Kindergarten Craziness

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Reading First Chatboard

Kindergarten Craziness

by Dee

Jan 27, 2009

Oh my God! I am reading with horror about all the pressure kindergarten teachers feel! Can someone please wake up- these children are 5 years old! NCLB is a political thing- geared for inner city low achieving schools- to help them make AYP. For the rest of us- we need to stand up for childhood and a quality, child friendly education. Let us do what is right! Yes- a skilled teacher is important, early intervention is important- BUT- so is developmental education. True story- this year we have a new kindergarten teacher- my old aide works in her room- she is a very nice person- she is just lousy at classroom management- control, plus her lesson content is really lacking, according to my former aide, who is very concerned and conscientious. Well,- her DIBELS had only 2 intervention kids, all others made benchmark. My point- this had NOTHING to do with skill of classroom teacher. I want to propose a bet- if kids were allowed to explore at a leisurely pace they would fare just as well or b...See More

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I agree Because of NCLB, we have no morning or afternoon recess. We "probe" the daylights out of our kids. I spend more time testing my kids than teaching. We are also a "Reading First" school, which means my students must sit 90 minutes for direct instruction. Grrr! If a child asks a question that does not pertain to the "Direct Instruction" aka a "teacha...See MoreBecause of NCLB, we have no morning or afternoon recess. We "probe" the daylights out of our kids. I spend more time testing my kids than teaching. We are also a "Reading First" school, which means my students must sit 90 minutes for direct instruction. Grrr! If a child asks a question that does not pertain to the "Direct Instruction" aka a "teachable moment" I can not answer it or look up the information on the Internet to satisfy that child's curiousity because it will interfere with that hallowed, sacred 90 minute direct instruction.

Also, I have a Sped child whose attendance is awful. He either comes to school when reading is over or he doesn't come to school at all. I am under pressure to make sure that child performs at the same level as the rest of the class. How in the ? am I supposed to teach a child who is never in school? Phone calls to mom and gramma result in lip service from them...and the child still doesn't come to school.

Another gripe I have is the push for all kids to succeed. While I have high expectations for my students, I refuse to do their work for them, write for them, or test for them so that they can succeed. What happened to a student's "right to fail?" Why are we expected to lower our standards so kids can pass?

On 1/27/09, Dee wrote: > Oh my God! I am reading with horror about all the pressure > kindergarten teachers feel! Can someone please wake up- > these children are 5 years old! NCLB is a political thing- > geared for inner city low achieving schools- to help them > make AYP. > For the rest of us- we need to stand up for childhood and a > quality, child friendly education. Let us do what is right! > Yes- a skilled teacher is important, early intervention is > important- BUT- so is developmental education. True story- > this year we have a new kindergarten teacher- my old aide > works in her room- she is a very nice person- she is just > lousy at classroom management- control, plus her lesson > content is really lacking, according to my former aide, who > is very concerned and conscientious. Well,- her DIBELS had > only 2 intervention kids, all others made benchmark. My > point- this had NOTHING to do with skill of classroom > teacher. I want to propose a bet- if kids were allowed to > explore at a leisurely pace they would fare just as well or > better than a kid who had been drilled in nonsense word > fluency. Get a grip!!

Jan 31, 2009

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paulaj I also agree. Plus, kids who have been read to at home and had parents who talk with them, teach them to sit for long than ep seconds, etc. do so much better in a structured environment like NCLB requirements.

However, for your 90 minutes, there are other ways to do literacy than sit. For example: Studying letters or sounds can be done by...See More

Mar 6, 2009

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paulaj In our district, the 90 minute block is called the "sacred 90." I hate that. nevertheless, here are some more ideas aside fom whole group sit and learn:

1. Teacher holds two sight words (or letters) and asks students to point to the one that is "the".

2. Stand Up/Sit down: When students know the answer to a question, they stand up...See More

Mar 6, 2009

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to paulaj Thank you for the ideas. I am so burned out with the sacred 90 and the push tfor all kids to meet benchmark that I am not able to come up with "creative" ways for kids to learn. Thank you

On 3/06/09, paulaj wrote: > In our district, the 90 minute block is called the "sacred > 90." I hate that. nevertheless, here are some more ideas &...See More

Apr 12, 2009

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