Professional Hopes and Goals (final post for this course)

Already in our discussion board this week I made note that microaggression was a new term for me.  An understanding of this topic is probably the most important thing I am taking away from the course.  I find myself much more aware of microaggressions as they occur around me and even find myself pointing them out to certain people (many of which have no idea either!).  As I continue in the world of education it is my hope that I can teach the kiddos in my classroom more about differences.  The more I talk about them and address issues in the classroom, the less likely they are to fall into the trap of being so influenced by our society and the subliminal messages.  I hope that they carry with them an awareness of what it means to be a leader, that it's okay to be different, and a love and respect for everyone around them.




My goal for the entire field of early childhood is this:

To be intentional about educating teachers in the areas of diversity, equity, and social justice. 

It is not a good thing that this is the first time I've heard about things such as microaggressions and many of the "-isms".  Educators need to learn how to identify these things and how to address issues before they are in the classroom - not after undergrad studies.  Not after teaching for a few years.  Not after half of their grad work.  Professional development opportunities need to exist before this point.  Prospective teachers need to be learning more about these things in their undergrad prep work.  Then they can greatly influence the lives of their students so that they know from a very young age how to handle differences in a constructive manner.



Thank you so much, colleagues, for your encouragement, support, challenges, and feedback as we worked together these past 8 weeks.  You all have helped me to grow tremendously.  I look forward to working with you more in the future!

Welcoming Families From Around The World

Scenario:  You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

"My" family's country of origin:  Spain

Childcare Setting:  Lower Elementary School Age Summer Classroom at a Daycare Center
 
 Ways I plan to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1.  Hold a Family Fun Day:  At some point during the summer I would organize and set up a day that could involve the entire family of this facility.  It would include a carnival-like atmosphere with games, crafts, food, face painting, and a spot for socialization.  I would ask for input from any parents/families as far as things they would like to see at the event and also add in of my own that would initiate conversation and interaction.  The point of this day is to get families involved in a fun time together.  Parents would have the opportunity to interact, help if they wanted to, and feel comfortable in the environment.

2.  Family Reports:  Each week I would pick a "Star of the Week".  This student would do a small presentation about their family or a few presentations throughout the week.  This could include anything they wanted but I would give suggestions such as: picture poster, favorite family game, foods, books, movies, etc.  We would get to know each family throughout the summer from the child's perspective.

3.  Family Interview/Conference:  Hopefully before this child started attending the program, or shortly thereafter, I would ask to meet with the family and/or parents/guardians.  I would ask questions about their background, religion, beliefs, general lifestyle, and encourage them to tell me as much about their family as they are comfortable doing so.  This would give some excellent background on the student and their family and give insight.

4.  Classroom Community Activities:  I would be very intentional about the language and activities I plan for our classroom.  I want to build a strong community of students.  I would use a lot of "we" and "our" as I talk about the room (rather than "my" or "I" as teacher).  We share ideas, the space, time, materials, food, games, and many other things.  The classroom is ours to take care of and share no matter your name, religion, background, or language.

5.  Snack:  During the family interview I would ask what some common snack items are in their country of origin.  I would let the family know that if they ever wanted to make anything (the child's favorite, etc) they may, or they can give me a recipe or give suggestions and I would get that snack sometimes.  I would do this with all families - students could take turns bringing in snacks that they like.
 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I can't recall a time that I experienced bias, prejudice, or oppression first hand... I can, however, think of more than a handful of times when I've see it online, in movies, books, and on TV.  

I remember one time when I was watching a movie on TV... it was a special feature... about the first African-American girl to attend a public school... Ruby Bridges was her name.  I just had to go look it up quick!  This was awhile ago, probably when I was still in middle or high school.  Anyway, I remember feeling just awful for the way that others were treating Ruby.  She was so young and innocent yet these adults were treating her like garbage.  I can remember tearing up at some points in the movie.  I didn't understand how anyone could be so cruel to another human being.  

