Occasionally, when I
was in the classroom as a pre-k teacher, a student would become
persistently disruptive. Aside from the usual proactive steps I would
take like spending more time with the child or contacting parents, I
might also decide to develop a contract if the situation called for it.
It is a tried and true teacher tool that generally works at most
elementary grade levels. A teacher explains the behavior they want to
see and then offers something in return for that behavior. Usually it
involves extra play time, stickers, or other another external reward.
Then the child and teacher sign the contract and refer to it whenever
behavior issues arise.
I can just imagine Ms. Guernsey and Ms. Mead as
a pre-k teacher team speaking to congress and governors during circle
time.
We, as a nation, are doing a very good
job of squandering human potential and making life harder for all
Americans as a result. This has to stop. If our government,at the local,
state, and federal level, does not start investing in education systems
that reach children before kindergarten, and if it does not get serious
about providing children with high-quality instruction throughout the
earliest years of their schooling, it is wasting taxpayer dollars,
ignoring decades of research and disregarding the extraordinary
potential of millions of children who otherwise have very little chance
of succeeding in school. This paper lays out the case for a fundamental
rethinking of public policy related to children’s primary years in
education, starting at age three and reaching up through the third
grade.
And that is just the first four sentences.
This is straight talk coming from extremely knowledgeable researchers.
Sara and Lisa are calling for real change, not just pushing reform a
couple inches to the right or the left, but foundational change that
addresses education disparities for some and quality for all. The paper
proposes pre-k for all children, universal full day kindergarten,
bachelor's degrees and specialized training for early childhood
educators (as Pre-K now suggested in A Matter of Degrees),
longitudinal and latitudinal collaboration among teachers and service
providers, and opportunities for family engagement. Of course, none of
this will happen without strong, child-centered, leadership at all levels of local,
state, and federal government.
America, you have been served.
Will you sign the contract or waste the human capital that is ours to be
had for pennies on the dollar?
Looking on to April, as we anticipate the new blooms
around the corner, we often turn our thoughts to renewal and the
future. What better way to celebrate the spirit of renewal than by
participating in the annual Week of the Young Child
(WOYC), April 11th - 17th, that honors young children and their
teachers. Each year the National Association for the Education of Young
Children (NAEYC) sponsors the week long event to raise awareness of
issues in early childhood.
This year's theme is "Early
Years Are Learning Years.
The organization is focusing on events that promote early literacy, acknowledge teachers who make a difference for young children, and engage policy makers in supporting early education. Events
suggested by NAEYC include planning a family literacy event, inviting
policy makers and business leaders to a kick-off breakfast, thanking
teachers, and inviting parents to collaborate on early childhood issues
through proclamations or community meetings. The NAEYC website has a fact sheet for the discussion of early childhood with the media and policy makers. Event planning
resources include a planning sheet, press release, and suggestions for
events.
What does a degree mean when you are teaching
preschool? It is hard to qualify but, Pre-K Now's recent report, A Matter of Degrees, enlisted some researchers to discover
why a college degree and specialized training matter to preschool
quality. What they found is that degrees and training do matter when
child outcomes are the measurement. This confirms some suspicions I have
had since I pursued my own graduate degree 15 years ago, that it was
important that I went to college, and that there were things I needed to
know about teaching very young children that were not addressed in my
bachelors program or teacher prep. The report by Marisa Bueno, Linda
Darling-Hammond and Danielle Gonzales looks at the relevant research and
tries to understand some conflicting studies.
From the report:
"Research suggests that both teachers and parents with higher
levels of education expose children to broader vocabularies, fostering
the development of better language and literacy skills."
"Teachers with specialized training have been found to provide
more appropriate direction, build upon children’s prior knowledge,
“scaffold” – or layer – activities to develop emerging understanding and
skills and engage students in activities that are appropriately
challenging rather than merely repetitive."
As a young adult deciding on a career in education in
Virginia, I could have taken multiple pathways to teacher certification.
When I decided to become a teacher I already had one degree, a BFA in
sculpture. My art degree prepared me for some crucial aspects of pre-k
teaching like the need for a disposition towards experimentation and
learning (not to mention experience with Play-Doh).
I decided to pursue so many professional development
opportunities to flesh out my own understanding of teaching pre-k, even
though I was already considered competent by the state. My state-funded
program provided me additional training in curriculum development and
the processes of a high-quality preschool classroom. Things like knowing
when to say no, when to say maybe, when to ask the hard question and
when to just let kids explore.
A Matter
of Degrees found that the cumulative effect of both a bachelor's degree
and specialized training is the most powerful form of pre-k teacher prep
because it provides the specialized knowledge of teaching young
children and language and concept knowledge of a liberal college
education. My own experience supports this finding because without both,
I could have made a lot of mistakes with kids who can't afford any. My
application of basic literacy principles based on my love of reading,
and my application of child development theories based on specialized
training helped me to be much more effective in my first couple years
than if I had lacked either one.
Occasionally, I get an email from one of our
readers. When I do, I always respond back. When I got this recent email
though, I asked the gentleman if I could re-post our correspondence so
that other parents might benefit from our insights. He agreed, so long
as his real name was replaced by a pseudonym.
