The Importance of a Good K Experience

There are five Kindergarten classes at my son’s elementary school. I’ve been told we couldn’t go wrong with any teacher we got. Still, I knew little more than what I heard from other mothers at the pool.

Ready for the First Day of Kindergarten

When we checked the posted list of teacher assignments last week, I’m not sure what I was looking for. Perhaps I hoped to recognize some of the other students in my son’s class. I didn’t. I didn’t even recognize my son’s teacher’s name. Hers was a grown up name, not really a word but more of a sound a cat might make while bathing herself. I pictured her old, like me, with baggy chinos and frown wrinkles. It’s not that a schoolmarm can’t make good a Kindergarten teacher. But I hoped that Truman would have one of those dewey, youthful teachers with a sing-song voice and blue birds floating behind her. It would surely mean he would have a pleasant Kindergarten experience, because mine was far from ideal.

Kindergarten is designed to be a “smooth, sunny introduction to real school for your child,” according to Scholastic. It gives kids an environment to learn social skills, process emotions, and understand how to problem-solve so they have a strong foundation for all their future learning. A child’s experience with Kindergarten – for the good or bad – could ultimately impact his feelings toward school for years to come.

Mrs. Springfield was my Kindergarten teacher. She was large and unaffectionate. Those who acted up were sent into the private bathroom attached to the room. They sat there, often in the dark, until she was ready to deal with them. When she did, those of us on the outside listened with fear as she roared and screamed and smacked things. I never saw the inside of that bathroom – if I did, I do not recall. It would have been a most frightening memory for a 5-year-old, and could likely explain my overwhelming fear of enclosed spaces.

Naturally, I hoped Truman’s Kindergarten experience would be better than mine. But how could I guarantee that it would be? Scholastic suggests giving both the program and the teacher some time to get the year going. “Many programs start slowly, taking time to help children separate from their families and feel confident in school before adding learning demands,” says Scholastic. If after the first few weeks your feelings about the teacher haven’t changed, Scholastic says it’s time to talk to the principal. Perhaps another teacher or even another school is the answer.

I knew I shouldn’t base my opinion of Truman’s teacher simply on her name, so I eagerly awaited Kindergarten orientation. We piled into the cafeteria late last week to hear the principals explain the carpool procedure and other items of interest for newbie parents like us. Then one-by-one, the principal called out the name of each Kindergarten teacher, and the students assigned to him or her quietly shuffled out of the room. The last teacher called was ours, and the woman with the schoolmarm name appeared at the front of the room. She was angelic, so much so my son whispered to me, “Where is she? Where is my teacher?” I’ll call her Ms. Adorable, because she was. Yet she had just enough youthful innocence that we mothers could rest assured our husbands would not want to run off with her. When she spoke to my son, he blushed. Honestly, he blushed. I suspect Ms. Adorable will be the subject of his dreams for many years to come.

That evening I asked Truman what he thought of Ms. Adorable. He said, “I thought she was going to be wearing a black shirt with glasses, but she wasn’t. She was wearing a purple shirt and no glasses. I like that.”

As my son nestled into my arms, I said, “Me too.”

Photo, JWJourney