Ruby had just as much of a right to attend that school as did any of the other children.  The way that people treated her had to make her feel as if she just wasn't worth it.  Things did change throughout the course of the movie.  I don't remember all the specifics, but do remember reading more recently that Ruby remained in that area of New Orleans and raised her own family there.  She stood up for what was right and made a huge difference for everyone.

Practiving Awareness of Microaggressions

I was at the mall earlier this week and decided to sit and do some "people watching".  It's always so interesting this time of year.  All kinds of people were walking around... some doing Christmas shopping and others seemed to be just walking laps.  I sat down on a bench that had 3 others with it in a square around a huge potted tree.  A couple of girls sat on the bench adjacent to me and I had fun listening to their teenage conversation!  :)  Four girls came walking towards us doing some shopping and I heard this comment from one of the teenage girls sitting near me: "Now those girls probably know how to play some good basketball!".  I had to chuckle because I knew at that instant that I could use the comment somehow this week for our course.  The girls that walked by and "probably know how to play some good basketball" were all tall (at least 5'11'' - 6'-something), African-American, and dressed in athletic clothing.  Two of them wore sandals while the other two wore what did look like basketball sneakers.  I have no idea if they play - we are in a college town and they very well could play for the team. 

I found myself wondering if I would have thought the same about the tall girls that walked by had the teenagers not made any comments.  I guess I'll never know!

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

It was interesting asking people about their views on diversity and culture this week.  Two people I talked to had similar definitions - that culture is more to do with food and holidays while diversity is the differences between people.  Both of these persons gave examples of diversity as different races (in different words, but in general that's what they were saying!).  These persons were both from a pretty conservative background and lifestyle in general.  They still live in the small town that they were born and grew up in and I wasn't surprised by their definitions at all.  So many aspects of both diversity and culture were omitted from these two person's definitions!  They gave the stereotypical definitions.

The third person that I talked to was culturally different from myself in a few ways.  His definition of culture was that it is everything around you that you consider normal.  Like things that you take for granted and just assume that it's just the way it is for everyone until you travel or hear other people's stories and realize the differences that exist.  Diversity was defined as the blending of different cultures.  I found these definitions interesting and definitely different from others. 

It was an interesting week as I considered surface and deep culture... but talking to people that I know and interact with on a regular basis was even more interesting. 

My Family Culture

Imagine the following:
A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

Three items that I would take with me:

1. Bible - Our family is built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.  Without Him we would be nothing.  We hold the Bible very near and dear to our hearts and lives and recognize the importance of being in The Word on a daily basis.

2.  Laptop Computer - Our computer holds almost every detail of our lives: medial records, financial records, important documents, family photos from the past 10+ years, recipes handed down from family that have gone on before us, genealogy information and documents, and the list goes on.  Technology has really played a major role in our lives and is an easy way to store a lot of information that otherwise would take up a lot of space in the filing cabinet.

3.  Family Item - I'm not entirely sure what my choice would be here.  My husband and I both have many quilts and knick-knacks that have been handed down to us from our grandparents that represent our families.  I think that I would have to be "in the moment" to choose which one really holds the most meaning and value.  I would definitely grab one of these items though in hopes that we could hand them down to the next generation some day.

If I was told on arrival that I could only keep one personal item I would be devastated.  All the items hold a lot of value and meaning.  However, I would make the decision to keep our Bible as the other two items are material possessions that - in the end - won't really matter as much as God's Word.

As I considered items to take along I had to throw aside many ideas that came rushing to mind simply because the more I thought about it the more I realized that many of the items are things that can be bought all over the world.  Cell phones, clothing, shoes, dishes, cameras.... they are all things that I could very easily replace no matter where I end up.  Though many cultures are very different than my own, many devices are universal.

When I Think of Research...

