The Class of 2022

Originally published on: October 8, 2009

"We are very optimistic about Cooper's attendance at Arnold. We are also very grateful that we have this state-of-the-art school so close to our home."

If you started kindergarten this year, you’ll be the Class of 2022.  There’s no way to predict or envision what the world will be like 13 years from now.

Though 2022 seems far away … all kindergarten students, their families and their teachers are looking to the future with the same questions that have been asked since public education began in this country.

What do we teach?  What should students learn?  What are we preparing for?

After more than a century of reform and revision, what started as bells, blackboards and books has evolved into academies, focus programs and technology.

Arnold Elementary School

This is Cooper’s story.  He’s 6 years old.  His kindergarten teacher is Susan Mulvaney.  Cooper is in a new school that just opened August 19th, so everything is NEW!

The first thing Cooper will tell you is that he wants to grow up to be a Jedi.  He has seen all the movies and he is clear that Luke Skywalker had two teachers – Obi-Wan Kanobi and Yoda.

He says he will build a rocket to go and see the real Jedi – who will, of course, give him a lightsaber.  When asked if he needs to go to college to become a Jedi, he says, “No, I just need lessons from a Jedi.”

Cooper says the new Arnold Elementary School is “the nicest school I’ve ever seen.”  He will also tell you recess is his favorite time of day and that pepperoni pizza is his favorite lunch.  “They have really good food here.”

According to Cooper’s mother, Annette, the aspiring Jedi was VERY excited to start kindergarten.  Actually, “that might be an understatement.  Cooper was obsessed with starting school.”

Cooper, who turned 6 at the beginning of August, began his countdown to the first day of school at the beginning of summer, “but stated quite honestly that he did not plan on growing up completely until he officially started school.  He had decided this was his last summer as a little kid.”

Annette describes that important first day of school …
“After finding the perfect Star Wars backpack, we were ready.  Cooper attends before and after school care at the AirPark Recreation Center, which is expertly run by Lincoln Parks & Rec, and is an absolutely fabulous environment.  Without the relationship that LPS has formed with such programs, working parents such as us would be scrambling to achieve the level of care and commitment these programs bring to our kids on a daily basis.”

“After his first day of kindergarten, Cooper came bounding at me when I picked him.  He LOVED it.  He loved his desk.  He had a clear plastic box on his desk that had crayons and pencils in it which was cool.  He loved lunch and the water fountains and recess.  When asked, he replied that he had made a friend, Patrick, and they both like Star Wars.”

As one of 20 students in Mulvaney’s classroom, Cooper is learning personal behaviors and important socialization based on BIST (Behavior Intervention Support Team).  A sign states the three goals:
•    I can be productive and follow directions, even if I have overwhelming feelings.
•    I can be productive and follow directions, even if others are not.
•    I can be productive and follow directions, even if I don’t want to or it is difficult for me.

Posted next to Mulvaney’s desk is a BIST poster that reads: “Students will never be more accountable, or compassionate, or demonstrate more self-control than the adults working with them.”

She believes BIST is essential to her kindergarten curriculum.  As BIST states, “Today's educational environment looks entirely different from thirty, twenty or even ten years ago.  All of us are faced with new and distinct challenges brought about by dramatic shifts in lifestyles and behavior over the last generation.”

An observer can easily see what students are learning in Mulvaney’s classroom.  In addition to core curriculum, these 5 and 6 year olds are learning:
Asking for help
Cooperation
Decision-making
Friendship
Focus
Following directions
Listening
Making choices
Problem-solving
Procedure
Safety
Sharing
Taking turns
Responsibility

They are working individually, in small groups and in a large group.  When they ask a question, they hear, “That’s a good question.”  As Mulvaney explains, rather than telling students what to do and what to think, BIST creates an environment in which students are asked what they see, what they hear, what they feel, what they think, etc.

The kindergarten classroom is always moving – always changing – always organized – always focused – always creative – always engaging – always absorbing.  As Cooper says, “we just keep going and going and going.”

For the Class of 2022, the good news is the skills most sought after by employers.  A list that has remained substantially unchanged for decades.
•    Communication (listening, verbalizing, writing)
•    Analytical (problem-solving)
•    Technical Literacy (no lightsabers yet)
•    Flexibility/Adaptability (managing multiple priorities)
•    Interpersonal skills (relate, inspire, resolve)
•    Leadership
•    Multicultural Awareness/Sensitivity
•    Planning/Organizing
•    Teamwork

As Cooper would say, “Guess what?”