On Thursday, August 21, I was fortunate
to spend a good portion of the afternoon with our Head Start program’s
newly-hired teachers. Over the summer 13 bachelor and master degreed teachers
signed on to work in our directly-operated classrooms. At least four more will
be hired in the month ahead. One question I posed to our new teachers was,
“what makes for a good classroom?” Even as they were agreeing with each others’
answers, they kept adding to the list. Here is an overview of some of what they
shared with me.
Good
classrooms have an organized teacher who intentionally organizes all aspects of
the classroom.
The consensus here was great. When I
asked for examples, I heard everything from how books and manipulatives are
arranged to how forms are stored for quick retrieval. All agreed that you may
not be able to spot every instance of organization in every classroom, but a
disorganized room is quickly evident through clutter and lack of general order.
Good
classrooms have goals.
While this one made perfect sense to me,
I questioned how goals would show themselves in a classroom. They all agreed
that talking to the teacher will reveal the numerous goals that teachers work
toward every day. They talked of assessment results and children’s progress
reports. Since we have already invested in research-based assessment tools, I
have no doubt these teachers will document specific goals for every child in
their room not long after school starts on September 11.
Good
classrooms are “drenched in literacy.”
How is that for an evocative
description? Literacy goes so far beyond the use of books, labels, posters and
signage. The teachers talked about how every learning center in a room can be
enhanced to give context to words, phrases and symbols as a precursor to
reading and comprehension.
Good
classrooms have rules and apply them with consistency.
The teachers talked about how children
thrive on structure and depend on adults to follow through on stated expectations.
I was struck by how the teachers all gave examples of positively engaging
children on a regular basis as a key to creating a classroom environment where
children feel safe to explore and learn.
Good
classrooms make use of technology.
There was excitement about the presence
of Smart Boards in every classroom. LCCAA’s classrooms also have children’s
computers. All agreed that having access to technology improves teaching
opportunities and allows teachers to more readily accommodate children’s differing
learning styles.
Good
classrooms welcome families.
Overwhelmingly, our new teachers agreed
with this statement. Some teachers talked about the
importance of bringing parents into the classroom. Others talked about how
keeping parents informed with frequent communication in a variety of forms adds
to how engaged parents become. Not one talked about just smiling a morning
greeting. These teachers clearly have ideas for how they are going to engage
families and partner with them on an ongoing basis.
I keep saying it is going to be an amazing
year. The addition of these incredible teachers to our already outstanding
staff will produce great outcomes for children and families in LCCAA’s Head
Start program this year and in the years to come.
