Introduction
For kids Superman exists. Blue suit, red cape, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. “You will believe a man can fly.”1 I teach kindergarten and I know with an amount of certainty that my students whole-heartedly believe in Superman, much in the same way that many of them believe Santa Claus will fly in with Rudolph in December and leave presents if they have behaved themselves. They know Superman is out there somewhere keeping an eye on the world. Despite the fact that I explain to the kids the difference between fiction and non-fiction (with regards to super-heroes, NEVER with Santa Claus!) my students carry Superman in their hearts. To be honest, so do I. The world is a brighter place with the man of steel flying the skies.
At Kathleen Wilbur Elementary School in New Castle, Delaware we believe in the power of wearing a cape. Wilbur is a large school of almost 1,200 students. Our 1,200 come from diverse backgrounds. They come from mansions, motels, and everywhere in between. I teach in one of the nine kindergarten classes at this school. In each of these nine rooms you will find students of varying skill levels. Some have grown as they attended years of preschool. Some have learned much from Sesame Street, an older sibling, or an inspired parent. While some other students may never have held a book before. Throughout last year my class ranged between 20 and 22 students. As the year closed, I had 21 students on my roll. I had an almost even split between male and female students. My class was predominantly of African-American descent (59%). The rest of my class was pretty evenly split between Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds. Three of my students were pulled out during the day to receive English Language support and two of my students were regularly pulled from class to receive additional academic support. These numbers are pretty common among kindergarten classes at Wilbur, and I anticipate a similar class makeup in future years.
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