Before taking this research competency course I thought that research was this big thing looming somewhere down the road in front of me that required too much work to enjoy.  Now, at the conclusion of the course, I think I can say perhaps it can be enjoyable if you choose a topic that is interesting to you.  I would still say that research requires a lot of work, but if you pace yourself, have a plan, and stick to that plan then research can go smoothly.  I found that research is much more in-depth than I originally thought it was.  I did not realize that there were different kinds of research and so many methods of doing things.  It was a challenge to learn all the different aspects and methods but in the long run I know that it will be useful and that it was worth it.  I also learned that it is very important to have a plan before beginning and that it's okay if that plan needs to be modified as a study continues. 

Research Around The World

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA)

The EECERA is a prestigious organization in Europe.  It holds annual conferences, this year's conference entitled "Us, Them, & Me: Universal, Targeted or Individuated Early Childhood Programmes".  The association is made up of several special interest groups: Birth to Three, Equity and Respect for Diversity, Gender Balance, Leadership and Integration, Learning and Participation, Outdoor Play and Learning, Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care, Rethinking Play, Transitions, Young Children's Perspectives, and Working With Parents and Families.  Many of these topics are also widely debated within the United States.

The EECERA reminds me very much of our own National Education Association (NEA).  I was a little surprised at the similarities, but as I made my way around the website a little more I found myself becoming less and less surprised.  Why would children across the ocean be so different than those here?  Kids are kids!  No matter where they are on this earth they will have many of the same issues, questions, risks, perspectives, etc.  Sure there will be some bigger risks or concerns in some countries than others, but all kids are very similar.

The EECERA may be a good resource to keep in mind for future research/studies.  Although I need to pay for some issues of the journal they publish it may be worth it depending on the availability of resources and type of research.

Research That Benefits Children and Families - Uplifting Stories

Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?

I would choose to study the source/cause of passive-aggressive behaviors in young children toward peers, teachers, and family members.  In a perfect world - a world free of disjointed families, needy children, abuse of any kind, hunger, negative discipline issues or lack of discipline, and free of families run by children - I think that passive-aggressive behaviors would still exist.  I've seen children act out in this manner for a variety of reasons, most of which I have just listed.  But I also noticed that there is this sense of anger and passive-aggressive behavior even in the "good" families and the "good" kids.  Maybe the family is good at hiding secrets or abuse or anything that may cause this behavior.  Maybe they don't have anything to hide at all - I really think there are families out there like this.  They deal with behaviors from their children and have no idea why it is happening.  I would do extensive research in this area so that I might help families to find peace and understanding with one another.  So that these kids could maybe lead a normal life without impulsive behaviors just happening, often out of their control.  And so that educators might better meet the needs of these children. 

My Personal Research Journey

I've chosen to research the topic of nutrition in early childhood.  I am interested in nutrition and had I not chosen to major in education my second choice was the medical field, namely nutrition sciences.  Now I have the opportunity to combine both worlds within this research competency course.

I have looked into some data and statistics that WIC has developed as well as statistics from various states across the country.  I've also done some looking into the impact of good nutrition on the early childhood years (nothing extensive).  I know the importance of teaching children at an early age to become eaters who make wise choices.

Have any of you done research on early childhood nutrition?  I'd love some links to peer-reviewed websites/articles/resources. 

Ready for Research!

...or maybe not.  :) 

It has been awhile since I've done a research project.  All courses we have been in thus far at Walden have, of course, required a little bit of research for parts of the course but we haven't had to do any major research yet.  I look forward to this refresher on research and welcome personal growth in this area.  Thank you all in advance for your input over the next few weeks!  Hopefully we can be an encouragement to one another!

They said it...

