I'm observing in a kindergarten class this semester. The children are only
in school with the teacher for a half day. As I am observing I am noticing that
the teacher doesn't have enough time to cover all of the curriculum subject
areas and lessons that she is expected to cover. I assume that the problem is that this happens to be a
half day kindergarten and that there is just not enough time. It makes me think about how I, if
I were ever a half-day kindergarten teacher, would be able to get in all of the
content that is required over the course of the kindergarten year. Do you believe that kindergarten should
be only half day or can you think of reasons why these children should go to
school for a full day? This half
day schedule and the pressure the teacher is under to cover all of the material
on the kindergarten level really makes one wonder what type of curriculum we
should have for these students? Are we expecting the teacher to cover too
much material? Or should the state
of New Jersey just mandate that all kindergartens need to be all-day kindergartens? How would you go about teaching under
these circumstances? Are there any
suggestions you have as to how to incorporate those other subjects into this
daily routine?
Hi Marina,
ReplyDeleteI can understand why it is difficult for teachers to fit in all the information needed. I feel as though this is something that New Jersey should consider changing. I don't believe that the student's are too young to be at school all day. Perhaps the students who attend Pre-K could be allowed to attend half day kindergarten. However, the student's who do not attend should attend the full day.
As for the situation you are currently in, maybe the teacher can use her time better. Cut lesson shorter where the students seem to be grasping the material better? Don't touch on every subject everyday? Move the kids a long faster when switching subjects?
To answer one of your questions though, I believe that kindergarten should be a full day, which would help with the transition into first grade.
-Amber
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ReplyDeleteHi Marina,
ReplyDeleteI myself, attended a half day kindergarten. I think though that since then, many things have changed, and there should be full day kindergarten. Otherwise, we have less time to teach. When I was observing a kindergarten class a few semesters ago, it was the whole day, and inclusive taught by two teachers. The students handled it well, the full day, and still received snack and nap time. Ways to incorporate all the subjects could be, for example, using picture books, to discuss math and language arts topics at the same time. Social studies topics and language arts often go well together. It is a challenge, but I think the teacher would be able to manage time to do all topic. Some schools also do certain subjects on certain days.
I think that kindergarten should be a full day. I can see why some kindergartens are half but I feel that the children are old enough to start going to school all day. I feel that there is so much to teach our students that it just is not possible to do it half a day. I think that the state should consider changing kindergarten to full day. I think that even now the kindergartens that are full day, the teachers find a hard time trying to incorporate all the material they are required to cover. Maybe the teacher should try to incorporate two subjects together. I just think that it is hard having a half day kindergarten with everything that we are required to teach.
ReplyDeleteHi Marina,
ReplyDeleteI feel that kindergarten should attend school for the full day. I feel there is too much information that should be taught, for the students to attend half day. At this very young age, this is where the students are to grasp the very basic in order to proceed to first grade. When I observed a kindergarten class, the students attended for the full day, but they were given nap and snack time. This maybe can be one of the reasons why some kindergarten classes are only attending half day because some feel the children are still too young. I think it will just prepare them better for the following year. It would seem to me that a half day for teaching kindergartens is too short, especially when it takes time.
Hi Marina,
ReplyDeleteI agree that kindergarten should be changed into a full day. I think that with a full day of kindergarten, it will help prepare students for first grade. Also, the teacher will be able to incorporate all content areas in the day, and it will be less stressful for her as well. I've never observed a half day kindergarten, nor have I attended one, but I believe in kindergarten, kids are old enough to be able to handle the full day. If a full day kindergarten is not an option for this particular school, I think there are a few options the teacher could have to help her situation. I think she could try to incorporate two content areas in one lesson, this way she can keep her lessons a little longer, because she's teaching two subjects. Also, she could do different subjects different days. For example, she could teach language arts and math one day, then social studies and science the next day, etc. This way she could teach all of the content areas in full.
Nicole
Hey Marina
ReplyDeleteI feel that kindergarten should be a full day of classes, only because they have put in so much more academic work into kindergarten classes. NJ should also have kindergarten mandated so that all students must attend. I am observing a kindergarten class and it is a full day they get their snack in the morning lunch, rest time, and then snack in the afternoon. They seem to do fine with everything through out the day. Of course it is an adjustment to students but with everything that needs to get done being in kindergarten today, I definitely think it should be a full day of classes.
Jaquel
Hi Marina,
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Kindergarten should be full day so that they can easily transition from Kindergarten to first grade since the coursel load becomes more and the students are expected to take on more of an independent role.
However, if there is a half day Kindergarten, then the curriculum must be watered down for all subjects or focused strictly on a few things. It is impossible for a teacher of a half day Kindergarten to be expected to cover all the same material as a full day Kindergarten teacher. That just does not make sense. It is up to that district to make a change. It is unfair that the teacher be feeling stressed to cover all the material when she just does not have the time in the day.