Kindergarten....
I'm a lucky person. I'm lucky because I love my job! I am an instructional assistant (IA) at an elementary school near my home. As an IA I get to go to three different class rooms everyday. I help them with their workshop time when they split the kids up into small groups. I get to teach in a kindergarten class, a first grade class and a second grade class. For my first and second grade classes I help with their reading workshops. In each I teach a mini lesson to four small groups. So I teach the same thing in each class four different times. In kindergarten I do the same four lessons, but I might do their math lesson with them or work with rhyming or another skill not just reading. (I do teach a lot of reading lessons to the kindergartners though too.) I love what I do and I am beyond impressed with the teachers that I get to work with in their classrooms everyday.
That's what brings me to my thoughts today. I work with a kindergartner teacher who I know by experience is an amazing teacher. I would love to have any of my kids in her class. I love being able to work with her because of how great she is. The other day though I could tell that something was bothering her. She was still doing a great job but she kept stressing the words "we are learning." She kept saying this phrase over and over. Odd but I didn't really think anything about it. And then I found out why. She'd run into a parent after school the night before. This parent immediately demanded to know why she wasn't teaching her child anything at all. In fact her child was with her and this parent said to the child "Tell her that she hasn't taught you anything at all." The child obeyed and said, "You haven't taught me anything." This teacher was shocked and left a little speechless. We are only 3 weeks into school, but they are always learning things. The teacher said that they had been working on writing their names and learning the school and classroom rules. They had also been working on many different things as well as their letter sounds and had got their first sight word of the year. The word was I. The parent scoffed and said that that stuff didn't count because it was too easy. Seriously? It didn't end there however. This parent continued her tirade at her sons peewee football game. The teacher wasn't there to hear it, but many people were - including another IA from our school.
That day I continued her example of stressing that we were learning things. But I kept thinking of how this parent should come and try teaching kindergarten. It's not easy. In fact it is hard and I go home exhausted most days. Some of the kids who come to us have never gone to preschool and don't know any of their alphabet, sounds, numbers or how to spell their names. Is it right for us to skip these kids and just go right to teaching the children who already know many of these things? No it isn't. If your child is fortunate enough to know how to write their name and know their alphabet and many of the sounds, be grateful. Practicing these things a little bit more won't hurt them. It will just solidify their knowledge of different concepts. Sometimes kindergarten is practicing things over and over because it most kids don't completely get it the first time. We wish that all kids came to kindergarten able to tell the sound every letter makes. Actually I just wish that every child that came to school knew how to sit still on the rug with out blurting out every thought they had. She's angry about what hasn't been taught yet, but we still have kids who have tantrums and can't even control their little bodies or emotions yet. Kindergarten is so much more than learning to read and write. There is a huge social and appropriate behavior aspect to it as well. (I don't mind saying that it wouldn't hurt this parent to go back to kindergarten to learn those skills.)
I'm appalled that this parent doesn't seem to get that or even care. She has now shown herself to be "that" parent. The parent that all teachers hope that they never have to deal with. She has also put this teacher in a position of having to justify everything that she teaches. She doesn't set up the curriculum the state does. She has to follow their guidelines and timelines. That's how it works. This parent always has the option of homeschooling her child. No, they would rather just complain about the job others are doing. Loudly and to many others.
Parents, don't complain about your child's teachers. Unless there is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Then make an appointment to talk to the teacher or the school administration. Parents, if you wonder what your child is learning (or if you're wondering how your child is doing compared to other kids) then volunteer to help in the classroom. Teachers love helpful volunteers. Don't be the volunteers who bring younger kids with them or just want to chat with the teacher keeping them from teaching or if your child can't handle it and reverts to acting like a toddler. Don't criticize. Teaching is a hard, demanding, and exhausting job. They don't do it for the money or the hours. Most of them work a regular 8 hour day plus time on weekends getting lesson plans and supplies ready. They do it because they care about the kids. They do it to see a child's face when something finally "clicks" for them and they understand a hard concept. They do it to help a child succeed. And it is seriously so worth it. I have had kids run up and hug me in the grocery store. Or kids who I once worked with who are excited when they see me. I do it because all of these kids matter. Whether they can write their name yet or not.
