The messiness of readiness

So many times I have heard, "Most of the children coming to kindergarten don't even know their ABCs!" This is usually followed by, "They aren't ready for school." I've always found this attitude curious. Isn't that what school is about, to learn the ABCs? Does one have to get ready to learn? How do you get ready to learn? And what does a child who is ready to learn look like? School readiness is an ubiquitous term. The definition varies depending on the context in which it's being discussed. Teachers have a different idea of school readiness than parents do, and politicians have a different notion than pediatricians. School readiness, seemingly easy to define, is just the opposite. The beliefs about and descriptions of school readiness are untidy.