Diary of a First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 9th Entry

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Saturday, September 6

Dear Diary,

I spent the night thinking of strategies to help the students in my class and the positives of my situation. Positives first:

1. I still have a job. When the district cut my position in June, I wasn't sure if I'd have a job in September. I spent the entire summer stressing about that. 

Now I can continue to pay for my son's college tuition and my daughter's high school tuition.

2. I have help in my classroom for an hour-and-a-half everyday. Many kindergarten teachers in the district don't have that.

3.  I'm able to teach kindergarten. I was very concerned that I'd end up in a higher grade. 

After teaching 2 - 4 year olds for my entire career, being thrown into a second or third grade class would have been difficult.

Strategies:

1. I know that Ramona Johnson had an IEP in Pre-K because the special needs coordinator told me. 

I am going to call Ramona's former teacher, and ask which behavioral and instructional strategies were used for her when she was in Pre-K. 

I am also going to do the same for Devon Wilson. Collaboration is key to help these children succeed.

2. I'm outlining my daily schedule and making an anchor chart with pictures for the children to read. Consistency is important for children.

3. I'll incorporate lots of music and movement into the schedule. That should help relieve the stress and anger of the students.

            
That's all I have for now.  I think I'm off to a good start.   

Diary of a First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 8th Entry

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Friday, September 5

Dear Diary,

Okay, so six parents showed up for interviews, which puts me four behind. I tried to reschedule them for Monday. 

I was only able to get in touch with one of them. I left messages for the other three.

They'll probably show up on Monday unannounced and I'll have to squeeze them in. 

I now have nine interviews scheduled on Monday. I've completed eight.

            
The students I've met so far are a mixed lot in terms of skill. Luckily as I had requested, all eight children attended the meetings with their parents.

I was able to complete the battery of required assessments. These tests will help me prepare future small group lessons. It seems I have my work cut out for me.

            
Three of the students have attended some sort of day care or preschool program. The other five have not. 

These five children didn't know how to open a book correctly or differentiate between words and pictures. 

They also couldn't identify any letters from their first name, basic shapes, numbers from 1-5, or the primary colors.

            
One of the students has a severe behavior problem and is learning disabled. Her name is Ramona Johnson. I was told that Ramona belongs in a special program.
         
She received services in Pre-K, but her mother never attended the Kindergarten transition meeting in the Spring. 

Ramona will be expected to learn in a classroom with 29 other students in my regular education setting with no extra support.
          
How do I know she won't receive any additional support, because I asked. Due to a lack of funding there are no extra personnel. 

Isn't that just wonderful?!!!!

            
There is also a little boy named Devon Wilson with anger management problems. Mom is trying to get him into therapy but has been unsuccessful due to long patient waiting lists.

Devon is extremely bright. He knows every letter in the alphabet including their sounds and he asks intelligent questions.

            
The other four were quiet at the meeting. Let's hope they stay that way when school starts.

            
I have to input some of the information from the interviews on a statewide database. Since I haven't received a school district laptop, I'll have to do it from home over the weekend.

Apparently, due to a shortage, the kindergarten teachers at Adams Elementary were excluded from getting laptops. 

            
I'm trying to stay positive but it's getting really hard.

           

Diary Of A First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 7th Entry

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Thursday, September 4

Dear Diary,

I spent the entire morning in meetings. First we met as a staff and then we broke down into smaller groups to discuss best instruction practices for our age groups. 

Will I ever get a full day to do parent interviews?
       
After that, I got a prep and lunch, which is about an hour-and-a-half total. 

During that time, I conducted two interviews. I learned shortly after from Mrs. Staltz, that she disapproved of my meetings.

She doesn't want to do parent meetings on her lunch break. If I do them during this time slot and she doesn't, it sets a bad precedent. Parents will complain. 

Really?

            
I really miss Head Start. I could do interviews whenever I wanted. Of course there were other issues, but that is another story.

            
The afternoon was as exciting as the morning, more and more meetings. 

Mrs. Bernard took us on a tour of the school to discuss student traffic, during middle school class changes. 

