I’m in this week’s Carnival of Education, over at The Chancellor’s New Clothes, and so is a great post on how to set up your classroom, from Michaele at Kindergarten 3 R’s. Check out her photographs and how well her classroom is coming along. Lots of ideas here!
(My room — still empty except for the dust bunnies. I have my work cut out for me.)
I stopped by today — the first time I’ve ever been to my classroom in the middle of summer, and all my furniture was piled up in the hall by my cubbies. I went inside and it was completely empty, except for all the dust bunnies.
Well, and the tech guy who is currently installing my videodata projector from the ceiling. Whoo hoo! He was surprised to see me, but I think he liked hearing my enthusiasm and thanks. He said this is all he’s doing this whole summer — visiting 24 schools and putting the vdp’s in every classroom.
I asked him if he had an extra smartboard he could give me, but alas, no.
I dropped off all the stuff I bought and then went home with tons of curriculum materials so I can start lesson planning. The beginning of the year is always so stressful for me, I figure, if I at least plan out the first few weeks, things will go easier.
(image courtesy of www.physicalgeography.net, via Google Images)
I went to my local teacher supply store this morning and spent $167.50 on supplies for the new year. The receipt is about two feet long. Since my husband has been making choking noises about the credit card bills lately, with no paychecks coming in from me, I am not looking forward to giving this one to him.
However, $167.50 is actually about what I spend each year at the beginning of the year. And it is nothing compared to what I spent my first two years of teaching.
When I got my first official teaching job in a public school, I was shown a dark, dank room with one window (but covered in some sort of security plastic that was completely opaque) and two dead mice on the floor. I had tables and chairs, a desk, and some pattern blocks. That’s it. I asked the curriculum director about curriculum — stupid me. She looked at me like I was a cretin and said there was no curriculum.
So here I was, about to start teaching kindergarten for the first time, and I had NOTHING. I’m guessing I spent $1,500 of our newlywed funds just to get going. I had to buy teacher books and curriculum materials and puzzles and games and manipulatives and art supplies….and everything.
Later I found out that the district provided $8,000 for each new kindergarten class that was opened, and as mine was new to the building, it qualified. Of course I never saw a penny of that money. At the time I wondered if the principal had actually STOLEN it, but in retrospect I’m sure he swiped it to use to pay for other things the school needed. Like the mentally ill assistant teacher assigned to my classroom.
The next year I probably only spent a thousand, and then it started going way down. So now it’s $167.50 at the beginning of the year, and…another $75-$125 during the course of the year.
I even have to buy my own copy paper and construction paper. (I did get free construction paper at my first school. Whoo hoo!)
I wonder how many people out there who think that teachers are overpaid actually have to buy their own office supplies for work? Plus enough supplies for twenty other people in their office?
Whenever people ask me about holiday gifts for teachers, I always tell them to forget the tchotchkes and pool their money with other parents to buy a generous gift certificate to Target or Barnes and Noble or the local grocery store or the local teacher store, so that the teacher doesn’t have to spend quite so much of her own money.
People are starting to think about going back to school, and buying school supplies….And backpacks are one of the most important things that you buy for your kid. So here are some thoughts on backpacks from a teacher:
Okay, got that off my chest. Have fun buying backpacks for your children! (Gapkids has backpacks with attachable lunchboxes, too.)
(image courtesy of discoveryeducation.com)
I’m reading The Canon, by Natalie Angier, for my book club, and it has got me thinking about the fact that I don’t do much science in my classroom. I don’t even have a science center, because I’ve never been able to figure out where to squeeze one into my tiny space.
Last night I sat in my comfy chair next to the balcony door, and looked at the trees out back, and felt the breeze coming in, and fantasized about making room for science in my classroom and in my curriculum.
I think we’re going to start with Science Fridays (taking a hint from NPR). Now I need to figure out what we’re going to DO. I think we might start by taking biweekly walks to the lake in our neighborhood to see what we can see, and to observe and document changes (in the lake, trees, plants, and animals) over the seasons.
Any other ideas? What are some great sources for preschool science curriculum?
When I heard that Wonder Woman was moving on to a better school, I emailed the principal (let’s call him the Prince, shall we?) telling him my concerns and asking for some reassurance.
That was a month ago, and no, of course he hasn’t responded. The Prince probably doesn’t have email underground where he’s buried his head. Ostriches probably don’t really DO email.
I bumped into Nan on the street yesterday, and it was wonderful to see her. At least I have her. In September:
In September I am going to work really hard on the art of LETTING GO and will do my work as mentor teacher professionally and with as little stress or emotional involvement as possible.
And mostly I’m just going to go in my room and SHUT THE DAMN DOOR and concentrate on four year olds, who can be a lot more wonderful than most grown-ups.
I have long been intrigued by KIPP schools and what they accomplish. As a public school teacher, I am chagrined by the way my school in particular — and my district in general — are failing our African-American and Latino students. KIPP schools work miracles, and I support them whole-heartedly.
I wonder, though, how what KIPP schools do can translate to the public schools. At a KIPP school, you go to school from 7:30 am until 5 pm, and you do 2-3 hours of homework each night (during which time your teacher is on call by phone at home), and you go to school on Saturdays. The curriculum is rigorous, which means that teachers, in addition to working all day and on Saturdays, presumably need to spend every evening and a good part of Sunday lesson planning (while fielding calls from students). How do they do it without burning out?
I want to do for my students what KIPP teachers do for theirs. However, I’m not in my 20s. I have two children I’d like to spend time with and pay attention to, and I have a marriage I’d like to enjoy and nurture. Teaching is so emotionally involving and physically exhausting that I really need time to be by myself to rest, replenish, restore.
Are the mostly young teachers at KIPP schools going to be able to keep up their grueling pace for years to come? Will they be able to fit families into their demanding schedules? And will the public schools ever be able to do what KIPP schools do if it means asking their union members to work even longer hours than they do now?
I just want to give a shout out to Jolayne over at Urban Preschool. Her blog is mysterious and beautiful. Preschool meets design with wonderful results. Check it out here.
She lives in my neighborhood. I saw her earlier this evening and after we chatted about vacations she asked, “how are things at work?”
So I told her.
The whole truth – about our test scores, and good people jumping ship, and the principal not providing the leadership we need, and about the culture of the staff being to ignore reality and resist change.
I feel oddly giddy. We’ll see what happens.
Does your child need to go to preschool before kindergarten? Does every child need to go? What do kids need to learn before kindergarten, anyway?
I think preschool is great, but it isn’t necessary for everyone. If you are raising your child at home, and you’re reading to her, talking to her, playing with her, taking her interesting places, counting with her, doing art with her, and getting her together with other children regularly, then your child is probably fine skipping preschool and going straight to kindergarten when she’s five.
Here are some skills that will help your child be successful in K:
A child can get those things at home, or she can get them at preschool. It depends on the parents and what they are able to give. So if you’re a stay-at-home mom and you don’t want to send your child to preschool, then don’t.
If you’re a work-outside-the-home mom and your child goes to daycare, no worries. As long as you’ve chosen a high-quality daycare center, your child will do very well. My sons went to a wonderful Montessori daycare center, and they arrived at kindergarten way ahead academically. Your child will pick up what she needs in the preschool room, and will be ready for K emotionally, socially, and academically.
As for universal preschool, I do think we need it. Not to make all children go, but to provide it to the children who need it most, who otherwise will arrive at kindergarten already far, far behind. Preschool is critical for those children.
Some of them are my students, and it feels like an honor to be their teacher.
