At The Beginning: Prologue, Part 1 and Chapter 1

Do you know that there is still a chance for you? 'Cause there's a spark in you? You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the 4th of July. You're a firework. Come on, show 'em what you're worth. ~ Katy Perry

Prologue

This is a story about a teacher who always wanted to teach since she was 20 years old. She has always worked with 4-6 year olds for almost her entire life. Everyone who knew  Scarlet D'd Girl in high school or college said, "Scarlet, you really need to be a teacher. You are so compassionate with young children." or "You have so much patience when you can handle tears or tantrums".  Scarlet D'd Girl  actually became a teacher where she studied under the tutelage of renowned early childhood professors Dr. Millie Weiss and Dr. Shoshana Jacobowitz an undergraduate and graduate student. Not only did Scarlet study early childhood education at Olaffub University and Artsfoh University, she has also been working with young children for 14 years. She never once had  any difficulty with supervisors claiming that she was 'not fit to work with young children', except for only 1 time. Unfortunately  Scarlet has the experience of what many New York City teachers have been through. She will be sharing her story as the 'branded teacher' who now has a scarlet

letter"D" tacked to her chest. In order to fully understand  Scarlet D'd Girl's story, we must start at the beginning of her journey at PS 945 Dante's Inferno..

**The events of this story are true accounts of this discontinued teacher. However, the people who are mentioned in the story are fictitious in order to ensure and protect people's identities. Also, the reason why the protagonist inthe story is named "Scarlet D'd Girl" is because when an employee (regardless if it is a teacher, social worker, guidance counselor) the individual automatically becomes 'discontinued' or 'd'd' as the administrators and HR reps like to call it in their inner circle. Even though this is a story about a teacher's discontinuance,  the author is not looking for sympathy or understanding. The author wants the readers to be aware  on how many teacher evaluations are based on 'subjective and arbitrary findings'. Second, the author of this blog has an extremely humorous personality and even though this was a dark side in the author's life, the author also wants to make readers aware that there IS LIFE on the other side and there is a way out. The author's last point that she wants the readers to be aware of is the author's "Letter D" has slowly been getting undone. There is a way there but readers must begin at the beginning of the story.

Part One 

Chapter 1:

I started working in downtown Manhattan as a pre-kindergarten teacher. The first few weeks are what any teacher would expect. I have always  been known to be shy so I was extremely nervous. I had to learn how to be assertive in the classroom and also make sure I kept the routines consistent and structured. For example, if breakfast was to be served at 8:30, I made sure that I shook my maraca to let the children know that it was time to clean up the table toys. I also knew that I would be bending down a lot to tie shoes or talk with children at their height. I trained the children very early to look under the tables for any toys early in the morning right before we served breakfast. During the first few weeks of September, I was assigned a school-based mentor which is required for all probationary teachers in New York State. Carla Beltran was assigned to be my mentor and work with me for the school year. Carla is a retired NYC school special education teacher with lots of experience in classroom management. She is one of THE BEST PEOPLE  I know who has a strong grasp and knowledge on classroom and behavioral management. (Carla and I later became friends throughout the year but this happened months later). Right from the beginning, my mentor Carla Beltran clearly explained to me what I needed to do in order to succeed as a pre-kindergarten teacher:

Sep 16 2008

[SIC] it was very nice meeting you today..hope some of the things we talked about helped...it shows that you are working very hard...... just remember to focus on these three things for now....1.ROUTINES; ROUTINES;AND ROUNTINES......you have to go slowly because they are babies..so when you what them in a circle you have to show them...model it for them  exactly what you want them to do...i will help you with this next wek... 2...make sure your room is beautiful..attractive...you are very lucky. Regina is very talented and artistic..and she loves doint that stuff.  make sure you send stuff  with kids..and make a big deal about it when the parents come to get the kids. 3..be very sweet and kind to parents talk to them. schmooze with them a bit about the day..always emphasize the positive [SIC]

As Carla addressed, I made sure to be consistent with routines. Since most of the children have never been to school before, I recognized how I needed to teach the children how sit on the carpet, listen to a story, pass plates for lunch,  stand in a line to wash their hands and wait their turn to speak on the carpet. Besides focusing on routines, I also introduced colors and shapes to the children. We made Rainbow Fish with many bright colors and learned how to make secondary colors by mixing paint. The children also used Wiki stix to create many different sizes of shapes.

Sep 25 2008

[SIC]things seem to be going in the right direction in your classroom..the room is certainly looking better...please remember to make the room as attractive as possible with student work......also things need to be sent home and you need to make a big deal over it when the parents come to the room...be friendly and inviting when you see the parents in the morning and afternoon.. talk to them about what the kids did during the day....you are an ambassador with those parents.....also, as i reminded you try to model everything you what the kids to do..then they will be sure ..once they see it they will follow....like that hokey pokey..i'll see you next thursday..please let me know when your prep is on thursdays so we can chat for about 15 minutes each week .. Carla [SIC]