I've never worked in a main school building with middle school kids. I hope they don't run over the kindergartners.

            
Mrs. Bernard also went over the standardized tests scores from last school year, and how we can improve as a school this year. 

There was a power point with flow charts, pie charts, and bar graphs explaining student achievement and the next steps to help students achieve higher.

            
I kept thinking about all the parents I could have been meeting with, and the lessons I could have been preparing for the first day of school. 

Flow charts are not going to help me get any of that done.

            
Tomorrow I'll have the entire day to conduct my parent meetings. I have ten parents scheduled. Let's hope all ten show up.

Interview With A Kindergarten Teacher

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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a former teacher named, Anne. Anne has a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master's Degree in Education.

She taught for 25 years. My conversation with Anne was informative and shed light on the experiences many teachers go through everyday.

Although only in her late forties, Anne has left the teaching profession for good. She currently works in a supermarket and is quite content to keep doing so.

1. Why did you become a teacher?

I've always enjoyed working with young children. It seemed natural for me to pursue a career, where I could use my talents to educate them.

Also, when I finally decided to go to school to become a teacher, my daughter was just a baby.

I wanted a job where I could spend the most time with her. Since public school teachers get the summers off, I knew that was the best option for me.

2. What grade did you teach?

I taught Kindergarten.

3. What was your favorite thing about teaching?

            
When I first started, I loved the creativity Early Childhood Education allowed. It was so much fun designing lessons and watching the children learn from them.

4. You said, "When you first started". What changed after you started?

            
Everything. Play was taken out of the Kindergarten classroom and replaced with the more standard instruction you find in the upper grades.

Naps were eliminated from the full-day program. Young children get tired and need to rest during the day. It helps them reorganize their brains and process what they've learned.

            
The amount of paperwork I was required to complete grew worse every year. I found some of the student expectations outrageous.

Some Kindergartners just aren't ready to start reading and writing, especially if they've never been to school before.

Often, when these particular students don't accomplish these goals, the teacher is penalized. 

It doesn't matter that the students have made progress in accordance with their own development, or that there aren't enough resources to support them. 

If it's not measurable on a report card the district will hold the teacher accountable. 

5. What was your least favorite thing about teaching?

            
The lack of support I received when students in my classroom acted out.

6. Can you elaborate on the behaviors you mentioned?

            
Some of the children would get very violent, throwing chairs at other students or me. Sometimes they would run out of the classroom or leave the school building. 
One year my entire classroom had been remodeled.
Within six weeks of school starting, the classroom was ruined. 

Many of the students had written on the floors, walls, tables and chairs. They had poked holes in the library furniture, torn up a lot of the books, and stolen a fair amount of the math manipulatives I had on the shelves.

7. Why didn't you receive the support you needed?

            
Lack of funding. The monetary cuts made to the public schools have caused a lot of these behaviors to flourish. 

There just aren't enough personnel anymore to deal with the overcrowding in classrooms and the social/emotional needs of many students.

8. Can you think of any solutions to solve this problem?

            
Yes. Politicians need to let teachers teach. They also need to stop attacking teacher unions and value the teaching profession.

Did you know that teaching is one of the only professions, where furthering your education has little benefits? 

When I earned my Master's Degree I didn't get a raise like professionals in other careers do.

            
We also need to focus our resources on the mental health of our students. Many children have experienced horrible trauma that needs to be addressed. 

If we could pursue mental health in the schools with as much vigor as literacy and math we may be able to cut down on school violence.

9. That sounds like a daunting task. How would we even begin to accomplish such a goal?

            
Well it won't be easy, but if we all worked together, I really believe we could do it. I once suggested to my principal, that we should partner up with college students who were going to school to become psychotherapists.

There has to be a way to allow college students to complete their internships by working with school age children.

10. Do you have any you suggestions for new teachers just starting out?

            
Don't teach to the standardized test; teach to the students.

Be an advocate for your students.

Document everything. You never know when an incident may turn against you. If you have a paper trail, you have leverage and protection.

I would like to thank Anne for her time and insight. I hope this interview helps people understand the challenges public school teachers and their students face everyday. 

