Things had been going great for a while and sadly in the back of my mind I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did and I'm not going to get into it, but I will say, I don't know what happened, but I obviously do nothing right.
Taylor is doing great in Kindergarten. We had a little issue the second week of school and I personally think what they are expecting from these kids is ridiculous. I am so glad that we have worked with Taylor so much and she catches on fast, however I do feel bad for other kids. I'm pretty sure a lot of them will fail or be behind in first grade and it just seems unfair to start your school career like this (left behind.)
We live in a school district that is rated extremely high, but neighboring schools are learning letter recognition and the sounds right now. Our kids are expected to all ready recognize all lowercase and capital letters and know the sounds. Taylor is sounding out words and writing them and has 3 - 5 sight words a week that she has a spelling test over....this is KINDERGARTEN!!! We were told they will be reading by Christmas and I totally believe it by the work load and expectations. I just feel so bad for some of these kids who can't even write their own name. Just as an FYI, our district is still only 1/2 day kindergarten too!
Callee is doing great in preschool. She loves it and her teacher has told me how loving, caring and wonderful she is. She's made a lot of friends and gets mad that she only goes 2 days a week. I'm glad she loves it and is learning because now that I know what Kindergarten in our district is like, she needs the 2 or 3 years of preschool. She wouldn't survive in this district without it really.
Back to Taylor's kindergarten and why I think our district is completely wrong and why I'm considering e-mailing the superintendent. First I need to explain how our district is set up. We are rather large and so we have 2 K - 2 buildings and 2 3 - 5 buildings. Everyone combines in Middle School so it's reintegrating all over again.
Okay, so Taylor brought home a letter last Thursday saying her teacher accepted a 1st grade position at the other k - 2 building and they only posted the job internally and we should know by Tuesday who her new teacher would be. To say I was upset was an understatement. It is the 5th week of school with kids who some of them have never been away from their parents and she's leaving and these kids have to get used to another teacher with another set of rules? Then, on top of that, the job was only posted internally so someone elses kids will be displaced when their teacher leaves? Then what? The cycle continues until everyone moves where they want and they post the job so outsiders and subs get a chance for a full time position?
I can't blame her teacher because she was promised this job at the end of last year and then the teacher decided not to retire. Now that there are "potential cuts to the teachers retirement account" she decides in the 4th week of school she is going to retire? So they offer it again to Taylor's teacher and she accepts again. Why would the school board let this woman decide to retire now and not have her finish out the year? I don't understand this and then to only post these other openings internally?
So we got a letter on Wednesday stating Taylor's teacher is Mrs. xxxxxx and she was a 4th grade intervention teacher in our district. Intervention teachers in our district are the ones who have the kids with severe learning disabilities, Autism, bipolar disorder, etc and you just took their teacher away????? Does this sound right to anyone thinking logically? It doesn't to me and now that teachers position is only posted internally so another class will be displaced. When will this end and when will the school board stand up for our kids and say, "enough is enough?"
I am still irate about the situation and Taylor's teachers last day is today. She gets her new teacher on Monday and I am really hoping for no issues with new rules, etc because that is not fair expectations, in my opinion, of a bunch of 5 or 6 year olds. So tell me your opinion on this or really anything I've written about in this post. I'm really interested to see if I'm in the minority here.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Update
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3 comments:
To be honest, I think that is terribly unfair and I would be upset, too. I hope everything works out!!
I don't think it sounds normal either....I'm in a state where kindergarten standards are too low (because K isn't mandatory) and as a result they start first grade reviewing the letter-names & sounds. We are at the opposite extreme. But I do think it sounds like they are expecting too much. Part of the challenge for K teachers is meeting the needs of children who come in from so many different levels and getting them all ready for first grade.
I hope you get it all worked out.
I completely agree about taking a specialist out of a classroom being a harmful thing. I hope Taylor gets through the transition well. I was amazed when Noah was in kindergarten how much was expected, which is why I held Aaron back this year and put him i young fives. That extra year will ensure that he is ready next year to learn to read. Meanwhile, I purchased some sticky notes and have taught him numerous sight words at home. It will be one more help for him next year.
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