Browse by Tags
All Tags »
achievement gap (RSS)
On the one hand, spending a morning with preschoolers can be lovely and simple. Read stories, play, follow routines, talk, play outside, learn about interesting things. On the other hand, spending a morning with preschoolers can be made frustrating and
Read More...
I work in a pretty great school. We have a warm, supportive environment, and our school is welcoming to adults and children. I don’t have any plans to leave, and that wasn’t true of the first three schools I worked in. On the other hand, we have our flaws.
Read More...
I haven’t posted much lately. I think it’s because usually my posts about my year and my class tell a story, and this year, the narrative keeps getting botched up. Three years in a row I had an awesome class. Last year’s bunch mostly had two parents at
Read More...
….to be getting new students. One little boy started a few weeks ago, and this is his first experience in school. He is doing pretty well, actually. He learned how to walk in a line, how to sit in the meeting area, and how to keep his hands to himself,
Read More...
Yesterday we celebrated Gingerbread Day in our classroom, and the children were delighted. We read three versions of the classic story (over two days), and then we decorated gingerbread men with squiggly white frosting. (One girl said, “this is my mom”
Read More...
During morning meeting today, the phone rang, and it was for me. My Americorps volunteer took over with the class, while I talked to a woman from a non-profit organization. I applied for a grant there earlier in the fall, for bus money and outdoor clothing
Read More...
On Friday we had a visitor who was there to observe one of my students, who is being assessed for possible special ed services. She sat during centers time and watched and took notes. The art center was full of kids making ants out of black paper and
Read More...
Inefficiency in education drives me nuts. Long pointless meetings, or staff development that is inane and worthless — these things make my blood boil. We have so many more important things to be doing. Sometimes, however, we waste our students’ time and
Read More...
A new study that came out recently found that children who do not read at grade level by 3rd grade are much less likely to graduate from high school. A student who can’t read on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate by age 19
Read More...
In the house corner, Deer wants the baby doll that another girl has. A teacher offers her the other, almost identical baby doll. Deer slaps the baby across the face. From across the room, my heart stops. It looks exactly like she is re-enacting violence
Read More...
You would think that wouldn’t be so hard, right? I mean, this class counts the days of the month, every day, in English and in Spanish. They count the days we’ve been in school, every day. Okay, so lately I’ve been lazy and we’ve been counting by tens
Read More...
NPR did a report on the Meaningful Differences work that Hart and Risley did. It’s fascinating, and well worth reading. The article talks about their experiences as educators, trying to teach four year olds vocabulary to put them on par with rich kids
Read More...
Wow, yesterday’s post certainly touched a nerve. That was the most hits I ever got on my blog, and the most comments. So thank you, everyone, for being part of the conversation. So the question is, how do preschool teachers strike a balance between helping
Read More...
Yesterday a teacher/mentor from the early childhood department came out to my class to observe Deer, so that she could advise me on referring Deer for possible special ed assessment. Of course, wouldn’t you know it, Deer was having a pretty good, on-target
Read More...
Last year when I was coaching, I learned a great technique from a veteran kindergarten teacher: “Phone a Friend.” I introduced it in my class yesterday, when we were having a quiet, slow day with 6 kids out sick. “Today,” I said, “when we do the letter
Read More...