The past three weeks teaching has been on my mind a lot, particularly my time as a PreK teacher; my students faces and voices have flashed through my mind as I think about my friends and colleagues who have gone back to school (work) and as I struggle to decide what job is next for me.

Most readers know how close I came to walking away from teaching in the middle of my first year, for a whole host of reasons. A child wetting his pants while sitting in my lap and therefore wetting my pants too was reason number 18, and that was only on the second day. http://courtneyrob.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-think-i-just-peed-in-my-pants.html

Through the grace of God and very supportive friends & family, I survived. I may have even done a pretty good job with those thirty eight three year olds. Even though I was adamant about teaching older children for my second year of TFA, I left the PreK classroom knowing that I would forever be an advocate for early childhood, and that was huge: I had started the year wondering what the point of me even showing up for work every day was. Glorified babysitting? That is certainly what it feels like at times. But with the right school leader and the right curriculum (huge shout out to KIPP SHINE Prep) early childhood is transformational in a child’s life, especially those growing up in poverty or underserved communities.

I highly recommend reading the UNICEF website if you want to learn more about early childhood around the globe. For disadvantaged children, the initial deficit of interventions for development has a multiplying effect: children raised in poverty complete far less education than middle class children, due in part to their lowered ability to learn in school. The opportunity to help disadvantaged children attain a more equal start in schooling is in the earliest years of life, when children’s brains are developing most rapidly, and the basis for their cognitive, social and emotional development is being formed. A commitment to reducing poverty and increasing the chances of success for all children requires investment in the earliest years. -unicef

One quick example of how I came to know early childhood is really important: I had a student, we’ll call him Rick, who did not like being left at school. He was in the afternoon class and when his family would start to get him ready for the school day, he did not want to go. He was struggling to learn all of his letters and numbers at school and still speaking a lot of Spanish and little English. As the year went on, his progress was slow and he clung to his dad or mom or older sister at the door to be dropped off. By January though, Rick was thriving. He had made friends in the class, he was extremely talkative, and always wanted to show me a new discovery or a building he had created or read me a book. (He still calls me Ms. Roberson. Replace the “in” with “er.”)

Rick finished the year very strong academically, on target with kindergarteners across the city though he was just going to start PreK4. He was so sweet, his face lit up when he arrived at the classroom door beginning sometime in January, and on a few days he would run down the hallway to get to class quickly, and get in trouble for not waiting for his sister at the front door.
His sister had graduated from high school the previous year and was a huge help to their parents with Rick and his first grade sister. She stopped me in late April when we passed each other in the hallway.

“Ms. Robinson, I think you should know Rick loves you.”
I smiled a huge smile. “Well, I love him too! He is having such a great year, has made friends in class and is just a delight!”
I figured that was the end of our conversation, but she kept talking. “No, I don’t know if Rick really likes school or his friends.” Weird, I thought. “Some days, he’s running around the house or singing songs or watching Disney when we tell him he has to shower and get dressed to go to school. He will not stop what he is doing until we mention your name. Then, Rick will say, ‘I have to get dressed to go see Ms. Roberson! I have to go see Ms. Roberson!’ And then we can’t get him calm until he’s in the car headed here.”

My voice caught in my throat and I gave the sister a quick hug. I looked in her eyes. “Thank you so much for sharing that with me. You and sweet Rick have just made my day! Completely!”

I think without early childhood and free PreK that our school provided Rick with what he needed to start kindergarten on the same playing field as his middle class peers, and allowed him to learn to love teachers, and school, and learning, and “growing his brain.”

It may have taken me many months to see the value of preschool for toddlers; I know now that quality early childhood programs are worth every penny and a few extra. And you should feel the same way! Be sure to vote for local politicians who support early childhood.

http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_40748.html