Earlier this month, I was at our admin retreat and we were talking about how we can stay true to what we understand and believe are good educational practices. I brought up the difficulty of describing a play-based program for young children in a way that would not turn away those parents who want their children to be “learning something.” In my summer reading, I had come across the term guided play and was wondering if this might be a better way to talk about what teachers and children are doing in the classroom. Then someone mentioned a story they had heard on the radio citing research that indicated a good kindergarten experience could result in a higher earning potential. What she had heard was this – children who had great kindergarten teachers ended up making more money than those who had less than great teachers. Wow – talk about pressure. I was very interested in this idea so of course I launched an internet search and I found this article (which had been sent to me but left unread). I will leave it to you to decided who is spinning what but it does make me think about how we use words. As I am getting ready for our back to school parent meetings, I am contemplating what words to use and how to use them. The last thing I want is to get caught up in the spin.
Slicing up a spin
August 31, 2010 by Juliann
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That is a really fascinating article about the importance of kindergarten teachers. I hope you are able to find the right words for your back to school parent meetings!
The words we choose have a power we don’t even realize sometimes. That is why I re-read Choice Words every year to try and work on being more mindful about the words I choose in the classroom.
Your writing made a conncection for me. I was thinking about the term “invented spelling” and how that term gave the process of approximating spelling patterns a bad rap. Once teachers threw away the term, parents seemed to climb onboard with approximations. We don’t do it differently, just give it a different name.
Good luck with your back to school meetings. My nephew just started his kindergarten year, and as my sister was telling me about his first meeting with his teacher and the first days, I important kindergarten teachers are with this important milestone for parents. My sister was getting emotional, but her son’s teacher had just the right words!
Kindergarten makes me shudder. I had the teacher who used her words with us as weapons of control. I still remember her with dread. She was a powerful force, that’s for sure.
Bonnie
I read that article. It’s a good one. Quite frankly, I had the most amazing Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Adams. She was the nicest, most compassionate woman. She was fair. And finally, she taught me how to read. She, and all of the other early childhood teachers like her, deserve a lot more compensation!
I read the article and listened to the author speak on NPR a few weeks ago. It was interesting to hear more about the data that could be teased out from the research – spoke more to the power of good teachers early and consistently than just good K teachers.
And I don’t think it’s just a “spin” – we hear this kind of stuff all the time about the impact of a quality teacher on the ultimate quality of a child’s education.
We just need good teachers and administrators who can find powerful words to explain to families what a good education is all about.