examples, 5-year-olds are highly capable of learning complicated, abstract concepts and math skills such as fractions.
What’s more, children who are taught more complicated math and reading concepts in kindergarten are more likely to do better throughout the rest of their grammar school years. However, some child development experts think pushing kindergartners further academically is unnecessary.
Is play and social development more important than early exposure to complex ideas? Is the kindergarten curriculum already too academic? If comprehension is possible at five years old, why should teachers wait to challenge their kindergartners?
Guest:
Deepa Fernandes, KPCC’s Early Childhood Development Correspondent
‘Maximalist’: American foreign policy since World War II
Stephen Sestanovich knows a thing or two about foreign policy. The career diplomat worked for the State Department during the Reagan administration and served as ambassador-at-large to the Soviet Union under Clinton.
In his new book, “Maximalist: America in the World from Truman to Obama,” Sestanovich examines America’s foreign policy and military engagements under twelve Presidents—from post-World War II to today. He gives particulary, anecdote-rich focus to the eras of the Johnson and Nixon administrations.
Sestanovich’s book identifies two different approaches to diplomacy: maximalism and retrenchment. The maximalists are those looking to put America’s stamp on the world and launch countermeasures against potential threats. The retrenchers are those inclined to shift responsibilities to allies, negotiate, reduce foreign involvement and military spending—and focus on domestic issues.
In what ways has the United States’ role on the world stage changed since World War II? How do individual presidents impact the country’s foreign policy—and how the world perceives America?
Guest:
Stephen Sestanovich, George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; former U.S. ambassador-at-large for independent states of the former Soviet Union (1997-2001); author of ‘Maximalist: America in the World from Truman to Obama’ (Knopf 2014)
Filmweek: Rio 2, Draft Day, Oculus and more
Larry and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Alynda Wheat and Charles Solomon review this week’s releases, including Rio 2, Draft Day, Oculus and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Rio 2
Draft Day
Oculus
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Alynda Wheat, film critic for KPCC and People
Charles Solomon, animation film critic for KPCC and Indiewire’s ‘Animation Scoop’
Bus crash kills 10: Low-income and first generation students affected by tragedy
According to authorities, a FedEx tractor-trailer crossed over a freeway median and crashed into a bus carrying a group of high school students on their way to tour Humboldt State University, killing five teenage students and five adults.
The students were on their way to a “Preview Plus” event, part of the university’s Student Academic Services Outreach Program, a program that focuses on increasing the enrollment of low-income and first-generation students.
Nineteen of the students in the three-bus caravan were from schools in the LAUSD. Three of the students were from Pasadena Unified schools.
Guests:
Judy Burton, President and CEO of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a nonprofit charter organization in Los Angeles comprised of 22 free, public charter high schools and middle schools serving 10,000 low-income students.
Lorna Bryant, a former chaperon for the Preview Plus program (also works at KHSU, the college radio station as an admin and host)