Dear teacher,
What do kindergarten teachers feel are the most important skills that young children need in order to be ready for kindergarten?
Dear parent,
Look at the list below to see how kindergarten teachers ranked — from most important to least important — what they are looking for in their kindergarten students:
• Comprehension of the spoken word
• Thinking: attention span and problem solving
• Fine motor skills (small muscles)
• Social development
• Self-help skills
• Emotional development
• Speaking skills
• Pre-reading activities
• Understanding numbers
• Gross motor skills (large muscles)
You can use the Kindergarten Readiness checklist (deart
Handling kids’ complaints about teachers
Dear teacher,
Every day, my fifth grader comes home and complains about what she calls her very mean and demanding math teacher. What should my role be in this conflict?
Dear parent,
Don’t jump the gun and call the teacher right away or ask for your child to switch teachers. Instead, be a fact-gatherer first, to make sure you completely understand the situation before searching for solutions. At preschool and elementary levels, it is usually wise to visit the classroom in order to see exactly what is happening.
After that, it is time for a conference with the teacher.
Be sure to point out to your child that it is natural for conflict to occur. For example, there will be bosses and neighbors in the future with whom your daughter will have conflicts. This can be a first lesson in learning how to get along with difficult people. Do act as a mentor, however, in guiding her to find possible solutions to this problem. And be sure to express to your child that you have confidence in her ability to handle this situation.
The Common Core science standards
Dear teacher,
I know we have Common Core Standards for English language arts and literacy and math. Are we going to have them for science, too? Will all schools then be teaching the same things?
Dear parent,
In April 2013, the science standards known as the Next Generation Science Standards were issued. There has not been a great rush to adopt these standards as there was for the earlier Common Core Standards. There are several reasons for this. First of all, most of the states are making sure that they have the Common Core curriculum under their belt, and teachers are comfortable using that new curriculum.
There is also the fact that there are no federal incentives for adopting them.
Plus, states are trying to coordinate their existing science standards with the new ones. It will also take time to write new curricula, provide professional development, and prepare assessments.
The science standards do not spell out what should be taught in as much detail as Common Core did for English language arts and literacy and math. In fact, many states may be ending up with their own version of the science standards. The states and local districts will be filling in the details so students can learn the key ideas in the standards. Therefore, not all schools will be teaching the same things in science.
Right now, science educators estimate that it will be another three to four years before schools transition to the new standards, and even then, it is expected to be an ongoing process.
Behavior chart upsets student
Dear teacher,
Our son’s second-grade teacher sends home a behavior chart every day that has a color code describing his classroom behavior. The color code really bothers him when he doesn’t get a good color. He seems to need reminders not to chat with his friends in class. Our son now says that school is “no fun.” Should I be worried?
Dear parent,
Some teachers have stricter behavior standards than others. Your son may have been freer to chat with others in the classroom last year. Don’t let this go on another day. You and your son need to talk to the teacher to try to devise ways that he can limit his tendency to chat. Before the meeting, ask your son what steps he could take to limit his chatting. Then he can be part of the solution.
In the future, when he brings home a favorable color, tell him that you are proud of the way he is learning to behave well in the classroom.
On the other hand, if he brings home a color denoting too much chatting, ask him to describe specifically how he might have avoided getting a color that bothers him.
Students who constantly chat in the classroom tend to annoy teachers. In addition, it does show some inattention to what is going on in the classroom. The sooner your son learns to limit his chattiness, his relationships with his teachers will improve and possibly his grades will improve, too.
Parents should send questions and comments to deart
© Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2016.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate
