A GREAT OPPORTUNITY Our very own Miss Elaine will have an opportunity this summer to have lunch with Howard Coble, one of our NC legislators in Washington, DC. She has volunteered to take him information about the importance of play for kindergarteners and also a petition from North Carolina citizens asking for the legislature to support changes in the way we educate young children. It is my understanding that there will soon be a review of the No Child Left Behind Act, a piece of legislation which, while no doubt well- intentioned, has created much of the pressure that schools are feeling. Sign the Petition If you would be willing to sign a petition about this please let me know. If you would be willing to get signatures of other people I will be glad to give you a copy to take with you. I believe that it is important that we exercise our right as citizens to be heard by those who represent us. This is a unique opportunity for us to let them know that we agree with the American Pediatric Association, the National Association of Educators of Young Children, the Alliance for Childhood and a host of psychologists and child development experts who all agree that play is an essential part of educating children. I will also be sending copies of the petition to our other legislators in both Washington and Raleigh. Here is the concluding statement of the petition: The following are changes we hope to see in every classroom, pre-K through 3d grade:
- Developmentally appropriate learning expectations
- An emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning, and learning through play
- Testing to be replaced with on-going assessments that teachers carry out as they interact with children while they are involved in daily activities
- Time for children to play every day
- Rest/processing time every day
- Increased support for teachers that allow them more time to interact with children, rather than spending large blocks of time dealing with record-keeping
I hope that each of you will feel that you want to sign the petition and find others to sign it as well, so that we can have a large number of signatures. Please speak up for our children. Thanks, Barbara