Big ups to Mrs. E***n S****a!

Today was awesome. I got to observe a great Kindergarten teacher today. I've been subbing for the past two years, so it was great to just sit down and not improvise for eight periods. Granted, I've taken a bunch of Masters-level courses in ECEd, but it was a real pleasure just to watch a teacher in action from read-aloud to extended-day dismissal. Since I'm going the "Individualized Certification" route (I'm poor), I lack the opportunities most prospective teachers have in that I can't really obtain student-teaching experience without being enrolled in a full-time program.

So, Mrs. S****a graciously let me observe her every move:

Attendance and Morning Math Routines - check.
Read-aloud - check.
Reading Response - check.
Reading, Writing and Math Workshops - check, check and check.
Conferencing - check.

I took the Socratic perspective and told her to make believe I knew nothing at all about teaching Kindergarten - and asked her to break it all down step-by-step.

Ultimately, although this may seem quite intuitive - Mrs. S****a drove home a great point today. As a Kindergarten teacher - the main goal isn't just to make them better readers, writers, scientists and mathematicians:

"Your goal is to reduce their dependence on you. By the end of the year, if not by the beginning of winter, they should know all the routines, where everything is, what the rules of the class are. Yes, you will continue to be there for them as a teacher and caregiver, but they shouldn't need you for things as much as they did in the beginning. But work slow - it's not gonna happen overnight."

Word.

On a side note, I picked up this awesome book from the Seaburn bookstore on Broadway and 36th street: http://www.amazon.com/Let-Kids-Do-Direction-Preschool/dp/0822442752/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243197688&sr=8-1



Freakin' sweet.