What should we do when school scripted programs needs to be improved?
(I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad)
When I attended elementary school, my parents believed in the school system. They didn’t believe that the school programs could be harmful. When I had a question regarding my homework my mother and father didn’t have the time to find the answer. They told me that I need to pay more attention during my class time and if I had any questions regarding my homework, ask my teacher.
I’m a third generation of American-Filipino here in Hawaii, my Mother graduated from Saint Francis High School. But the problem with me while attending public elementary school, I felt that my teachers didn’t have the time to explain to me (one on one) and I don’t blame them. I just wish that my parents that the time to help me out on my education development.
Eamonn had a mother who was a teacher and had the time to teach him. When his mother had the time to dispute about scripted reading programs to his site council, his teacher, and his school principal. They took the time to hear her out, but when fall came around it didn’t happen. Did his mother given up? “No!” By the time he attended 2nd grade his request from his mother was heard. From his mother: “When Eamonn started 2nd grade, his teacher granted my request the he be allowed to read actual books during reading time, not photocopied nonsense. He has become an avid reader and falls asleep every night with a book in his hand. He prefers reading real books with real stories – the kind you find in the public libraries and bookstores but, increasingly, not in our nation’s elementary classrooms.”
Here’s my question: “What can we do as teachers to help our parents that don’t have the time or just don’t understand school scripted programs?”
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(Strawberry Fields Forever?)
I totally understand were Cirila Ramirez is coming from. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a teacher. When your past experience can help you become a better teacher and have lots of empathy towards your students.
When Cirila parents main priorities were keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table for their children, her mother would say: “The rest will take care of itself and the present is what is important, not what will happen tomorrow or a week from now.” I like how Cirila wanted her students to be proud of where they came from and wanted to help them develop literacy in their own speaking language before they attended kindergarten.
Here’s my question: “How can we as teachers help students from different cultures understand the basic learning concept in their own culture language before attending elementary school?”
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The Junior Meritocracy (Should a child’s fate be sealed by an exam he takes at the age of 4? Why kindergarten-admission tests are worthless, at best.)
I like reading this article by Jennifer Senior. It’s amazing how our children now, in this present time is being pressure to take these kinds of testing. Are we wrong? As parent to put pressure on our children in such an early age just to attend a private school?
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteI see you read the article about testing children in NYC for kindergarten. Here is what I keep wondering about -- In all of the readings (including the New Possibilities text -- which may have expanded your entry), there seems to be this presence of advocacy and activism, is advocacy necessary for children's voices and needs to be heard? Is it okay that we have schools and systems in place which do not advocate for children? Consider each of the readings through these questions -- what might happen in these situations if advocacy was not happening?
Jeanne
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteHow do we educate our parents to find good literature for their children? How do we help parents to promote literacy? When some of our parents do not even read on a daily basis? May be our parent would prefer their children to be a good football player than an avid reader. As a preschool teacher, I find it difficult to recommend our parents what to do when they come home from a long day's work. A busy parent would prioritize making dinner or doing laundry or going to a football practice. Every year I start a lending library in the classroom and I share with my parent the benefits of reading with their children.
Ivy Pang
When school scripted programs need improvement, I think the strongest voices out there are not always ours, but the parents. Most times we, the teachers, have the education and experience to advocate for better curriculum but sadly, our voices are usually not heard. Because of our position where administrators make the decisions for us on curriculum issues, we have a thin line to walk on and risk losing our jobs if we speak up too loudly (to the point that we are not supporting the program we work for). I think as educators working under administrators, we are all forced to do things that we would otherwise do differently or do not feel comfortable doing. When faced with these situations, we have to weigh our options and make the best decision for ourselves, whatever that might be.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunat that there are so many parents who are so busy that they do not have the time to help their children with their homework. There are also children who’s parents cannot understant their child’s homework or simply do not care. In other words, sometimes a teacher cares more about the students education than anyone else. Teachers should realize that not all children will receive help at home and this may cause them to loose out on practice making them further behind. Another thing is that parents can sometimes get frustrated with their child and may not know how to teach them in a way that is appropriate for them. It is not encouraging for parents to become upset when a child does not understand a new concept. We all had to learn what we know now. Something I always thought would be a good idea was to have the children do most if not all of their work at school. If they were allowed to do their work at school they would have the teacher there to help them. Another idea with having them do their work at school is to have their classmates help them. Children often explain things to other children in a way they can better understand because they are at a similar level with eachother.
ReplyDeleteI too want children to be able to feel proud of their culture or any other differences they have. I want children to be able to share their culture with other children. I think the more we know about others the more we accept them. We often reject what is unfamiliar but by becoming informed we can broaden our view of the world. It is very important for children to learn at a young age that we are all different and it is something that we should share and be proud of, not something that should be hidden in shame.
Children are children and they should be allowed to be children. This means not pressuring them into the point where school is all work and no play. Learning should be fun and interactive. The more children are allowed to participate in their learning experience the more they will get out of it. Pushing them to be mini-adults is not right. They deserve a chance to be their age. This does not mean that they are incompetent, it just means there needs to be a balance between work and play. Even if tests must be done there are other ways of noting how much a child knows withough stressing out everyone who is involved, especially the innocent child.
Aloha Gary,
ReplyDeleteAs educators we can sometimes be in a difficult position, especially in the area of parent support or promoting literacy. My question is, what can we do to create a support system for parents who don't have time or don't take the time to read to their children? We may be able to read daily to the children in our care, but we can't necessarily have one on one sessions, unless our program has the resources or staffing to do so.
I agree with you about taking past experiences and turning them into something positive when working with children. My question is, how can we encourage parents to get involved with their children's education or learning? Can we incorporate their culture into our curriculum by having them come into our classrooms as resources?
I like what Cirila did with the children. She developed age appropriate activities and curriculum that helped the children learn about their culture. I also liked the fact that she didn't just look at the here and now, she had a heart to prepare them for the future. I feel that her story can be a great inspiration to many educators.
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeletePrivate school tests and tests in general are unfair for young children. I understand that there needs to be a basis for accepting children into private schools but these tests usually don't take many factors into account. Culture, economic status, and simply being raised in Hawaii make these tests inaccurate. Assesments and test are usually developed for middle-class caucasian children in mind. A few years ago, the federal government created a test for Head Start children. They showed pictures of mittens and snow shovels which my children could not correctly identify. Parents do want the best for their children and sometimes a private school education is what they desire. This requires children being pushed and drilled in academics. How can we as ECE professionals give parents what they want when it goes against what we believe in?