I’m so inspired by what people share on Twitter and post on Instagram. The photographs and videos that educators shared over the summer and into these first couple of days of school are amazing. It’s incredible what people are doing in the classroom, even with our youngest learners. But here’s where I’m struggling, as what happens when the images we see, don’t represent our current reality?
Over the past couple of days, my partner and I have already made many changes. I know that it’s early. I know that students need time to adjust. These were necessary changes though to create an environment where the students can learn the most and support each other in this learning.
- We needed to put a lot away.
- We needed to reconsider our layout.
- We needed to rethink provocations.
- We needed to look at how to build schema for our students.
- We needed to look at how to scaffold playing to support student learning.
Today was better than yesterday. And today, as we watched the students play, interact, and work independently, we’ve discussed more changes for tomorrow. But tonight, I look online at incredible provocations — numerous ones that helped us with creating our own — and I feel kind of sad. Why didn’t our students respond to our many open-ended invitations? What are we missing?
We’re not giving up yet. Maybe our ideal just takes time, and hopefully with making the changes that we have now, we can get to where we want/hope/plan to be. This whole experience though has made me do a lot of thinking about social media. I share a lot. I tweet photographs, videos, and podcasts from our classroom all day long to give parents a look into our room and to engage with others about teaching and learning. I love the connections and new ideas that have stemmed from this sharing. But as I look back and think about these past couple of days, I wonder, how do others view this sharing? Can sharing both “encourage” and “discourage” at the same time? I know that I’ll continue to share, for all of the benefits in doing so, but I’m also determined to share more of my “messy learning.” For as I’ve realized this week, nobody wants to feel alone, and we all make mistakes.
Aviva
Hi Aviva,
Thank you for sharing your sharing conundrum! I’ve been in FDK for 3 years and during my first year, I would wonder all the time – how come the kids aren’t sticking with this inquiry? Why do we co-construct a drama centre, only for it to be changed 3 days later? Why are “these kids” more curious and ask more questions? My teaching partner, and our ECEs realized that scaffolding was the only thing that helped our kids to be more curious and to ask questions. It took almost 5 months before we got a true, deep full 3 week (or longer) inquiry going on snow. And it was 5 months of scaffolding and hand holding before our kids (and us) really got into it. Now, year 2 with the same kids (JKs now SKs) was so much easier – because they had a year of exposure in an inquiry based environment. Stay calm, keep asking questions, and keep sharing. Your lovelies will come around and they will be there sooner than you think!! Thanks for writing this tremendous blog as well. It’s always a thought-provoking read.
Thank you so much, Pam! It’s amazing how your comment makes me feel so much better. I wonder why we don’t share more of these experiences. As somebody that’s new to Full-Day Kindergarten, I think that I would have started differently knowing what I know now (and even based on what you shared here). I wonder how many others feel the same way. This year, we’re teaching a straight SK class, so maybe we even thought that this would change the learning experience. The scaffolding seems to be working though, and we’ll continue to scaffold. Hopefully, in time, we’ll experience the same types of successes that you mentioned. I hope that others share their stories. I don’t think any of us want to feel alone.
Aviva
I remember the first few weeks of school with the kinders from 8:30 am to 3:10pm. (Kinders met in the room & dismissal from the room, not outside with the rest of the school until kinders were comfortable with the transition.) I wondered would they get “it” = routines, expectations, self regulation, LIFE. And what am I doing wrong? Until I decided it was part and parcel of the first few weeks old school! For me anyway. Sharing the triumphs and mishaps makes us all human. Thanks for your honesty in trying to figure it out.
Thanks for the comment, Faige! I know that “time” is definitely a factor, but some teachers, have had as much time in the classroom as us, but seem further along. In my head, I know that we can’t compare. Students and circumstances are different. But why does this seem hard to do? Maybe we all want to have the success that others seem to have, and it’s hard, when our “success” looks different. I wonder what others think.
Aviva
Hi Aviva,
Keep sharing–I know fellow staff members at the Meadow who read your blog regularly and use your many questions to reflect on their practice…. they do appreciate your writing.
Stay positive–teachers work hard, you work hard. We try our best to make a difference everyday, some days will be better than others but we need to keep learning. Improvements in our classes will happen.
Enjoy your class. Stay strong.
David
Thanks for the comment, David! It’s funny that you mentioned “positivity,” as I was thinking about this as I proofread this post last night. I wondered if I was being positive enough, as I shared my “sad” feelings, and not just my “happy” ones. That’s when I thought of the movie INSIDE OUT. Maybe it’s okay to share these sad feelings, knowing that the positivity comes from NOT giving up. I will continue to go back, refine, and try again.
Thanks for the pep talk, David! I needed it!
Aviva