Throughout my mentorship process, this program has helped prepare me for my future in ways I would not have expected. I was given the opportunity to be a mentor for a Kindergarten class at Cumming Elementary School. On the first day, I was so overwhelmed by all the chaos, and I wondered how on earth my mentor has been able to teach Kindergarten for so long. My mentor, Mrs. Moseley, has taught me so many life-long skills over these past nine months. There will be a few kids walking around the classroom during instructional time, three kids trying to use the bathroom, four kids using the sink, and one kid crawling all over the floor, but in an instant she has it completely under control. Teaching is a profession that requires a lot more than a college degree. It requires people skills, soft skills and a whole lot of patience. My parents are teachers, so I have always had respect for them and what they do for students. Through this mentorship however, I have come to realize that Kindergarten is possibly the most important grade of them all. Students come in at all different levels of education because some parents teach their kids even before school, and some kids are just more advanced. Some students come in already able to read and write at the basic level, whereas others come in not even knowing how to sing their ABCs. It is the duty of a Kindergarten teacher to prepare their students for their future educational success. A firm Kindergarten foundation can be the difference in an honors student who goes to a great school and gets a great job versus a sub-par student who settles for community college because they never were cared about as a student. Teachers do not only teach, they also touch the lives of their students. Mrs. Moseley knows every single student's family circumstances, educational situation and also their own personal strengths and weaknesses. The ability to have compassion and care about others completely is something I will take away from this mentorship and use throughout the rest of my life. This mentorship has also taught me numerous other skills like patience, responsibility, empathy, cooperation and so many more. These skills are things I will be able to take away from this experience, and they will help shape me into the best adult I can be. Over the past nine months I have come to know and love a group of twenty six Kindergarten students. They have taught me a lot more things than I would have ever thought. Their imaginations run wild, and their lives are so simple and fun. Kindergarteners teach you how to enjoy the little things in life, like when they get a Dum-Dum for spelling a word and they go show all their friends because it's the best day ever. They notice everything, and they are not completely consumed by technology so they can actually sit back and enjoy life. My mentor Mrs. Moseley is the best example of a kind, patient and understanding woman that I have ever encountered. The life skills I have learned while trying to wrangle a group of five and six year olds will help me in the rest of my life. Adults have a lot to learn from little kids, and I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with this group. They ave truly impacted my life forever, and I will never forget my time spent with them because if I can handle twenty six Kindergarteners I can handle anything.
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Over the course of this school year, I have had the opportunity to mentor in a Kindergarten class under Donna Moseley. Throughout this mentorship, I have conducted research about different teaching strategies, children's successes, and also some of the struggles involved in early childhood education. From this research and my experience in my mentorship, I developed an essential question: how can one properly facilitate the development of a young mind in order to prepare them for their future education? I conducted more research through articled, studies, and interviews with my mentor in order to dissect this question. I came to the conclusion that there is not one simple answer to this question. Kindergarten is not a "one size fits all" environment because children so young come in with different levels of knowledge, skills, and maturity levels. It is important to remember that every child is different and needs his or her own specialized attention when they are this young. Making sure each child is on the right path, even if that may not be the path laid out in state mandated standards, is the key to their future educational success.
Source/Bibliography: Galuski, Tracy. “Ready or Not Kindergarten, Here We Come.” Ready or Not Kindergarten, Here We Come! | NAEYC, NAEYC, 25 Jan. 2017, www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/kindergarten-here-we-come.
Summary: This article is about Kindergarten readiness and determining whether or not a child is ready to begin schooling. Many parents do not know if their child is ready for Kindergarten or not, and this author gives some tips to make sure children are properly prepared for the school year they will face. She says developing independence, focusing on self-help, teaching responsibility, following routines, reading aloud, engaging in literacy activities, and acknowledging the child's feelings will help make sure a child is ready to attend school. Many kids come in very immature and not developed enough to follow along with the other students and require extra help, and may fall behind in their schooling. Making sure children are ready to attend school is a key way to prepare them for future success. Potential Quotes: 1. "Rather than worry about whether your child is ready to read and write, think about his or her skills as a whole. What can they do well that will help them succeed? The quiet child who has reading abilities will find her way to the social butterfly that needs help writing his name." 2. "Encourage your child to dress himself, take his coat on and off and hang it up, use the bathroom without assistance and wash his hands without constant reminders, and put on his own shoes." 3. "Set up morning routines that will transfer into a school setting. Getting up around the same time every day, getting dressed, and having an early breakfast together is a great way to transition to school." Assessment/Evaluation of Source: This is a credible source because it is a ".org" which means it is a trustworthy organization. The author, Tracy Galuski, is also an associate professor and mentor at Empire State College where she shares her experiences as a mother, teacher, and child care administrator with her early childhood students. Reflection: This source is helpful in order to assess the performance of some Kindergarten students because behavior and progress in class can be linked back to readiness. If a child is not ready for school, it might be just because they are young or it might be because their parents did not properly prepare them. This article will be helpful in assessing my essential question as well. Capstone preparation is in full effect, so I am now preparing to finish my project and get it ready to present. I plan on making some changes to my website to make it more aesthetically pleasing, and also adding in needed information. I am also going to conduct another interview with my mentor and hopefully some of her coworkers as well. I also plan on furthering my research into my essential question in order to form a more educated response to it. Another thing I am going to incorporate into my project is a board with pictures on it from my experience with my mentorship. I believe this will add something personal to my project so people can really see how involved I am with it, and also the amazing relationships I have built.
Source/Bibliography: “Was Kindergarten Left Behind? Examining US Kindergarten as the New First Grade in the Wake of No Child Left Behind.” Global Education Repko-Erwin, Melia E. Review, Mercy College, 1 Sept. 2017
Summary: This journal details how the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has affected kindergarten classes since. Kindergarten is such an important time for growth and development, and with the implication of these policies kindergarten has been deeply affected. This act requires lengthy testing to make sure every child reaches standards, however, sometimes certain children simply are not ready for school and do not meet those standards. Although these policies had good intentions, they have severely affected the kindergarten curriculum. This “one size fits all” mentality does not fit all students. Potential Quotes: “Connecting NCLB’s increased emphasis on standards and accountability to issues of kindergarten readiness, the role of academics, play, and developmental appropriateness in kindergarten, and changes in kindergarten literacy instruction, the author examines the complicated nature of teaching and learning in kindergarten in the wake of NCLB, with implications for research, policy, and practice.” “1. What links can be made between the increased federal emphasis on standards and accountability ignited by No Child Left Behind and changes in the nature and role of US kindergarten? 2. How has kindergarten literacy instruction in particular been impacted post-NCLB?” “Many early childhood educators and researchers have argued that the majority of early education academic standards written in recent years have not been created with the developmental needs of young children in mind (Bomer&Maloch, 2011; Goldstein, 2008; Hatch, 2002; McLaughlin et al., 2014). Hatch (2002) referred to the adoption and implementation of early childhood academic standards as academic shovedown, noting that, “Standards-based approaches represent backward movement, designed to force early childhood programs into molds that don't work with older students and are downright harmful for young children.” Assessment/Evaluation of Source: This source is credible because it is from the Director of Open Access Journals, which is an organization that has a .org making it a credible non-profit source. A lot of other academic journals from credible sources are also found on this website boosting its credibility. Reflection: I will use the quotes and information found in this journal to discuss how the federal government treats the school systems. I will use this as a source to question if the government is even thinking about kindergarteners when enacting policies such as this one. This source helps shed some light on a policy that is good on the outside, but has many internal flaws.
Attached is my second graphic organizer about an academic journal regarding the how the No Child Left Behind Act has affected kindergarten education.
The driving force behind this research is to better understand early childhood education and the proper teaching techniques that go along with it. My essential question remains the same: How can one properly facilitate the development of a young mind in order to prepare them for their future education? Some other tools I plan on using to display my findings are visual aids such as a tri-fold display, a video or a presentation. Another helpful visual I had in mind was a change over time presentation to show how the students I work with have changed both educationally and developmentally throughout their first year in school. I also plan on conducting more interviews with my mentor, other teachers and possibly students and parents as well in order to obtain more information.
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My mentor is a partner in my education because while I am observing and helping in her classroom I am learning valuable skills. Besides learning how to be a teacher, I have learned skills like patience and understanding. Watching the success my mentor has in her classroom inspires me to become a more personable and understanding individual.
To repay my mentor for this I have taken responsibility in her classroom by leading small groups during instructional activities, packing folders and bags, organizing the classroom, taking the kids to different locations, and reading to them. I have also met some of my goals of learning better ways to handle children in difficult situations. A skill like this one is applicable in all aspects of life not only when dealing with children because this level of patience will prove to be very important in my future endeavors. |
AuthorMy name is Naomi Cardoso and I am a senior at Forsyth Central High School. I am mentoring in a Kindergarten class this year. |