Are Lockdown Drills Enough?

By: Brooke

In the US in 2015 alone, there has been a total of 52 school shootings leaving thirty dead and over 50 injured. “Of the 52 shootings, 21 have been at colleges and universities, 15 at high schools, three at middle schools, 10 at elementary schools, two at preschools, and one on a school bus” (52, 2015). In order to establish routines for what is to be done in situations like school shootings, schools have implanted lock down drills for teachers and students. As helpful as lockdown drills are, they do not prevent attacks. Hiding behind a flipped table with paper covering the windows of the classroom does not keep a gunman on a mission away. Lockdown drills seem like an easy drill to practice, but in reality lockdown drills can be a nightmare to teachers of early childhood classrooms.

Preschool teacher Launa Hill states in her blog post, after an especially difficult lockdown drill, “When you’re guiding 4- and 5-year-olds through a drill, your choice of words can mean everything. ‘Activity,’ not ‘game,’ because in a game it is okay to laugh. The word ‘police’ can be scary and some children cry when they are scared. Saying ‘quiet,’ is tricky because young children tend to shush one another and that would catch a gunman’s attention. And in a harsh reality, being quiet is simply not enough”(Hall, 2014). The only way students and teachers can survive is if they are completely silent, almost non-existent. That is difficult for any classroom on any given day, even if the children have their own space. But when they are piled on top of each other, basically sitting in each other’s laps, it is almost impossible, especially in early childhood classrooms.

 Lockdown drills are extremely important at every school so that in case of an emergency teachers and students are prepared on how to handle the situation. But, if that is all that is being done…is it enough? What is being done to keep these harmful predators off our school campuses?

Phillip Holloway said it best in his CNN article, stating that, “Meaningful security exists in courts, public buildings, and even at major media organizations. To me, it's a moral obligation to provide security. To put it another way, even sheep have sheepdogs. Shepherds for millennia have realized the wisdom of protecting their flock from deadly predators, yet schools and colleges across the nation can't seem to absorb this ancient wisdom” (Holloway, 2015).

In the horrific situation of a school shooting, the only person to blame is the gunman. But, it is important that every school has security in order to keep our schools safe. Never should it be okay for a person to be able to come onto a campus without being checked in.  Gates should never be left unlocked. The public should never be allowed to enter through unlocked doors surrounding schools. The only place visitors should be able to enter is through a door that is visibly seen by the office in order to be sure everyone at the school has a purpose on being there. In order to keep our teachers and students safe, it is important that our schools are doing everything in their power to keep unwanted guests out.

References

52 school shootings so far this year leave 30 dead, 53 injured. (2015, October 10). Retrieved November 10, 2015, from https://www.rt.com/usa/318169-school-shootings-statistics-year/

Holloway, P. (2015, October 3). Now is Not the Time to Debate Guns but rather School Security. Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/opinions/holloway-gun-and-schools/

Hall, L. (2014, October 28). Rehearsing for death: A pre-K teacher on the trouble with lockdown drills. Retrieved November 17, 2015, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rehearsing-for-death-a-pre-k-teacher-on-the-trouble-with-lockdown-drills/2014/10/28/4ab456ea-5eb2-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html

All Work and No Play

By: Megan

If you take a look into most 1^st grade classrooms, what do you think you would see? Most likely you would see children sitting at desks, completing worksheets. Classrooms in America are increasingly concerned with improving test scores, preparation for college and eventually the job market. However, is it really necessary to take play away from the curriculum in elementary school classrooms? There is a way to incorporate play into the curriculum and also have valuable learning experiences.

Whenever people hear the word “play”, they automatically assume that there is no educational value and little learning. Parents of children in classrooms want to see results, and teachers are expected to give them clear outcomes. In order to accommodate parents’ growing need for results, teachers resort to using worksheets. The worksheets that are given do not challenge students to think critically or increase their knowledge. Students are able to spit back meaningless facts without being able to truly show what they have learned. Using play in the classroom seems like a really big undertaking, which would be difficult to show growth. However, there is research that shows play is beneficial. According to Developmentally Appropriate Practice teachers have a very crucial role in play. It is our job to make sure that the play in the classroom has meaning and is beneficial. If a teacher doesn’t set up the play in a dynamic way, his or her students most likely will not take much away from it. Teachers take the time to set up meaningful experiences; the students will construct their own learning experiences.