In order to change the state of public education in our country, we must listen to those people on the frontlines, the teachers.     

What are your thoughts on how to address mental health problems with students?

Diary Of A First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 6th Entry

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Wednesday, September 3

Dear Diary,

I was exhausted the entire day. After all the nonsense yesterday, I had trouble settling down enough to sleep last night. 

When I finally did doze off, it was time to get up. 

Typical.

            
I spent part of the morning in my classroom scheduling parent conferences and the afternoon in meetings with the staff at Adams Elementary. 

Yes, I finally got my class list, but as per usual, there's a slight snag.
          
Only 18 out of 30 students were listed, which delays scheduling parents and labeling cubbies, journals, folders, etc. I hope that I'll have a full list by the end of the week. 

Mrs. Staltz said that's highly unlikely. We may have most of our students registered by then, but it may take a few weeks to get a full class.

            
After thinking about it I realized beginning with a partial class might actually be a good thing. A small class size is always best, especially with the little ones. 

I'll be able to teach this smaller group of students the class rules without an abundance of distractions, and they in turn can help me teach the new arrivals.

            
I also met one of my classroom aides this morning. Her name is Miss Mary, and she and another woman named Miss Betty, will alternate their time in my classroom on a bi-weekly basis, for an hour-and-a-half each day. 

45 minutes in the morning during the phonics block and another 45 minutes in the afternoon. I hope to do the Learning Centers during their afternoon slot. It's much easier to monitor centers with two adults in the room.

            
Miss Mary is kind and open to new things. She has been a Kindergarten aide for fifteen years. That is awesome.
         
She thinks the Learning Centers are a great idea and never understood why they took play out of Kindergarten in the first place. 

She seems very knowledgeable about how a Kindergarten class should run.

I will definitely utilize her knowledge, especially since I don't think I'll be receiving much support from my grade partner. 

Mrs. Staltz told me to ask her for help whenever I needed it, but I get the feeling she doesn't want to be bothered.

            
When I asked her for a copy of the information I missed yesterday at the phonics training, she made me one without complaint, but I it seemed that she just wanted to be left alone. 

She kept saying she had a thousand things to do before our meetings started.
         
In spite of her protestations, I also asked her for the email address for the woman in charge of sending out emails to the Kindergarten teachers. 

She was nice enough to give me that, too.  

            
I spent the remainder of the day in meetings.
        
During the first session, Mrs. Bernard welcomed us to a new school year and spoke about the promise of a fresh start for our students. 

She explained her arrival and dismissal expectations for the year, as well as deadlines for lesson plans, lunch schedules and routines, and other general housekeeping information.
         
The second session was about the needs of Second Language Learners and students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

We also spent time signing up for school committees and had our lunch break.

            
At the end of the day, I was given a few reams of copy paper with the promise of more to come. Apparently, the Phonics program requires a lot of worksheets to be completed by the students. 

I think that's ridiculous. Where's the fun in doing gobs of worksheets in Kindergarten? Quality over quantity, I say.
        
Mrs. Staltz got a larger amount of copy paper than I. I learned shortly after why this was so. 

As the grade group leader, she is in charge of deciding what homework the Kindergartners receive each week as well as making the appropriate copies.
       
I was also informed that we will alternate doing a math and literacy lesson plan each week, according to a format designed by her, and approved of by Mrs. Bernard; that I am responsible for purchasing sand and containers for the Phonics program; and that I must focus on journals for my Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP) this year.

            
I told Mrs. Staltz I thought that I could choose what I wanted to work on for my TIP. 

I was hoping to work on a behavior program I had learned about while I was in Head Start. It's supposed to be very beneficial in helping students make good decisions.
        
Mrs. Staltz said I could do whatever I wanted but Mrs. Bernard preferred that Kindergarten and First Grade focus on journals. 

Since everyone else has agreed to journals, I consented to do it also. I don't want to draw negative attention to myself my first year here.   

             

Diary of a First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 5th Entry

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Tuesday, September 2

Dear Diary,

What a waste of a day!! All I have to say is, thank goodness I went in last week and got my room set up. 

