NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Allen Samuels CDJR Teacher of the Month for October, Angela Ediger, teaches four-year-olds at South Hutchinson Elementary. She told Hutch Post that social skills are the foundation of getting these kids ready to learn.
"The biggest thing is teaching them the social skills," Ediger said. "That's the biggest part of it. Otherwise, you're not going to get anywhere with anything else. All we work on in the first nine weeks is social skills. So they're learning how to navigate their world and navigate 19 other students, learning how to follow directions and resolving conflict in a positive way. They're also learning how to just learn how to be independent within the boundaries of a school environment."
Letting the kids get to know each other in smaller groups also helps, especially for some kids whose families may not speak English as the primary language at home.
"We create our centers all around movement between different groups of kiddos," Ediger said. "They'll be with the same group for one week and then move into a different group for the next week during centers. And that's all about different language opportunities, different developmental levels, and the movement forward in each of those, so those kiddos that have English as a second language are presented a multitude of opportunities to learn from their peers, as well from the different teachers, because I have two paras in my room, so those opportunities are constantly rotating, which provides differentiation for each of those kiddos."
Ediger has been in this area of education for 25 years, and she still has positive memories when she looks at the progress these kids make each year.
"I love watching them come in and kind of being the baby and having mom and dad do things for them, having them look at mom and dad if a question is asked of them or if they're asked to do something, they automatically look at mom and dad. Then in May, they know how to do exactly what they need to do, and if a question is asked, they automatically they know how to think through it and answer. If they're asked to do something, they know how to process that and figure it out on their own, and they have that confidence. They don't feel like they have to look at mom and dad. They can figure it out on their own because they know they can do it."
Ediger's class received a treat thanks to Pizza Hut and Braums to commemorate her award.