Some quotations about children and/or education that I've come to appreciate:


"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."
-Emma Goldman

In the United States today, there is a pervasive tendency to treat children as adults, and adults as children.  The options of children are thus steadily expanded, while those of adults are progressively constricted.  The result is unruly children and childish adults.  
-Thomas Szasz

"We've bought into the idea that education is about training and "success", defined monetarily, rather than learning to think critically and to challenge.  We should not forget that the true purpose of education is to make minds, not careers.  A culture that does not rasp the vital interplay between morality and power, which mistakes management techniques for wisdom, which fails to understand that the measure of a civilization is its compassion, not its speed or ability to consume, condemns itself to death."
-Chris Hedges

A Holistic View

It is my belief that children learn many different ways.  One child may be a visual learning while the next kinesthetic.  There is no one correct way to teach just as there is no one correct way to learn.  It's tricky when looking at how schools test children so much to try and determine what they know or have learned.  I, for one, do not find it fair.  There needs to be anther way to measure knowledge that considers the whole child.  Sure, it would require a lot more work on everyone's part but it would be for the benefit of the child.

I know that in some areas there are vocational schools.  I'm not talking just a VoTech school that high school students can go to in the afternoons after doing gen ed courses at the public high school.  I'm talking about the vocational schools that children in middle-high school can choose to go to instead of regular public high school.  These can be found in other parts of the world, but there are also a few in the United States.  I think that they are great in that they meet the needs and interests of each student; these kids can choose their focus and really excel!  They don't need to waste time on things that they don't care about and probably will not do well at.  One example is in Philadelphia at the Mercy Vocational High School.  Here students can choose from the following areas of focused study: business, carpentry, computer, cosmetology, culinary, electric, and nursing.

Around the world you can see a variety in means of assessment of school-aged children.  My husband observed while in China that some school-aged assessments were mainly group effort and not based on individual assessment.  In the times that I have visited Spain I noticed that school-aged children are expected to sit and listen to lecture-style instruction and then are given formal assessments on what they have heard.  In third-world countries many children do not even attend school.  They are assessed by their community by how they perform self-care tasks or other things that are important to their particular culture.

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

"The beneficial aspects of stress diminish when it is severe enough to overwhelm a child's ability to cope effectively" (Middlebrooks & Audage, 2008, pp. 4).

Stress is an important part of life.  There is good stress such as starting a new school, meeting new people, and getting shots.  There is also bad stress such as abuse, neglect, and other long-lasting issues.  Some stress is right in the middle and includes things such as death or a disaster.  Stress can have a positive impact on life if dealt with in a healthy manner.  Otherwise, stress is harmful especially to children.

An acquaintance - let's call her Suzie - shared her stressful childhood with me.  Suzie was neglected as a child.  She started school and went until 1st grade and then her parents pulled her out.  They didn't want to send her, so they didn't.  Nor did they homeschool her.  Online school was nonexistent then.  Suzie was left to fend for herself at home most of her life.  She learned what she taught herself... without the use of a TV, radio, or any other outside connections.  When Suzie turned 18 she left.  She moved far away from her neglectful family and home.  She took in any bit of information like a dry camel filling up on water.  The world became a wonderfully exciting place that could give her things nobody else ever had.  She eventually married and now has a child who is in PreK.  Suzie is not a product of some horrific neglect stories; she took care of herself and believed in herself when nobody else did.  She is taking evening classes to get her GED.  She talks excitedly about things such as long division, chapter books I read in middle school, and reading in general.  You see, Suzie can barely fluently read a children's book to her child out loud.  She has come such a long way and is doing everything that she can to provide her child with the life she never had.  Her child is smart, well taken care of, and exuberant.  The child is full of life that is backed up by a caring mom and dad.  Suzie learns new things from her PreK child and checks with me to be sure the child is correct before believing her sometimes!  It's an exciting life to be involved in.

