Our clients were conceived in love five year and nine months ago. Soon after, they began passive and active auditory lessons through the gestation period. And after nine months, the formal meeting took place with their family. It was truly a magical moment filled with love, hugs, kisses, lots of pictures and sentiments of just how beautiful and bright s/he is. Parents spent the next five years preparing them for kindergarten and... you.
We all had to go
Our parents made us go. Their parents make them go. The time is here Kindergarten! Parents are serious about it; they have been reading to them every night. They bought them learning games, enrolled them in preschool, attended Mommy and Me classes, completed all the vaccinations, health exams and secured all the instructional TV schedules. For five years parents prepared them just for you. The day is finally here: kindergarten orientation and enrollment.
This practice is the standard in American education. After five years of preparation at home, parents bring us their most precious possessions. They are about to put the future of their children in your hands. They want the best teacher in school for their children. Will it be you? They don't know which teacher they will draw. To one side, you, a successful kindergarten teacher with proven record of success. On the other side, another you, a successful teacher who has never taught Kindergarten. As a principal I recall how difficult it can be to teach kindergarten. In my opinion... it is rocket science!
Class make-up
Once we total the number of kindergarten students enrolled, we know how many teachers will be needed. Classes will be composed of a set number of students; equal number of boys and girls as well as a mixture of ethnicity. Suddenly we have student groups or classes. Students now, without mommy, will be taught and learn how to socialize and get along with their peers and other adults whom they've never met. This is necessary but frightening.
Teacher assignment
Students and parents are unaware of the life changing event taking place... teachers have a right to select, by seniority, the class and grade level they wish to teach. An outstanding kindergarten teacher may not be able to get that class. If a more senior teacher, who has never taught Kindergarten, wants it, the principal must meet her request.This is the contract unless the principal can demonstrate that the teacher is a less than satisfactory employee. But why would this teacher be employed if s/he is less than satisfactory?
I recall a teacher being adamant that she wanted a kindergarten class, although she had been teaching sixth grade successfully for seven years. She was a nice person and good upper grade teacher. In kindergarten, although she tried, she was unable to handle very young children who had never been to school. Kindergarten teachers are very special. They must teach the mandated curriculum and also deal with challenges and predicaments of very young children ranging from learning to socialize, curiosity, safety to bathroom accidents. In addition, they must also posses the artfulness of forbearance, tolerance and patience. Experience in early education is paramount. When selecting a class, I would advice my teachers to always teach to their strengths before selecting a class. My advice was and still is "don't practice with students lives".
The powerful words-students' cumulative record
In my opinion, nothing is more consequential than the student's "cumulative" record which is established in kindergarten. Well meaning, but unprepared, K teachers will set the stage for their students school history. Will it be a successful school life or a collapsing future leading to dropping out? My twenty plus years as a school principal, research studies and close analysis of anecdotal records, have convinced me that one teacher after another will mirror the comments written by you.What you write will set the pattern for the next twelve years for your students. I desperately caution you to carefully reflect on the weight your written comments have. Your students will carry them on their shoulders for twelve years. Negative comments will be the predictors of failure for the rest of their life and you influence it. Positive comments will predict success. The first comments entered in this records are indeed powerful words.
The self fulfilling prophesy
Those eager students brought to us the first day of school will face you, me and many other like us, flawed humans beings. Our attitudes, beliefs, values and expectations affect their lives and their families. When you, consciously or unconsciously, judge students behaviors, efforts and achievements, then write your judgment down in their permanent record, this will influence next year's teacher. We may through fear, confusion, negligence, ignorance or inexperience, fulfill a false prophecy. This is especially true if you work with students of color. That is why you, kindergarten teachers are so important. You cannot at the beginning of school life start with a negative or false conception because the prophesy will be declared true. In other words, if you expect Jose to be a failure, treat him so and enter it on his permanent school record, the next teacher will expect the same thing the first day of first grade and so on up the grades. A good kindergarten teacher understands that all students bring something good and positive to school; they are all good at something. You need to look for it, find it, encourage it, praise it and record it. The next teacher sees the model and will do the same. In other words, if a teacher expect positive results, the prophesy will come true.
It starts with one teacher in kindergarten, you.
