ORIENTATION 2009

If you missed Orientation or some of the information, or just want to mull over it, here's what happened when parents came into the classroom:

1. They picked up a folder containing forms to be filled out and returned on the left side, and information for them to read on the right side.

2. I briefly addressed a question I posed of whether or not they had chosen the "right" program for their child. I reminded them that it is a program based on self-motivation, and that the teacher's role is to assess where the child is at academically/socially through testing and observation, and then "entice" the child to work that he/she is ready for. I noted that they will receive 3 formally typed observation reports from me during the year (every other month).

3. In the folder, I told them, is a copy of the report card which will tell them what they can expect their child to be exposed to, with a rubric that helps parents understand what the grade the child receives means. Example: A goal of the program is to be able to write the alphabet letters with correct form. If they can write 1-14 of them, they receive a B for basic, 15-25 = P for proficient, and all 26=M for mastery.

4. I showed parents a rose that had yet to bloom. It was folded up tight. I likened it to a child. In our yearning to "help" the child, we adults sometimes push children to do things they are not yet ready for, just as the rose was not ready to open its petals yet. I asked what happens if we push the child/rose too fast, and the petals started to fall. (I must tell you that since that night, the rose never did open and drooped over from the stress of my actions toward it, and died.) I gave each family a soap rose as a way to remember the point: We cannot hurry children; they will learn at their own pace.

If you did not attend Orientation, the folder and contents will be sent home with your child on the first day of school.

Sincerely,
Miss Nancy