Though, students need the opportunity to learn through exploration. By incorporating play into your curriculum, you allow your students to build their own understanding of what they are learning. Some educator’s think that play has to look a certain way, and that every child will take away the same points. In reality, play can look very different based on the age level, school expectations, and classroom structure. In some classrooms, there will be dramatic play centers and hands on art, but other classrooms will have math games and science explorations. Both examples are ways that teachers can include play in their classrooms. As a teacher, we are expected to make sure that children are learning, but it is important that we don’t take their discovery away just because we need to show results. For our children, we need to make every effort to preserve play in the classroom so that kids can continue to be kids.

References

Copple, C. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 (3rd ed., p. 47,48). Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Preschool: What’s the Big Deal?

By: Karah

I recently sat in on a parent-teacher conference for one of the struggling students in my class. During the conversation, the student’s mother mentioned that her daughter had not started school until she was in kindergarten. At that moment, I could not help but think that maybe both her social and academic delays stemmed from her lack of pre-schooling. I can only imagine how tough it would be for a student to go through their first five years of life without any exposure to formal educational experiences when they are expected to be classroom ready in kindergarten.

Schools today are expecting more and more from their students. Kindergarten curriculum is looking more like that of first grade; just like first is looking more like second grade. This creates a pretty large gap when students aren’t required to attend a pre-school program. My student showed this is her delayed reading skill. She also took much longer than other students in the class to socialize. Students like this may not have the resources at home to enter into kindergarten with the expected skills like the beginning stages of reading.

So, what long-term implementations can help close this gap in our education system? Preschool is not yet universal; so students are currently split between child- care centers, preschools, Head Start programs, and staying home. Simply creating universal pre school seems like the most obvious answer. However, these programs would have to be geared toward appropriate, meaningful learning experiences to be beneficial to pre school students (Barnett, 2008). There would also need to be standards in place to ensure that the rigorous curriculum of elementary school was not pushed further into Pre-k. These standards would provide teachers with the state’s expectations of where students should be when entering into kindergarten.

In the mean time, what can we do to combat the gap? As teachers, it is our job to reach every student in our class and see him or her succeed.  Assessment and differentiated instruction in early childhood years are important in student success (NAEYC). We should also provide parents with educational resources, in hopes that they will bring educational experiences into the home.

Here are a few websites to visit if you are interesting in reading more on this topic.

·      Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implications- This source provides interesting statistics and makes a solid case for mandating preschool.

·      A Good Preschool for Your Child- NAEYC guides parents looking for a appropriate preschool for their young child.

·      Closing the Achievement Gap- This article provides insight into how educators can work to close the current achievement gap and how preschool plays a part in that effort.

Barnett, S.W. (2008) Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implication. Great Salt Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

NAEYC.org (2015) A Good Preschool for Your Child: What You Do and Don’t Want to See in a Preschool Classroom. Retrieved from http://families.naeyc.org/accredited-article/good-preschool-your-child

Haycock, K. (2001). Closing the Achievement Gap. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar01/vol58/num06/Closing-the-Achievement-Gap.aspx

Differentiation: Individualizing Instruction

 By: Mary

            A key element in many teachers’ lesson plans is a line item called Differentiated Instruction.  How can teachers make Differentiated Instruction for their students? Why is DI important in the early childhood classroom?

            Every classroom contains a group of learners with a wide range of abilities.  Some students struggle, others perform exceptionally well, and most of the learners are someplace between the two.  In addition, these students learn in a variety of ways and have different interests.  In order to meet the needs of a diverse student population, teachers need to differentiate instruction. 

            Individualizing to meet children where they are and help them develop their full potential is called “differentiated instruction” (Kostelink et al 2015).  Some examples include: coaching sessions between the individual student and the teacher; small group instruction;  math manipulatives; guided reading; and special projects. By doing these activities, teachers are addressing a range of students’ learning abilities in their classroom. Both Vygotsky and Bloom offer theories about the individual learner and that students learn in varying manners, in varying periods of time, and with varying degrees of assistance from teachers.  Teachers can increase the amount and the complexity of the workload for advanced students and slower learners can be given more time with assignments. The use of iPads for individual and other types of instructional software are some ideas that allow students to learn at their own pace.

