Now, as the 1st line of defense, the 1st teacher the little 4-5 year olds encounter in their educational journey, it is my duty to teach them the BASICS in their education. Learning to read, to write, to spell, to add, to subtract will be sprinkled throughout their educational career. However, learning social skills is the pivotal point in a child's overall success in school and life. I have worked with students in high school and middle school who suffered greatly, both academically and socially, because of their lack of social skills, not being able to collaborate and work cooperatively with their peers, lack of independent skills due to their dependence on their parents, side effects from their parents enabling them throughout their childhood. And most importantly, during adolescence, these pre-teens struggle the most with how to handle their emotions positively and being able to communicate with their peers and adults.
Everything stems from the root of the problem, not setting the foundation during those critical fundamental first years of school. Prevention is key, not just intervention. I have seen what has become of some our students in their older years and witnessed their struggles, which is why I'm a strong advocate for strengthening our early education programs and focusing on teaching social skills, positive collaborations and interactions, and bringing back the idea of PLAY TIME for children. TK-K children need to PLAY and learn how to PLAY with each other. When their playtime is structured, they learn to model positive behavior, use sharing words, take turns, and learn how to be kind. Learning how to play in a positive manner will strengthen their confidence, boost their self-esteem when they make new friends and even learn to handle rejections. THIS is the foundation into creating more well-rounded, emotionally stable, compassionate adults in the future.
This is my personal mission as a teacher, a TK teacher.
But, this is a journey that I cannot travel alone. We will be on this road together. I will do my best to share my experiences, real classroom scenarios, problem-solving techniques, and other teaching tips along this journey. I would love to share any of your positive stories as well. Feel free to submit them here. ^_^
Lastly, I would like to ask you, parents, teachers, care-givers in the community to think about this new mindset in FREE PLAY, children's PLAYTIME. Our society has put so much stress and emphasis on "raising test scores" that they've pushed forward too fast and too soon, steam-rolling through units and lessons as a checklist, and neglecting the need for children's developmental stages to catch up and process everything. Education is about QUALITY, not QUANTITY. Make each moment count! If we change our MINDSET about education and slow it down enough to allow for each child to learn, experience, retain, analyze, and apply, then their learning journey will become more positive, more enjoyable, and more successful.
To begin the mindset change, as a parent preparing for your child's first year of school in TK or K, here are a few questions to consider: (Think about Social Skills FIRST, and then Academic Skills.)
Social Skills
-Can my child share?
-Can my child learn to take turns?
-Can my child use polite words?
-Can my child learn to solve his/her own problems?
-Can my child seek help when appropriate?
-Can my child work independently?
-Can my child learn to use his/her words to communicate instead of hands for hitting?
Academic Skills
-Can my child count to 30?
-Can my child recite the alphabet?
-Can my child identify numbers 1-10, upper and lower case letters?
-Can my child write his/her name?
-Can my child cut using scissors?
-Can my child follow simple directions?
