Peg Cramer M.A. Consultant

Robert Fulghum’s poem:  “The original edition of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten became an instant classic, dominating the New York Times Bestseller List for all of 1989 and much of 1990. This collection of essays was the second longest #1 bestseller in 23 years. The essays reflect the truth in everyday form—in the shoe repairman who leaves cookies in the shoes he can’t fix, in the homely Indian who becomes beautiful when he dances, in the small deaf boy who wants to rake Fulghum’s leaves. Fulghum writes with wit and wisdom about small lives with big meanings. As described in the San Francisco Chronicle, Fulghum’s stories about ordinary life ‘remind us that within simplicity lies the sublime.”  (http://robertfulghum.com/index.php/fulghumweb/books/) Fulghum web site.

As a kindergarten teacher, this simplicity of the world has changed with the dawning of the 21st Century. The children come homes where generally speaking: if they have both parents in the home, both work out side the home. Children experience immobility, poverty, lack of parental support, hunger, low self-esteem, poor relationships, lack of prior knowledge and preparation for kindergarten, loneliness, boredom, sometimes homelessness, just to name a few.

My updated “All I Learned for the 21st Century I Learned in Kindergarten” poem is based on personal experience from being a teacher working directly with 4, 5, and 6 year old children since 1990. These children have an important job as our future leaders. The early childhood years can give them a solid foundation that  includes: the relationships made, their attitudes toward school, a beginning to academic success, a belief in self,  the person they can become and about the contribution they can make to others and society .

Mr. Fulghum, sorry to say we don’t take naps in kindergarten any more, we are too busy learning the letters and sounds, counting and recognize numbers up to 100. Even my children who don’t speak English at home  learn to read and write sentences.   We do have cookies but I usually try to serve snacks with less sugar in them like crackers  because most of my children are hungry and need the afternoon energy pick-e-up.  We also don’t have time to play other than outside for recess, which is a pity, we have a core curriculum that includes: reading, math, writing, social studies, science to learn.  Things have changed in kindergarten Mr. Fulghum,  but so has the world.

All I Needed to Know for the 21st Century, I Learned In Kindergarten   By Peg Chauncey  Cramer M.A.

Friends come in all colors

Treat others the way you want to be treated

Notice when someone is in need and help them

Respect and accept others

Read every day, enjoy the pictures, and contribute your ideas

Take responsibility for your actions, apologize, and forgive

Have fun and play outside

Money is to be earned, spent, shared, and saved

Wait patiently

Don’t give up, practice, and try again

Do your best, take pride in your work, finish the task

Think, wonder, dream, believe, and care

Organize your stuff

Work together, share and cooperate

Brush your teeth, wash your hands, and eat healthy foods

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Apples are not just for eating, a mouse is a helpful thing, and a keyboard can give us the world at our fingertips