I decided to go to work on time today rather than my usual 45 minutes early. Big mistake!

When I arrived at Adams Elementary this morning, Mrs. Staltz's door was closed and the lights were off. I thought this was odd so I asked the custodian, Mr. Jim, where she was.

Apparently, all of the Kindergarten teachers in the district had a professional development today at another school and I wasn't informed. 

How did Mr. Jim know about this Kindergarten training and I didn't? I felt like a fool.
         
I double and triple checked my school district email for the notification. I never received it. I could feel my blood pressure starting to rise. 

My first formal Kindergarten training and I was going to be late for it. And not just a little late, over an hour late. 

I hate being late for important meetings. I hate looking incompetent. This wouldn't be happening if I hadn't been forced out of Pre-K Head Start!!!!!!

            
I went to the office to inform Mrs. Bernard that I hadn't received the email regarding the training. If I don't show up at my designated school for the day I could be marked absent.
      
She wasn't in the office. I asked Ms. Monroe, the secretary, if she knew where the training was being held and what it was for. 

She didn't but was kind enough to contact Mrs. Staltz, who said it was downtown at Carver Elementary, which was about 30 minutes away from Adams.
        
The training was for a new phonics program and a coinciding assessment that Kindergarten will be using this school year. 

Great, just great!! 

Not only was I being thrown into a brand new grade without any idea of the curriculum, now I was going to be late for a relevant training. My blood pressure rose even more. 

            
I drove to Carver Elementary as fast as I could. When I pulled onto the small street where Carver was located there was absolutely no parking anywhere.

The tiny school parking lot was crammed full with cars, and all along the street more cars were wedged into spots so tightly I honestly don't know how their drivers got them out. 

I drove through the surrounding streets for a half hour to see if I could find an open spot somewhere. Of course I couldn't. GRRR!

            
Frustrated, I called Adams and explained the situation to Ms. Monroe, who in turn relayed the information to Mrs. Bernard, who had arrived to work shortly after I'd left. They told me to return to Adams.

           
Upon my return to Adams at 11:30, I hoped to receive my class list so that I could at least start scheduling parent conferences, but the list was still unavailable. 

Mrs. Bernard seemed displeased that I hadn't received the email about the phonics training, stating that was most unusual for something like that to happen.
         
As far as she knew, every Kindergarten teacher was on the mass email sent out by the district. 

She also informed me that it was my responsibility to make up for the missed training. When I asked her how I was supposed to do that she told me to call the district's main office.

            
By this time I was dizzy with anger. I had run around all morning like a chicken without a head only to be made to feel like I was somehow at fault for the mishap. 

I retreated to my room and spent the next two hours trying to contact someone at the main office about a make-up training, but no one answered the phone.

           
I'm trying to stay positive about teaching a grade I've never taught before, but I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed. 

In Pre-K new teachers were given an orientation to the program, so they would at least know the basics of what was expected of them. Kindergarten doesn't do that. 

           
I stayed until 6:00 trying to make up for the time I lost, driving and making pointless phone calls. 

I was able to finish decorating my boards, sharpen the pencils I bought, and get my Large Group area set up with the supplies I'll need on a daily basis: pointers, markers, CDs and stuff like that.

            
Let's hope tomorrow is better than today.  

Diary Of A First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 4th Entry

Thursday, August 27

Dear Diary,

Despite all of my protesting, I went to work today. I know. I know. I should have stayed home and sucked up my last bit of summer vacation, but I'm glad I went. 

I got the boards decorated; I hung the center signs, and filled up the centers with most of their supplies.

I've decided on the following learning centers:

* library

* writing center

* dramatic play

* math center

* science center

* puzzles/manipulatives

* sensory center

* block center

After 13 years of teaching Pre-K Head Start and a little shopping this year, I have more than enough supplies for students to play with in learning centers. 

I've also outlined the learning directives for play in these centers.
       
Overall, students will develop their interpersonal language skills while learning to negotiate, compromise, share, and problem solve. 

This will in turn foster growth in reading, writing and verbal communication. Most of all, they will have fun while their learning! 

