Off Hours
What does this kindergarten teacher do in her “off hours?”
She attends military formals with her Sergeant Major husband, of course!
"T" is for Tools, "T" is for Technology
Larry Felazzo’s post at “In Practice” does a good job of reassuring me that experiential, cultural and behavioral diversities exist everywhere, and that standardizing the use of technology is probably an impossible task. It’s one that finds me torn between several ideologies when dealing with the responsibility of preparing my kindergarten students for their future school and learning adventures.
My students come to my classroom with vastly different prior schema. Some are used to all sorts of learning tools, Leap Pad, computers, cameras, dvr/dvd machines, mp3 players, calculators, etc., some have only seen PC’s and are surprised to find Macs as a learning center in my room, and still others don’t have a computer in their home, much less a dvd player.
While kindergarten tends to be left out of the heavy debates regarding curriculum on inservice days, I’m still responsible for getting all of my students groomed for the first grade. When one first grade teacher is having students author short stories and use educational resources online while the other teacher merely sees computer use as a reward (and gives out “reward time” very sparingly) most of what I’ve tried to do gets undone before my students ever make it to the second or third grades. With each successive grade, the use of technology in education grows exponentially. Finding teachers themselves all falling within very disparate comfort levels when it comes to the technology that may be available to them and their students, I often find myself trying to anticipate other teachers’ shortcomings when setting up learning centers/experiences for five and six year olds. “If **I** can give them the exposure, maybe my students won’t be impacted too terribly while they tread water in the next grade.” It’s a horrible thought.
My classroom is for exposure, exposure, exposure, and exploration/development, exploration/development, exploration/development. So no matter the prior schema, all students can start where they need to, and go where their interests lead them. They receive gentle prodding when necessary by me, but are usually motivated to explore with their friends. I still use the overhead projector, modeling use of math tiles, coins, base ten blocks, Judy clocks, etc., but also give my students overhead transparency sheets for their artwork, so when bulletin board space doesn’t allow, we can put temporary displays up and the kids feel like they are in an art gallery, their masterpieces filling the walls, larger than life!
My students use calculators, headphones and dvd players, my iMacs, and printers. Microscopes, hand lenses, thermometers, microwaves, and a tabletop laminator are used by students with extra supervision. Cash registers and “dead” phones in dramatic play, hammers and screwdrivers for creative and LOUD constructions, and musical instruments round out centers filled with paints/puzzles/puppets/ and clay in my room. There aren’t many first grade classrooms that carry over learning centers like these.
I understand that the older children get, the more their “exposure” occurs thanks to being able to speak and read. And I’ve met some teachers who believe “Why experience it when you can read about it?” With all of the curriculum that needs to be covered and tested each year, teachers need to find ways to show students concepts in a timely manner. But when students find topics of interest and don’t have the time and resources to continue to explore, learn about and experience them because teachers are reluctant to stretch their own horizons, how can we feel we are truly doing our jobs? I personally don’t feel the need to be “up” on every new trend or fashion that comes out of our human expression, but I do believe that students should know HOW and WHERE to safely explore their interests, utilizing all resources available, and technology is at the heart of them.
I’ve realized that technology isn’t a passing fad or trend, but an essential element to how we live, learn and share. If we want our diverse students to communicate, demonstrate knowledge, explore concepts and curiosities, and navigate the world as safely as possible, then we as teachers must diversify our knowledge base enough to offer our students the tools they may or may not want, choose, or be required to use, be they overhead projectors, dvd players, computers, or whatever technological innovation is waiting around the next corner.
GETTING those tools of course, is another matter.
My Most Recent Three…
With a toddler running loose, time is of course, limited. Losing a toenail twenty-four hours ago (how I, a woman who has birthed three children, can be couch-ridden and crying over a TOENAIL is beyond me) has limited my mobility more than I expected it would. Yes, it was the BIG toenail. No, there is no glorious story behind the injury. Suffice it to say that the construction of military housing here on post includes purchases of less-than-good-quality doors, door jambs, and sliding door tracks. My reaction to the injury did cause my toddler to pause in his planning for world domination just long enough to ask “‘kay Mommy? ‘Kay?” Knowing my youngest child is capable of sympathy has indeed softened the throb coming from my ghost nail.
With abbreviated time and mobility in mind, here are my “most recent three:”
Movies seen:
Theater: “Resident Evil, Extinction.” On date nights with my husband, we like GORE. Not surprisingly, the movie was full of it. Not the best effects. Not the best story line. Would have loved to have seen some Alaska footage though!
Home DVD purchase: “Wild Hogs.” A purchase for my Harley Tech’s last birthday, a la midlife crisis, and I have to say, thank goodness the kids and I got him a Seiko for his promotion because we OWED HIM BIG TIME after that movie flop!
Movie discovered after channel surfing: “Stranger than Fiction.” Starring Emma Thompson, Will Ferrell, and Dustin Hoffman. The only movie I’ve ever liked Will Ferrell in was “Curious George” and that’s only because he was animated and not having to perform guy-humor schtick. This is a movie I’ll be buying, for future slow Sundays, when I’m wearing jammies, the kids are sleeping in, the house is quiet, and I’m baking bread.
Web Discoveries:
Faking Good Breeding is a fun site for women who enjoy the girlie-girl things like cosmetics, fashion, and eating out! Her rant about mascara (I disagree with her, I LOVE Great Lash!) had me rolling, and appreciative that someone out there was playing with affordable girlie *FUN* and giving us the inside scoop!
A Rethinking Schools Online article that plays the devil’s advocate to Ruby Payne’s work regarding socioeconomic equality in education (wow, a little heavy after the girlie-girl stuff eh?).
And the hairstyle I’d like, sans roses, for this Friday’s Sergeant Majors’ Ball. I suppose I should be more concerned with my choice of footwear than hairstyles at this point…
Formal dress choices:
(What’s your vote?)
And finally, the three most recent funnies I’ve received via email:
Numero uno: Mom Quotes on YouTube
Numero dos: Alaskan Wives:
Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives household chores.
The first man had married a woman from Indiana and had told her that she was going to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple days, but on the third day he came home to a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man had married a woman from Michigan. He had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. The first day he didn’t see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, his could see that his house was clean, the dishes were done, and there was a huge dinner on the table.
The third man had married a girl from Alaska . He told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn’t see anything, the second day he didn’t see anything, but by the third day some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, just enough to fix himself a bite to eat and load the dishwasher.
Numero tres: Halloween School Joke:
What do dunce ghosts wear on Test Day?
Cheat Sheets.
I’m off to my closet, hobble hobble hobble… to find some open-toed shoes!
Happy Wednesday!
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