Monday, October 1, 2007
What Kindergarteners Should Know Article
I think it is great that the state finally came out with standards for kindergarten. It had to be a lot more work for kindergarten teachers to try and piece together what the students need between the preschool and first grade standards. This will make it much easier for them. It is also good that they came out with a guide to help explain how to teach each of the skills within the standards. I disagree with the people think the standards are restrictive. I think it is important to have a guide for what to teach, and just because these skills have to be taught, that doesn't mean that other skills cannot be embedded in to the lessons.
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8 comments:
I agree with your opinion. I also think that it is a good thing to have standards because then teachers know what is being expected of them to teach. However, on the other hand, I can also see how teachers may not like them. If they have been teaching certain things for years and then have to adapt what they have been teaching, it might be more of a burden than a positive thing.
I definitely agree that this is a big help to most future teachers; Every other grade, even preschool, has standards they should teach, why leave Kindergarten out? I also agree that the standards aren't really restrictive, though I can see how they could be seen as such. Also, in one way I guess its restrictive: If you plan to teach all the standards as advised, well that list is rather long and it may not leave a lot of room for other ideas/concepts the teacher wants to teach. However I feel its the teachers job to integrate the standards into play, so why can't they also integrate any other concepts they want to teach and 'kill two birds with one stone'? It'll just take some thought and planning.
Amy,
I also agree with how important it is to have a guide for teachers. It definitley makes teaching easier. I also think that it will help give basic guidelines so that kindergarten teachers know exactly what the children should and shouldnt be learning. However I also think that it may be kind of difficult to put together just one guide that says what all kindergarten students should know because all children are different and therefore I don't see how there could be one book that applies to all. However, I do think that the guide would be extremely helpful!
I think that teachers are going to be able to develop better planning techniques because of these new standards. Teachers have to be organized and plan successfully so that kindergarteners will be able to learn everything that is expected out of them. I think by giving teachers set standards, they will have an easier time covering all of the material even though it requires more work. I also agree with embedding different skills in to each lesson. Teachers are given set standards but it is up to them as to how they teach them and what they add to the different areas in order to teach every child.
Your blog brings up a couple good points about why the standards are a good thing. If you really thought about it, could you come up with a reason why they aren't so good? It is good that there is a guide and training for the teachers to learn the standards. I can see how though some people would think it might hinder their creativity or might take away more of their time. I think though the standards are a step in the right direction.
Amiee,
I think that you have made some really good points when it comes to your beliefs on standards within Kindergarten classrooms. To begin with, I liked how you made the point when you said that standards help the teacher out when it comes to knowing what the kids need to have learned by first grade since there are now standards in preschool and first grade, but I also personally think that the standards are too restrictive. I think that their needs to be guidelines, but I believe that teachers should have more freedom when it comes to how they teach the children, as well as, what they think is important for the children to learn. Also, I think that such strict standards cause many students to be left behind because the teacher has a certain amount that the students must learn and if it is taking certain students too long to understand a particular area, the teacher must go on in order to stay on task to what the government says must be completed. Overall, I think you have made some good points, but I think we still have a long way to perfecting what a good public education should consist of.
Amy,
Although I see what you are saying and agree mainly with the opposite side, there is still a part of me that agrees with you. As a teacher I need to be reminded of things that students need to know, especially to succeed in their future education. I think it would be a very useful tool and many teachers would benefit from it. With that said, I think that such guidelines and benchmarks would limit teachers as to what they can teach, what they can not teach, and how creative they can be with their teaching. I also think that with such restrictions it will be harder to manipulate activities and lessons for children with exceptional needs. We have to remember that each individual child is different and every child is at a different level than the others. Because of this we can have ideas and goals as to what needs to be taught, but some students may need more time with a subject and because of these limitations for the students, it is hard to abide by every specific thing the state wants to happen. It gives teachers no time to teach something that they feel strongly about, for example one teacher may want to teach a week on how to believe in yourself and to never give up, while another would want to focus on respect etc. but since they have such strict guidelines, I think it would be hard to fit in those small but important lessons to teach to children. I agree but disagree. I do not think that you are wrong in any way and I completely understand where you are coming from, and I want and need guidelines but again I think a 90 page manual is a little too much, too strict and not enough free time.
-Kaitlyn Imbus
I think that there should be standards but they should allow some room for teachers to add in their own creativity and a chance to explore in some subjects. I think that this change may be hard for previous teachers to adjust to if they are already set in their own ways. In addition, if there are too many standards it may be hard to fit all of these into one school year if a teacher is also trying to incorporate things of their own such as seasonal activities. I am on the opposite side and agree with the other people, but i feel that you make some great points!
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