Diary of a First Year Kindergarten Teacher: 8th Entry

Friday, September 5

            Okay, so six parents showed up for interviews, which puts me four behind. I tried to reschedule them for Monday. I was only able to get in touch with one of them. I left messages for the other three. They'll probably show up on Monday unannounced and I'll have to squeeze them in. I now have nine interviews scheduled on Monday. I've completed eight.

            The students I've met so far are a mixed lot in terms of skill. Luckily as I had requested, all eight children attended the meetings with their parents. I was able to complete the battery of required assessments. These tests will help me prepare future small group lessons. It seems I have my work cut out for me.

            Three of the students have attended some sort of day care or preschool program. The other five have not. These five children didn't know how to open a book correctly or differentiate between words and pictures. They also couldn't identify any letters from their first name, basic shapes, numbers from 1-5, or the primary colors.

            One of the students has a severe behavior problem and is learning disabled. Her name is Ramona Johnson. I was told that Ramona belongs in a special program. She received services in Pre-K, but her mother never attended the Kindergarten transition meeting in the Spring. Ramona will be expected to learn in a classroom with 29 other students in my regular education setting with no extra support. How do I know she won't receive any additional support, because I asked. Due to a lack of funding there are no extra personnel. Isn't that just wonderful?!!!!

            There is also a little boy named Devon Wilson with anger management problems. Mom is trying to get him into therapy but has been unsuccessful due to long patient waiting lists. Devon is extremely bright. He knows every letter in the alphabet including their sounds and he asks intelligent questions.

            The other four were quiet at the meeting. Let's hope they stay that way when school starts.

            I have to input some of the information from the interviews on a statewide database. Since I haven't received a school district laptop, I'll have to do it from home over the weekend. Apparently, due to a shortage, the kindergarten teachers at Adams Elementary were excluded from getting laptops. 

            I'm trying to stay positive but it's getting really hard.