            
I didn't get out of the building until 6:00 but I accomplished enough that I WILL stay home tomorrow. 

A nice four-day weekend before my official start date sounds wonderful. On Tuesday I should have a partial class list to begin scheduling parent interviews.

            
On a side note, my grade partner Mrs. Staltz, doesn't seem too keen on collaborating with me. 

I don't know if it's because I said that I like to teach thematically or not. She and the previous K teacher lesson planned together every week.

I'm disappointed. Part of the reason I was excited to start at Adams Elementary was due to the collaboration between grade partners. 

I love to exchange ideas with other teachers and learn new things. Oh well, maybe she'll change her mind.

Diary of a First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 3rd Entry

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Wednesday, August 26

Dear Diary,

I accomplished most of the stuff on my list! It took me most of the morning but by lunchtime I had a large trashcan and 30+ chairs in my classroom. 

Now there will be enough chairs for the students to sit at their assigned tables as well as extras for the Writing Center, Computer Center, and Dramatic Play. 

YAY!

I also set up the basic layout of the classroom placing the tables, chairs, large group area, and shelves in formation. 

After that, I wiped down all the furniture that I had commandeered. Of course everything was filthy, but the room is starting to look like a real classroom.

I spent the afternoon trying to organize my file cabinet and my desk. Another set of arduous and unpleasant tasks. 

Ms. Slate, the teacher who had the classroom before me must have been bitter when she retired because the disregard for school property is apparent. The incredible amount of trash she left behind is a perfect example.

To my dismay, I discovered that my desk drawers were filled with mouse droppings, my file cabinet was filled with junk: a ton of broken crayon pieces, dried up markers, stacks of papers, and other miscellaneous items that needed to be tossed.

I did find a file with Kindergarten welcome letters and ocean-themed activities that might be helpful. One collection of papers that I was surprised to find were pink slips. 

I didn't know you were able to write kindergartners up for misbehaving. It seems a little harsh to write a pink slip for a child that is so young. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it.

There may be more treasures hidden in those metal drawers, but it would take hours to sort through the mounds of jumbled papers crammed into them. I can't waste anymore time on that.

Right before 3:00 I had a short meeting with the principal, Mrs. Antoinette Bernard. 

She's a blondish woman middle-aged woman with a beaky nose and close-set eyes that scrutinize everything. Her office is well-kept and larger than I thought it would be.

I had heard rumors that she'd grown up as an army brat and ran her school in a similar militaristic style. 

She red-lines staff if they're one minute late, she expects lesson plans to be submitted on time to her exact specifications, and she's as blunt as they come, often embarrassing teachers in front of co-workers and parents. 

I haven't experienced or witnessed any of these behaviors, so I'm trying to keep an open mind.

I knocked on Mrs. Bernard's office door and was promptly told to enter. 

It was much larger and airier than I had expected, almost refreshing after trooping through the dingy, narrow halls to get there.

The entire building needs a fresh coat of paint, minus Mrs. Bernard's office, which is a vibrant shade of peach with bright white molding.

Her U-shaped desk was the immediate focal point, a brand new laptop and phone sat neatly on the glass-topped surface. 

A collection of frames, artfully arranged on one wall, held diplomas and certificates indicating her impressive credentials.

A Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, a Master's in Education with a concentration in school administration and other various educational certifications that confirmed she belonged in the position of school principal.

A large rectangular window hung with lace curtains overlooked a sparse patch of brittle grass and the street beyond. 

I watched the cars zipping by as I sat in one of the leather seats facing Mrs. Bernard's desk while she finished skimming over a file of papers.

 "I hope you're settling in nicely," she said closing the file.

            
"I am, thank you."

"So what brings you to my office today?"

"I was wondering if you could spare any extra computers for my classroom."

             
Mrs. Bernard smiled. "I can actually. As soon as the shipment arrives, Kindergarten will be receiving two brand new desktops per classroom."

            
An unexpected bonus. "Wow. Thank you."

            
"The shipment may take a few weeks to arrive however."

            
Crap. I knew there would be a catch. A few weeks could end up being a few months with this district.
             
