KINDERGARTEN: We heard from an RTS reader about our recent column on kindergarten.

Joe Posteraro said, “I’m 80 years old now and I would have started kindergarten in 1949 but there was no such thing as kindergarten or preschool at that time.

“Nowadays with preschool and all-day kindergarten, my grandkids and great-grandkids are able to read and write by the time they reach first grade.

“Even though we did not have the opportunity the kids have today there were classmates of mine who became doctors, college professors, engineers and school teachers.”

We know what you mean. A lot has changed over the years. No judgment on which ways were better, but we can say they were certainly different.

We can remember having our parents help with homework, and them lamenting, “This isn’t the way we did it.” And then helping our own children with things like Common Core math, and knowing what our parents were talking about.

There are significantly more children growing up without siblings now than ever before, and preschool can serve to teach children how to socialize with others — cooperating, taking turns, sharing and respecting others.

Thinking back, we can remember the few students in our class who had no siblings. We knew this not only because we lived in a small school district, but also because their behavior was different. They didn’t grasp the concept of things like “hand me down” clothes or why kids would wear them.

We can remember getting excited when the teacher would wheel in the movie projector to watch a film in class, or later on, a television and VCR. Chalkboards were constantly in use, as compared to smart boards and computers used today.