Things that make you go Hmmm

My API (Assistant Principal of Instruction) told me today she'd like me to apply for the Kindergarten Cadre Team program. Basically it's a lot of work, but the focus is one that's been central to me lately. It's about being able to meet the GA Performance Standards (GPS = curriculum) in Kindergarten through hands on projects in conjunction with the basal reading series, and the chosen math series.

Basically, "how do I do what I'm supposed to do without using all the ditto masters that came with this unit?"

I hate dittos. Back when I started teaching, we it was frowned on for a "kindergarten" teacher to use dittos.

But here's the quandry. We're still required to give unit tests (ditto'd of course) every 6 weeks in Reading and Math. We have to, because the scores are needed by our APIs because someone above them says they want them. So... where to find the balance? When you're dealing with kindergarten, a lil bit of what we do is teaching how to take a test, and getting them used to what to do on a test (circle the answer, finish the pattern, etc). Sometimes, it takes practice sheets so the students know what the format looks like, and it doesn't throw them off the first time they see it.

It would be a LOT of work for me. I would have to:

attend quarterly meetings

train Kindergarten establishing a standards based classroom

train and support teachers in the implementation of the standards based report card

train and support teachers in the implementation of the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills

open up my classroom as a model classroom for the implementation of DCSS adopting curriculum

In some ways, that may feel like being under a microscope. So I'm not sure how I feel. Part of me wants to be the one that gets inspired, not "have to" inspire others. But if I take part in this, perhaps, as teachers, we can all inspire each other.

Things that make you go hmmm....