Mr. Vikram B.:
Read
some of your articles and found them to be very informative. I have a
five year old going to pre-k. He knows his ABCs, colors and other
stuff. But some days at school he will sit and not do his tasks and
also not eat anything, will cry a bit and when the teachers ask him why
he says I miss my dad (thats me). I have tried to encourage him, and of
course always get him back from school in time, but his behavior has
not improved a whole lot. Any suggestions on what can we do?
J.M. Holland:
I
understand how frustrating it can be to have your child cry when you
have made the decision for them to enter school. Sometimes children
will be upset for very real reasons that have nothing to do with why
they say they are upset. They can become upset as a form of trying to
influence (manipulate) their surroundings, including the adults in
their lives. And sometimes there is something they actually do just
miss − like a mom or a dad − and must become accustomed to the separation from a loved one.
I
would ask the teacher how he interacts with the other children and
adults in the room. If he is "fine," then he may be enjoying the
attention he gets from being unhappy. If he is withdrawn, there may be
some classroom considerations that can be discussed with the teacher
and /or director of the center. There can be children in the class with
unacceptable behavior that is not addressed proactively, or there can
be a lack of intellectual challenge for your son, or the teacher may
just be unengaged. All of these situations could cause your son to
express himself through crying.
How to change it...
One
way I have seen children improve their outlook on school is when they
can bring a part of their life from home into school. This could mean,
with teacher approval, bringing a toy or game that they can share. This
puts them in a powerful position and allows them to gain what we would
call "respect" from other students by making them the center of
attention.
Two weeks later I emailed Mr. Virkam B. to check
on his son. He emailed back, "Its been going pretty good since the last
two weeks have been seeing improvement every day."
Often just
the slightest confirmation of belonging can help a child transition
into the life of a classroom. What are some strategies that you have
tried as a parent or a teacher?
Sometimes the enormity of the positive effects of pre-k just
boggles the mind. Public pre-k is one of the few government programs
that actually brings a return on investment − and
the volume of that return, when you consider that some states have
supported pre-k since the '80s or '90s, can be astronomical. Take
Georgia for instance. The state just became the first state in the
nation to reach its millionth child served in its public pre-k program, Bright from the Start. If the return on investment is anywhere close to Karoly and Bigelow's calculations of $2.62 for every $1 invested, or the $2 to $17 returns suggested by Karoly, Kilburn, & Cannon, and you are looking at savings that are beyond impressive.
Recently someone calculated the financial impact for a single state. Wilder Research of St. Paul, Minnesota found that over the past 25 years Michigan had saved $1.15 billion. Here is the break down on the returns:
Schools – $221 million in K-12 savings from reduced special education costs, drop out, and grade retention.
Taxpayers – $584 million in reduced government spending and increased tax revenues from more productive adults.
The public
– $347 million in reduced social costs to the public realized through
reduced incarceration, destruction, and injury caused through violence
and crime.
The economy – $1.3 billion annually including generated wages and reduced government spending.
A
strong body of credible research that says, "pre-k pays" -- and yet
there are still those who balk at the decision to invest in kids. In
these tough economic times, we can only be certain of one thing: Our
future will be determined by the success of our children. Maybe we
should hedge our bets and invest in them.
If there is one holiday pre-k teachers really enjoy it is Read
Across America day. The holiday, has always been a fun way for teachers
to highlight he importance of story book reading. Each year the National Education Association sponsors the national
event that celebrates the life and work of Ted Geisel, or as he is more commonly known, Dr. Seuss. The author has become
synonymous with reading and with that scruffy trouble making Cat in the
Hat. On March 2nd, kids in pre-k classes all over the country will eat
green scrambled eggs and Canadian ham, make red and white stove-pipe
hats, and hear their teachers make delightfully horrible rhymes while
reading their favorite Dr. Seuss books.
I always took the entire
week to celebrate Dr. Seuss in my classroom. Some of my favorites were
the ones I knew my kids might not hear later in their school careers. I
figured my students would hear the Cat in the Hat, A Wocket in My
Pocket, and Horton Hears a Hoo! later in their school careers. So I
would make a point to read And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street
(one of his first books), Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (a great
phonological awareness book), and Daisy-Head Mayzie (a story about
accepting differences and not selling out your gifts).
Remember,
these are long books. I never read a whole Dr. Seuss book in one
sitting, at least not after my first year. So take your time and enjoy
the stories. Some strategies are to read two pages a day, or half in the
morning and half after lunch. The Dr. Seuss website also has activities
and online games to support your day of reading fun.
Often in
our school, volunteers would come to read a Dr. Seuss book to our
students. This presents a particularly challenging but fun situation
because sometimes volunteers aren't sure how to read to your students in
an appropriate way. My suggestion is help your volunteer understand
what your children's normal attention span is, and proactively help your
students enjoy the reading. If your children get antsy, suggest to your
volunteer a stretch break, or moving like a Wocket for a minute before
continuing a story.
However, if you decide to celebrate reading
on Tuesday make sure it is fun. Maybe even Cat-in-the-Hat fun, just
don't forget to clean up before mom comes back to school.
Pre-K Now is a public
education and advocacy organization that advances high-quality, voluntary
pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds.
Visit Pre-K Now >