Kids are accepting. It would be great if we could all be like that.
That's what brings me to my thoughts today. I work with a kindergartner teacher who I know by experience is an amazing teacher. I would love to have any of my kids in her class. I love being able to work with her because of how great she is. The other day though I could tell that something was bothering her. She was still doing a great job but she kept stressing the words "we are learning." She kept saying this phrase over and over. Odd but I didn't really think anything about it. And then I found out why. She'd run into a parent after school the night before. This parent immediately demanded to know why she wasn't teaching her child anything at all. In fact her child was with her and this parent said to the child "Tell her that she hasn't taught you anything at all." The child obeyed and said, "You haven't taught me anything." This teacher was shocked and left a little speechless. We are only 3 weeks into school, but they are always learning things. The teacher said that they had been working on writing their names and learning the school and classroom rules. They had also been working on many different things as well as their letter sounds and had got their first sight word of the year. The word was I. The parent scoffed and said that that stuff didn't count because it was too easy. Seriously? It didn't end there however. This parent continued her tirade at her sons peewee football game. The teacher wasn't there to hear it, but many people were - including another IA from our school.
That day I continued her example of stressing that we were learning things. But I kept thinking of how this parent should come and try teaching kindergarten. It's not easy. In fact it is hard and I go home exhausted most days. Some of the kids who come to us have never gone to preschool and don't know any of their alphabet, sounds, numbers or how to spell their names. Is it right for us to skip these kids and just go right to teaching the children who already know many of these things? No it isn't. If your child is fortunate enough to know how to write their name and know their alphabet and many of the sounds, be grateful. Practicing these things a little bit more won't hurt them. It will just solidify their knowledge of different concepts. Sometimes kindergarten is practicing things over and over because it most kids don't completely get it the first time. We wish that all kids came to kindergarten able to tell the sound every letter makes. Actually I just wish that every child that came to school knew how to sit still on the rug with out blurting out every thought they had. She's angry about what hasn't been taught yet, but we still have kids who have tantrums and can't even control their little bodies or emotions yet. Kindergarten is so much more than learning to read and write. There is a huge social and appropriate behavior aspect to it as well. (I don't mind saying that it wouldn't hurt this parent to go back to kindergarten to learn those skills.)
I'm appalled that this parent doesn't seem to get that or even care. She has now shown herself to be "that" parent. The parent that all teachers hope that they never have to deal with. She has also put this teacher in a position of having to justify everything that she teaches. She doesn't set up the curriculum the state does. She has to follow their guidelines and timelines. That's how it works. This parent always has the option of homeschooling her child. No, they would rather just complain about the job others are doing. Loudly and to many others.
Parents, don't complain about your child's teachers. Unless there is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Then make an appointment to talk to the teacher or the school administration. Parents, if you wonder what your child is learning (or if you're wondering how your child is doing compared to other kids) then volunteer to help in the classroom. Teachers love helpful volunteers. Don't be the volunteers who bring younger kids with them or just want to chat with the teacher keeping them from teaching or if your child can't handle it and reverts to acting like a toddler. Don't criticize. Teaching is a hard, demanding, and exhausting job. They don't do it for the money or the hours. Most of them work a regular 8 hour day plus time on weekends getting lesson plans and supplies ready. They do it because they care about the kids. They do it to see a child's face when something finally "clicks" for them and they understand a hard concept. They do it to help a child succeed. And it is seriously so worth it. I have had kids run up and hug me in the grocery store. Or kids who I once worked with who are excited when they see me. I do it because all of these kids matter. Whether they can write their name yet or not.
Kids are accepting. It would be great if we could all be like that.
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