This was the first full day of the new kindergarten schedule. The teachers came into lunch visibly shaken. It is all so wrong. Wrong for the kids, wrong for the families, wrong for the teachers, wrong for our future. We are putting 30 4 and 5 year olds in a class with one adult and expecting them to come out on the other side reading at a level 3, writing a simple story and beginning to add and subtract. It's just not going to happen. And it's all in the name of the almighty dollar. Because the state will continue to fund this system and call it 20 to 1, we say terrific and hold out our hands. But what slips through our fingers is all the possibilities - children who value literacy, who create a classroom community, whose needs can be addressed, and whose first school experience will be the best of their lives. I am so sad for everyone involved and pray that this is a one year event.
But on the positive side, I was greeted by several of my old students today. I guess they finally figured out who that familiar face was that kept walking into their old classroom. They realized why I was smiling and waving at them. They came by my room one after the other. Do you remember me Miss Allen? I discovered a great cover. I say "of course I do," hug them and ask them who their new teacher is. In the meantime I look them dead in the eye and listen oh so carefully to their voice as they respond. And sure enough, the first grade face flashes in front of the 4th/5th grade student standing before me. What an honor, to be a part of this community, to be so loved and respected.
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