As of today, there are thirty-six days remaining in the year-round calendar of my school. This year has gone by so fast! Already, my students are being tested for the end of the year benchmarks. I still have so much more that I want to teach them, but my time is almost finished and they will have to move on to kindergarten. Most of them have made great progress this year, and will be at the top of their kindergarten class. Those whom have not made as much progress will still do better than others because of their experience in prekindergarten.
At a meeting on Friday with other prekindergarten teachers we learned that four teachers were laid off by the district, and another three were retiring. I have been with the prekindergarten program for 12 years, and now with the retirements, have been teaching prekindergarten with Columbus City Schools longer than any of the other prekindergarten teachers. At the meeting, many complained of not having enough computers to serve their children. One teacher remarked that she has one computer for 20 children. I thought about the six up and running computers I have acquired over time in my classroom and was reminded that sometimes being a pack rat pays off. I have had assistants come and go, many who thought our room was too crowded and if we removed one of the tables with two computers, we'd have room for other things. I always stuck to my guns and insisted that the computers stay. I treat the computers I have with kid gloves because I know, once they die they will not be replaced. If they are replaced, it will surely be with higher powered computers with lousy software. I learned to save everything from my Mom, who learned it from her mom who survived the Great Depression by being a thrifty pack rat. I shall survive the Great Recession by doing the same thing.
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"Pack rat-ism" is for sure an inherited trait. Both my wife and I have it.
ReplyDeleteBudget and staff cuts are demoralizing... it makes one question the priorities of our society.
A good teacher can make use of odds and ends even in the age of technology. You are right to hold on to what you know works.
You mentioned that you have a year round calendar, do your students go year round or did I misunderstand? If you are year round, how does that work? I've often wondered if it helps students to retain information. Many of the kindergarteners at our school who leave for the summer reading at grade level, return reading far below grade level. I'm convinced that year round schooling would help.
ReplyDeleteI love that you have held onto your computers and treat them with kid gloves. So much is changing so fast. It is costly to keep up with the times in the technology department. I think many of us feel that if we only had more we could do more. Keeping what you have and making sure your students are exposed is to be commended. Good for you.
Year round for our school means we return to school around the end of July and work for about 9 weeks and then have a three week break in the fall. We do the same when we return and are out in December/January, and again in the spring. We are actually in school the same number of days as everyone else in the district; it's just that our time is paced differently. I really like it as it makes planning much easier as we break after each grading period. The other nice thing is that we have long enough breaks to leave town in the off season for traveling.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad to report that two of my computers are slowing dying. One monitor has gotten progressively darker and the mouse connection is intermittent at best. It uses the old plug, not the USB. The other computer keeps freezing mid-use and the only way to fix it is to restart, only to have it freeze again less than an hour later. I think I'll look into finding a grant to pay for new computers with the Waterford Early Reading program.