My mom works closely with Asian exchange students here in the US.  She places them with host families, helps them with traveling, meets with them to study, and does evaluations.  I have gotten to know several of her students and have observed some stress in their lives.  Many of the students do not take time for social interactions.  They go to school and come "home" and study.  The study on the weekends, too.  Most of them, when asked by my mom to go do something as a group, say they would rather stay home and study.  It seems as if there can never be enough studying.  I decided to look into this stressor a little bit.  It just so happens that Asian children are "taught to respect, honor, and obey their parents" (Fung, Ho, Louie, Martinez, & Lau, 2010, p. 176) above all else.  Individual goals are often pushed aside in order to fulfill family goals.  A positive side of this is that there are less conduct problems with Asian young-people but this in turn effects them developmentally.  Studies on Asian children show high levels of achievement academically, even from a young age, but also show low achievement socially in the areas of self-esteem and social interactions leading to loneliness and depression.  The big stressor, even in young children, is in that fulfillment of family oriented goals.  Success is a family thing; succeed and the family succeeds, fail and the family fails.

I think that the exchange programs deal with this well.  They encourage social interactions, especially within the host family.  Students come to the United States to study and get to know other students their age and desire to fit in.  They begin to open up to peer invites to hang out or go do social things.  Perhaps some of them take this lifestyle back to Asia with them and allow it to influence their lives and those around them.

Resources:

Fung, J., Ho, L, Louie, J., L., Martinez, J., & Lau, A. (2010). In F. Leong, L. Juang, D.B. Qin, H.E. Fitzgerald (Eds.) Asian American and Pacific Islander Children and Mental Health Handbook, Volume 2: Prevention and Treatment. California: Praeger. 
Middlebrooks JS, Audage NC. The Effects of Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2008.

Breastfeeding - From Central PA to Hong Kong

I am a strong supporter of breastfeeding.  I realize that not all mothers are able to breastfeed their children for a variety of reasons, but when it is possible it should be done.  Breastfeeding is meaningful to me because I have done it; in fact, I am still breastfeeding my son who is now 13 months old.  I plan to continue until he decides to stop or the next baby comes along.  Breastfeeding has fabulous benefits: bonding time and many health/nutritional benefits for baby.  Why wouldn't you want to do it if you could?

Many women in the US don't feel as if they have enough rights when it comes to breastfeeding, especially in public.  Depending on what state you live in the law varies.  In most states breastfeeding in public is not against the law.  The only problem is this: although it's not against the law there is not any way for the mom to enforce her right should she be harassed.  I think that some mom's are scared out of breastfeeding because it's difficult to go out in public especially when the baby is young and still feeding often.  There have been many lawsuits filed regarding breastfeeding in public, many of which have not been yet settled or have not been settled in a sufficient way.  Perhaps this is the bigger issue in the US.

In Hong Kong breastfeeding is becoming more 'normal' these days, although the majority of the population don't breastfeed for long.  Many mothers quit between 1-3 months.  I found that the reason for this is mostly cultural influence.  Breastfeeding is considered embarrassing (especially around anyone else), and there doesn't seem to be much support from family, the workplace, or other organizations as there is in the US.  (We have lactation consultants... WIC services... and it's just not abnormal around here so employers tend to be more supportive of pumping, etc.).  More recently the government in Hong Kong as well as the World Health Organization has begun to actively promote breastfeeding for at least 6 months exclusively and then up to a year.  Perhaps more women will do so in the future.

As a PreK teacher in the daycare setting I interact with many families, not just my PreK families.  I have had discussions with new moms several times about breastfeeding and I plan to continue to do so.  It was interesting to look at this topic from another perspective and I think that I will continue to look at other countries and how they handle breastfeeding.  I'm sure the the more developed countries do it less and the less developed ones do it more.  I guess I'll find out! 

Oh, and a website that I have taken a liking to - for personal information as well as research now - is the LLL site:

La Leche League International

It's great!  There's great information for mothers (or anyone interested) as well as links to information from around the world.

