Tending the Eclectic Kinder-Garden

I’ve caught myself in a state of self-reflection again, this time in regard to my presence out here on the web.

I’ve read the newest issue of Artful Blogging. For months now I’ve been enjoying my morning ritual of parking myself and my coffee in front of the computer to scroll through NetNewsWire. I’ve noticed the monthly blogging/commenting challenges that have popped up all over Blogsville this past week, and have wondered if I should join in or just keep my blogging activities to myself and my readers. I’m still confused as to why some of my subscriptions load reliably almost every day, while others get stockpiled in blog limbo and then flood my feed in one fell swoop after a month or so. It reminds me of my cell phone service here in the Bordertown. I miss calls, and messages get held for days, weeks sometimes, before hitting voicemail. Message after message, the callers’ tones seem to get testy, because they* JUST KNOW* I’m ignoring them and not returning their calls.

There goes that blind trust and over-reliance on technology again. Don’t trust the phone company or advances in voicemail technology, trust ME.

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From what I could gather during my job interview over the phone with my new employer (I’ll be back in Oz, this time at District #2), I’ll be working with a staff that is a bit different from the last three with whom I’ve taught. This is completely understandable to me because I’ve witnessed first-hand the diversity that exists in the United States each time Uncle Sam has relocated us, however it might still come as a surprise to those who assume school districts across our nation are actually nearing some state of standardization with one another.

During my interview I was asked about PLC’s and technology in particular, a question I’ve never been asked before. It’s a question I myself have asked prospective employers at each of my interviews here in the Bordertown, a question I received very awkward answers to, responses indicating that I was more familiar with current technology usage in education than the interviewing principals were. I was told by District #2 that my classroom would have at least three wireless laptops for my students to use, so no, I wouldn’t have to bring my outdated iMacs with me when I moved. For the first time, I was able to say “I have a blog” without worrying that the interviewer’s mental alarm bells were going off, imagining a site full of inappropriate photos and text of a wanna-be-web-celeb instead of a teacher/crafter/mother/military wife who was sharing recipes, craft ideas, family updates, and links to kindergarten-related themes. I’m guessing someone at District #2 has already Googled me…probably did it before ever dialing my number for the interview. I would if I were in his or her position.

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I know that time has continued to march on as my family and I relocate from state to state. When I left Alaska, my teaching experience was built over a decade’s worth of observations and paradigm shifts, most notably in regard to technological advances and their impact on school and society. I had to learn how to be responsible for an entire new iMac lab (not so new now!), and had to exercise caution because of what my students might encounter or see “out there,” *NOT* what they themselves might PUT out there. Teachers with their own web pages were testing the water for all of us, and must have felt the pressure of it. My usage of White Out decreased significantly when a computerized report card replaced the traditional hand-written one.

In New Mexico, the kindergarten curriculum included goals for computer technology, but my classroom was given rarely operational PC’s for the job because really, why would five year olds need computers? They’d just “play on them.” Many of my colleagues had never heard of or seen Living

Books before (another no-longer-”new” resource). Teachers emailed, or instant messaged one another, but other than professional communication and entering data for attendance records, computers were to be used for student assessment only via Accelerated Reader. During chats in the staff lounge, no one complained about their own childrens’ MySpace pages, and no one understood why I would want a dry erase, mobile magnetic white board in my room instead of the singular chalkboard I had. My son’s and daughter’s teachers didn’t assign web projects. My own students were taught how to use the overhead projector, c.d. player, computers, and scanner instead of just being parked in front of them during lessons. Report cards still had to be filled out by hand. DIBELS too, though the number crunching of scores took place at Central Office somewhere.

In Oz, District #1 seemed to focus on using technology primarily again for student assessment. Improved reading and math scores were the be-all-end-all goal, with lists of acceptable web resources and sites xeroxed off and distributed ad nauseum during most professional development seminars, while statewide assessment test “practice” took precedence over any other web activities or lessons that students might have normally been assigned. My old iMacs came in handy, as my students were never a priority for computer lab time when the assessment crunch was in full swing unless my colleague and I were prepping them for future first grade AR assessments. I’m guessing the proposal I helped to author for an additional portable/cart computer lab wouldn’t have created increased computer access for my kindergartners…it would have provided more test prep for additional (older) students. District email was handy, as were the attendance and report card programs though the kindergarten report card wasn’t aligned with state standards and didn’t provide enough narrative space for additional and essential info/documentation.

A younger group of teachers have MySpace pages, but several still don’t quite know that their just-out-of-college-weekend-partying photos that they regularly post on their public sites are still viewable by students, parents, and colleagues. Some post photos on their personal pages of not only themselves but their students as well, something as a parent and teacher I find highly inappropriate. Some colleagues have their own personal blogs, where they reflect on their teaching practices and philosophies, their frustrations and their goals. Many of their identities are kept private for good reasons, as professional retribution and/or public misunderstandings by parents and colleagues who might search the web for them would be unbearable and possibly even job-threatening.

District #2 sounds incredibly promising, pro-teacher and therefore pro-student.

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I’ll reflect more on why I blog at some later time, but I have to tell you, it’s because of blogging, reading, commenting, participating in discussions, and contributing to the sea of teaching perspectives out there that I’ve been able to continue my own professional development during my Stay-at-Home-Mom year. My professional learning community stretches around the world, crossing borders, philosophies, cultures and ages, and in many cases it includes my own personal tastes and interests apart from public education. A wiki on cross stitching, a MySpace group devoted to scrapbooking techniques, a subscription to a photographer’s blog overseas, my weekly download of the latest Oprah podcast for A New Earth, and my own contributions to blogs like In Practice aren’t threatening to me or my employer- they’ve been essential to expanding my connections with others, and with myself.

My next goal? Podcasting- reading my students’ favorite stories for them to access at school or at home. My voice, and the memory of face-to-face storytime can increase the personal connection with my students that promotes literacy better than any digital/cartoon character ever could.

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Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to comment here for a chance to win the blue wreath tomorrow~

Tags: blogging

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.