[Miscellany]

As you may know, next year I'm going back to the classroom and today was my first real taste of how life is going to be post art teaching. I've decided that life is going to be hard, real hard. I feel like I've been run over with a steam roller driven by a bunch of 5 year olds no less.

You see the kindergarten children come to school in the last few weeks of this year to meet the teachers and have a go at being at school just like the big kids - before 'real school' next year. So this afternoon found me nervously facing a bunch of the littlest children and trying to sing a song with them while their parents scrutinized my every move. Next week I've decided that no parents will be allowed in the room. I don't quite know how I am going to achieve that but it must be done somehow.

Those particular parents that just HAD to stay, all insisted that their child had adjustment issues. You know what I say? Your child has adjustment issues because you won't bloody leave them alone. They're 5 - if you let them be themselves for a second they'll adjust. Yeah it will be tears for a bit but for christssake kids cry, get over it (though I have to make a point and say that none of these kids were crying at all). Yes, sure there are children with "special needs" - this is different but there are some parents who just wouldn't go, they just stood in the corner glaring at their child, or worse yet - would prompt them for everything. They'd prompt them about writing. They'd prompt them about how to build with the blocks. They'd prompt them on how to sit. When I say "hey Thingo, here's a piece of paper can you write down all the words you know for me?" you telling your child what to write defeats the whole purpose of me observing their behaviour. If they don't know what words are then I want to know that they don't know what words are. There is no right or wrong here it's just establishing where the children are so that we can group them to their best needs next year. It's not going to count for their university entrance rank! Furthermore I'd like to see how your child interacts with other children. You are the centre of their lives, if you're in the room then they will not want to interact with others, they will just go straight to you. UGH.

Anyway, I drew a diagram to help you understand how the afternoon went. If it looks messy on paper, think about how my brain feels right about now (and multiply by three).

Labels: school, stressed teachers, teaching, tired

posted by M at 6:35 pm 19 comments