How can teachers make DI happen in the classroom?

            Carol Tomlinson suggests that “teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile” (Tomlinson 2001).  She offers these elements and some examples:

·      Content (what the student needs to learn) Differentiating content can be accomplished through such things as using reading materials at a range reading levels; varying presentation of materials through auditory and visual means; utilize reading buddies; meet with small groups to re-teach a skill or to extend thinking.

·      Process (varying the activities to master content).  The learning process can be differentiated by using tiered activities that give learners different levels of support; provide interest centers that allow students to explore; establish personal timelines to complete their work; offer manipulatives.

·       Products (projects to rehearse, apply, and extend what is learn).  Differentiating products may include: give students options for how they will demonstrate required learning (puppet show, letter writing); differ rubrics to match students abilities; permit students to work alone or in a small group setting.

·      Learning Environment (the way the classroom works and feels) Differentiating the learning environment includes such ideas as: make sure there are times and places for quiet work and cooperative work; offer materials that appeal to a variety of cultures; developing routines that allow students to get the guidance they need; allow students to move around during the school day to help them refocus their abilities and attention.

Strengths and Weaknesses of DI for the Child and the Teacher

Differentiated Instruction values the individual student and gives the teacher opportunities to implement various learning strategies to meet these needs. For the child, flexible grouping is a hallmark of the DI class.  It is important for students to work with a variety of learners – sometimes with similar learners, mixed learning groups, groups with similar interests, and sometimes randomly grouped. Flexible grouping allows students to see themselves as belonging to diverse groups so that they do not feel labeled in any way.  Teachers can use flexible grouping to avoid common group labels as “the smart group” or the “slow group.”  Children must learn to respect each other’s differences whether it is their cultural differences, their family backgrounds, or learning differences.

Specific Strategies to Implement DI

Ideas for implementing differentiated instruction are vast.  While the evidence is clear that children learn in different ways and at different speeds, making it a reality with tangible activities can be challenging.  Here are some articles that emphasize the benefits of differentiated instruction and offer concrete ways to meet the needs of each student.

Celeste C. Bates’ “Flexible Grouping During Literacy Centers:  A Model for

Differentiation Instruction” Young Children, May 1013 Vol. 68, No. 2 www.naeyc.org/yc/pastissues/2013/may.

Tisha Shipley in “Whole Child Blog” http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/early-childhood-education-implementing-developmentally-appropriate-practice

            “Meeting the Sensory Needs of Young Children,” by Stacy D. Thompson and Jill M. Raisor Young Children, May 1013 Vol. 68, No. 2 www.naeyc.org/yc/pastissues/2013/may.

 “Differentiated Instruction: A Research Brief for Practitioners” www.education.alberta.ca/.../pdfs/FINAL_Differentiated_Instruction.pdf

            Arlene Pratt Prairie in “Supporting Sociodramatic Play in Ways that Enhance Academic Learning” Young Children, May 1013 Vol. 68, No. 2 www.naeyc.org/yc/pastissues/2013/may.

            Jill White in “Four Proven Strategies for Differentiation Instruction” www.scholastic.com/.../4-proven-strategies-differentiating-instruction

References

Brewer, JoAnn. 2007. Introduction to early childhood education: preschool through primary

            grades. Pearson Eduction, Inc: Boston, MA.

Beneke, Sallee J and Ostrosky, Michaelene M. 2013. “The potential of the project approach to

            support diverse young learners.” Young Children. 68(2) 22-29

Kostelnik, Marjorie J. Soderman, Anne K., Whiren, Alice Phipps. Rupiper, Michelle L. 2015.

            Developmentally appropriate curriculum: best practices in early childhood education.

            Pearson, Inc: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Thomlinson, Carol Ann. 2001. “Differentiation of instruction in the elementary grades.”

            http://www.ericdigests.org/elementary.html.

Shillady, Amy, editor. 2013. “Response to intervention in early childhood best practices:

            working hand in hand so all children can learn.” Young Children, 68(2),6-7.