I don't want to say Americans don't love and cherish their children. But the uncomfortable truth is that our culture has become so materialist that, on a mass scale, when we look at our children, we don't really see the people they are now. We see the economic participants they will be in 15 years.
I think it's a bit different. This forcing of academics into Kindergarten is more of a panic reaction to the overall low quality of the American education system. Unfortunately, this reaction ignores cognitive science for a try-harder approach.
It isn't about materialism or care. It's about having education driven by supposition instead of evidence and what we know works. Phonics would still be core to early curriculum, for example, if we followed the science. It's harder to teach than "whole word" reading, but phonics actually works and we have decades of evidence, and mountains of cognitive science to show us why.
I agree that there needs to be a more evidence-based approach. Though, I don't quite follow you on the specific example. The scientific consensus that I'm familiar with (based on trying to figure out, a couple years ago, how best to support a young child who was very eager to learn to read) is that you get the best outcomes when you use both approaches, and the current thinking is that no reading instruction program that is based on just phonics or just whole word can be considered a complete reading instruction program.
From what we now know, the "whole word" or "whole language" approach seems to be actively harmful. It is linked to the dramatic increase in dyslexia in the regions where it is used to teach English reading.
If there were the resources to do it well it's not a terrible idea but it would require a lot more teachers to do small group play learning where there's educational content but embedded in something enjoyable for the kids. Kids are way more capable than the level they're taught if they're given enough attention.
I'm really glad my parents had the time and conviction to put time into teaching me phonics and math early. Really gave me a leg up.
