Module 6

February 24, 2009

Dear -

My name is Amanda and I am currently a teacher in North Carolina. I have worked in Virginia for several years in a federally funded Head Start program; this is my first year as a More at Four teacher in North Carolina. From my standpoint, as an educator of at-risk preschool children, the No Child Left Behind Act is making tremendous strides toward ensuring that all children have the opportunity to start kindergarten on a level playing field. I have taught over 50 children who would not have been able to attend preschool if it were not offered to them free of charge. Nearly half of these children would have gone to kindergarten not knowing any English at all. I feel like after a year in either of these preschool programs they are off to a great start and they are ready to succeed in kindergarten.

Once children get to kindergarten and the yearly testing begins, I think there are some shortfalls to the No Child Left Behind Legislation. The testing required by this act takes time and when teachers feel pressured to perform they teach the minimum required to pass the test instead of teaching them to be problem-solvers and thinkers. Children need to learn to be analytical thinkers and learn to think outside the box. When schools fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two consecutive years they are labeled “underperforming” by the NCLB standards. These schools then receive support but are required to offer parents the option of sending their children to other “more successful” schools. When this happens, the school must pay to transport these children, which takes away from the financial assistance that could be going to hire more qualified teachers or buy new resources to help the children who did not perform well on the test. This seems to only doom the school. The students with high scores can then be removed from the school and receive the bulk of the funding. It seems to me that there should be a better solution to this. In addition, the legislation requires that all children be taught by “highly qualified teachers.” Highly qualified teachers are important, but we come with a price. While I don’t think teachers get into teaching for the money, it is necessary for teachers to make a living. Many of the schools who do not make AYP do not have the money to hire better teachers and this is unfortunate. It seems that more funding should be sent to lower performing schools in order to bring them up to the No Child Left Behind Standards.

Sincerely,

Amanda Kramer

Module 5

I work with kindergarteners in a public school and today a child called another child a “dummy head.” While this is certainly not the most offensive statement he could have said, it is not a statement that I think is acceptable. My students and I “live” across the hall from children with severe/profound disabilities. The student was frustrated with his classmate and this was his way of venting his frustration. In the future, where academics and grades are more important, it could be very upsetting for a child to be called a “dummy.” My concern, even more than what might happen in the future, was that a parent or teacher across the hall would hear the comment and not know who it was directed to. As the teacher, I viewed this as a learning opportunity and feigned offense. I was “offended” enough that I got their attention and they wanted to know what had happened. I told “David” that my feelings were very hurt by the comment because “Elijah” was my friend and I didn’t want anyone to call him a name. “David” was affected enough by my act that he came over and told me how sorry he was for saying it and that he hoped I would still like him because he didn’t mean to say it, he was “just mad.” I don’t generally make students apologize because then it’s not sincere and they’re just saying it because they have to. I told “David” that of course I still liked him and I appreciated his apology, but maybe there was someone else whose feelings were hurt. He went to “Elijah” and said he was very sorry because he didn’t think “Elijah” was a dummy head. If the situation was different and “David” had actually called one of the children across the hall a “dummy head” I would have had a more serious discussion and explained (again) that those children have different abilities than we do and different doesn’t mean bad.

Several years ago I worked in Virginia in a Head Start program. On our way to a field trip one year we passed the “Regional Correctional Center.” One of my little girls, just as happy as could be, pointed out the window and said she’d been there before. Trying to be a good preschool teacher, I asked her to repeat what she’d said, before I got worked up over a misspoken sentence. She repeated that she’d been there before. Staying calm, I asked why she had been there. She told me she’d been there on Saturday to see her dad, because he’s locked up. I listened to what she had to say about it, including all the not so nice things her mom had to say about her dad. I asked how she felt about it, if she was happy to see him, if she had missed him, etc. I listened to all she had to say and told her that I would always be here to talk to her about anything she wanted to say. I offered her the opportunity to talk to the counselor at the school and let her mom know how the visit and hurtful words about her dad had affected her daughter.

Module 4

Thinking back to elementary school, even to first and second grade, school was done sitting in a desk, reciting things. We were graded on neatness and punctuality and we said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. Even from the beginning I think the goal was to prepare me to go to college, after I passed the standardized tests each year. I’m fine with all those things. I finished high school successfully, went on to college and finished that successfully, worked on my Masters’ Degree and then had the opportunity to teach for two years in a foreign country. I feel that the schools I went to growing up had strong beliefs and academic and social beliefs and it had a positive effect on me.

I think it would be great if every public school in America had the resources and teachers it needed to be a good school. This is not the case, and until it is I think people will always have various types of schools. In areas with good public school systems I think there are fewer children attending an alternative type of school. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the various types of schools, except that it pulls out children who could benefit the public school.

I think to make my school effective for the students I will need to find a balance. A balance between work and play, discipline and self-regulation, and the necessity to learn and the desire to learn. There are some things that are just not fun to learn, but we have to learn them anyway. Maybe there is a fun way to do it, but maybe there is not. I think that if I can find the right balance and remember that each child is an individual and everyone doesn’t learn the same way, it will be effective.