"Would you ever invite 25 five-year-olds to your home for six hours a day? That is my life. I teach an all-day kindergarten class, and I have no additional help. I love what I do, but I feel badly for the children because they need to wait for everything! Before each transition in our day, I give two directions.

"One direction informs the students of what the next activity will be, and the other direction gathers all those who will need basic help in tying shoes or wiping tears or calming fears. Little ones need an adult who they can count on for reassurance as well as instruction. I am often torn between the two.

"A classroom with 25 children needs at least two adults. But 25 children deserve better care. There are regulations for child care centers, and they would be shut down if their staffing exceeded 15 children per adult. Why is kindergarten so different? How can school districts have staffing standards that even doggie daycares would never accept?

"ESEA has placed even greater strains on these little students. They are labeled as deficient if, at the end of a trimester, they haven't made an acceptable score on our testing measure, DIBELS. I worked extremely hard to prevent this from happening last year, and when all of my 25 students exceeded the benchmark, instead of being congratulated, I was asked if possibly I cheated and somehow got the test and taught it to my students!

"I was so proud of the accomplishments of my kids, and then so deflated by the reaction of our testing staff. Kindergarten should be the garden where all students thrive and grow. Learning needs to take place in a group that allows for the exploration and discovery that our youngest students deserve."

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