The Big Picture for Little People

By Nancy Webster

You just don't see the big picture, Nancy,'' said my exasperated principal. She was absolutely right, of course. I'm a pre-kindergarten teacher in the public schools, an early-childhood professional who inhabits a tiny piece of the "Education World.'' My frame is young children in a large elementary school (approximately 1,500 students), in a very large school system.

This really BIG picture is full of problems I know but can't fix and vocabulary I understand but can't use: competency-based curriculum, authentic assessment, CORE, Total Quality Management, whole language, and a lot of other words. My work begins the process of schooling. A teacher for 25 years, I've seen the vocabulary change, the classes get larger, the programs come and go, and more children fail. Meanwhile, "at risk'' children have entered our vocabulary, along with "dysfunctional families.'' The BIG picture is full of schedules, time constraints, pull-out programs, team meetings, computer-assisted grades, and paperwork. It's the modern...