"That's fine," I replied, hiding my disappointment.

From what I had observed, my grade group partner and the first and second grades already had two desktops in their computer centers. 

I wondered what had happened to my classroom's computers. 
             
"It's just nice to know that my students will have access to them. I was also wondering when we would get our class lists. I'd like to start scheduling parent interviews."

            
"The lists won't be complete until next week. We're still registering students. There's always a mad rush the last week of August and the first week of September."

            
Double-crap. I'd wanted to send home letters introducing myself to the children and their parents before they came for the interviews next Thursday. 

How would there be time to schedule and complete them all before the children started school?

            
"Thank you, Mrs. Bernard."

            
Disheartened, I left her office, my mind struggling to come up with a game plan for scheduling the parent interviews that were destined to flow over into the first day of school. 

If parents don't meet with me before their children start school they're not going to know me, my classroom policies, the supplies they'll need, or where to drop off or pick up their children in the schoolyard.

Great, just great!

            
In Head Start there were often delays getting a complete list, but there were only 19 children per classroom and a full-time teaching assistant to help set up the classroom if I got caught up in parent interviews. 

What would have happened if I hadn't come in a whole week early to start setting up?

            
I've wasted three days on tasks that I hadn't anticipated doing.    

            
Tomorrow I want to start decorating the boards. After I left work, I picked up borders for the boards, tags for labeling the cubbies, and nameplates for the tables. 

I'd like to be frugal and just make some of this stuff, but since I'm doing a lot of heavy duty cleaning, I need to get some things done quickly.

I'm exhausted! I'm sore! I'm aggravated and the school year hasn't even started. Maybe I should stay home tomorrow and relax.

What are your thoughts on teachers getting preliminary class lists?

           

Diary Of A First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 2nd Entry

 

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This is a fiction story about an inner-city school teacher's experiences. As a former public school teacher, I feel it's important for people to know what teachers and students go through on a daily basis.

Here is my interpretation:

Tuesday, August 25

Dear Diary,

What a day! I spent the morning sorting all of the leveled reading books I discovered yesterday. It took four hours!

It was a real hassle but as I worked I familiarized myself with the books and their sequential progression. 

Since I've never taught a guided reading lesson before, I thought it was important for me to do this. 

I also found a teacher reference manual on guided reading that I'll read later at home.

There's one good thing about having all of these books, I shouldn't have to hunt down easy readers for guided reading.

I've made a list of things I need to do after I leave today and when I arrive tomorrow:

*buy my own classroom broom, dust pan, and brush (I borrowed my grade partners and the school doesn't have any extra on hand to give me. Typical.)

*buy a radio (An early childhood classroom must have music. I like to play classical music when the children arrive and quiet music to help them settle down. Little people need to move their bodies and I have the best CDs for that.)

*find more chairs for students (there are 30 students in a Kindergarten class and I only have 24 chairs)

*set up the furniture in the classroom

*organize my file cabinet (I peeked inside it today. What a mess!)

*find a large trashcan

*wipe down the chairs, the tables, the shelves, my desk...

*ask about computers for the room (My grade partner has two.)

I left early today. I am still on summer vacation and after the discussion I had with my grade partner about Kindergarten students not being able to play in learning centers, I was spent. 

I am a big proponent of play.

I did a thesis on it when I got my Master's Degree. Play is the cornerstone of my teaching philosophy. 

It's how I design my lessons. It's essential for successful learning among young children.

I knew that Kindergartners were expected to conform to more traditional instruction, but I thought they still had a chance to play in centers. 

Over the years when I took my Pre-K students to visit a Kindergarten class, I saw toys in the rooms.

My daughter's Kindergarten class had a Dramatic Play center and a wall of shelves full of containers filled with puzzles and manipulatives.   

There is a loop hole in all of this. The principal (a 38-year old woman that no one seems to like) doesn't visit the Kindergarten very often, the middle-school students keep her busy, and she's pregnant with her first child. 

With all of this going on, I just might be able to squeeze in a little play time. 

Please comment below on your opinion of play in kindergarten.