In a letter to parents, the principal at Harley Avenue Primary School in Elwood, New York, got right to the point: the kindergarten talent show was canceled, and the reason why was “simple.” She wrote, “We are responsible for preparing children for college and career readiness with valuable lifelong skills and know that we can best do that by having them become strong readers, writers, coworkers, and problem solvers.” Accordingly, the talent show was nixed so that teachers could spend more time on career readiness—for five-year-olds.
