Teacher turnover has documented emotional and educational consequences for young children with losses in areas like literacy development and emotional regulation.Īnd for children who have experienced trauma or adverse life experiences, as many of our children have with losses from COVID and its devastating health and economic impacts, having these stable relationships in school is even more critical.Īnna Arambula-Gonzalez, who worked in Fresno Unified as a dual language learner (DLL) coach for the last six years, says she watched children suffer this year due to the lack of stability in their classroom staffing. According to the Trust for Learning’s Ideal Learning Principles, teachers of young children should “develop a relationship with each individual child that allows them to feel recognized and acknowledged.” We have a great deal of evidence that the absence of stable relationships can cause real harm to young children. But little has been written on the impact of the teacher shortage on the youngest children in our schools, which can be grave.ĭevelopmental science shows that relationships with stable caregivers are foundational for young children’s learning. Tomorrow, you may not want to go school at all.Ī lot has been written about the teacher shortages this year, the lack of substitutes, and the creative solutions some districts have employed to staff classrooms -like bringing in the National Guard. The new room will be crowded with all the extra kids and you don’t know what to expect. Or there may be no substitute teacher at all, and you may have to spend the day in another teacher’s classroom. They may not have experience teaching children your age or know how to come up with developmentally appropriate learning activities. Either way, these strange adults are unlikely to know you or your classroom routines very well. Maybe there will be another adult from your school taking over-a literacy coach or even the principal. Maybe there will be a substitute teacher that you have never met before. Everything, from your point of view, will be different. So when your teacher is out, due to illness or other reasons, you may experience a great deal of uncertainty. And, if your home language is not English, she may know how to speak to you in your home language or may have learned a few key phrases to communicate with you and your family. She knows who picks you up after school, and what your favorite snacks are. She knows what makes you feel safe and how to comfort you when you are upset. If you’re four years old, your relationship with your teacher is very important to your success in school.
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