Another great resource is:

Breastfeeding Law

*Some of my info about Hong Kong came from the following article:
Tarrant, M., Fong, D. Y. T., Wu, K. M., Lee, I. L. Y., Wong, E. M. Y., Sham, A., . . . Dodgson, J. E. (2010). Breastfeeding and weaning practices among hong kong mothers: A prospective study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 10(1), 27-27. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-10-27

Childbirth Experiences: U.S. and Spain

I gave birth a little over a year ago for the very first time.  My husband and I were blessed with a great hospital that offered childbirth classes; these included a tour of the hospital and staff introductions.  We got to know the space, nurses, possible procedures, and how the place was run overall.  My due date changed several times.  In the end, my midwife was concerned because the baby hadn't grown much in about a month, so she suggested induction.  She knew my wishes for as natural a labor as it could be so she started me with the minimum.  Fortunately, that's all it took - 10 hours later my water broke on it's own, 6 1/2 hours after that I went from 4cm to 10cm in a matter of minutes, and after 10 minutes of pushing we had a beautiful baby boy.  My husband was allowed to stay with me the entire time.  He was encouraged to coach me as well as see the birth take place.  I was asked permission to have a nursing student observe from a distance.  Besides the student, only 2 nurses and my midwife were present with my husband and myself.  The room was spacious, I was asked if and when I wanted music, food, or drink, I was asked many times if I was comfortable.  Most importantly I was asked what I wanted.  My opinions, thoughts, and plan mattered.  The birthing experience was wonderful (and yes, painful for awhile!).  It is my belief that my son was impacted by the prenatal care, birthing care, and postnatal care that not only he received, but that we received as well.  When things go as smoothly as they can because doctors care about the life they are helping to come into the world it makes a huge difference!

On the other hand I did some research on birthing experiences in Spain.  I chose Spain because I have traveled there many times and it interests me.  Overall, it sounds as if birthing experiences there are not up to par.  Doctors and staff were described as very professional but uncaring/unfriendly.  Birth plans go out the window; you do what the doctor tells you to do.  There isn't a whole lot of choice.  Doctors insist that you wear monitors from the minute you get to the hospital until you give birth meaning that you are immobile.  You are in a shared room with up to 4 other women until 8cm and then you move right back to the room when you are cleaned up.  The only pain relief is an epidural in most hospitals and an episiotomy is done regardless of whether or not it is really necessary.  It makes things easier and faster, so it's done.  The baby is shown to the mother and then whisked away immediately.  Fathers are generally told to leave after so long and the first breastfeeding experience is in front of that room full of people.  In general, most people are not satisfied with their experience.  I read some comments that even included the words "scary" and "traumatic". 

Comparing the two experiences, I will take my own any day!  I think that it is a woman's right, no matter what country she is in, to have a say in how birth goes.  I realize that sometimes doctors need to make the final decision if something goes wrong or isn't going as it should, but opinion should be taken into consideration.  I think that the negative experience has an effect on children born into it.  Babies are impacted by these things more than what I assume most people realize.  The time that mother and baby are given to bond immediately after birth in the U.S. are priceless moments that impact a child for the rest of their life!

Thank you!

Thank you to my fellow classmates, colleages, for your support during our first course together.  I hope that I 'see' many of you again as we proceed through our time at Walden.  Your words of encouragement and support have meant a lot.  Good luck as you continue on your professional journey!  What do you foresee as a challenge along your way?  What do you look forward to the most?

Examining Codes of Ethics

This week for my EC course we examined the NAYEC and DEC codes of ethics.  Many, many ideals.  So many that applied to me - actually as an educator they all apply!  My assignment was to choose at least three ideals that are meaningful to me and how they are significant in my professional life.  Here goes...


Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Code of Ethics
I. Professional Practice 
    Professional & Interpersonal Behavior
        1.  "We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value and 
              human potential of each child".

•   I know that I need to be respectful and appreciate every single one of my students.  I know that.  I also know that each of my students has potential to be anything that they want to be.  With 19 students there is so much potential in my classroom.  Do I always demonstrate that I know this about each one of them?  Even on the bad days?  Even on the days when they drive me crazy (come on, you know it happens to you too!)?  The answer is 'no'.  This is an area that I will probably always need to work on.  I can "know that I know that I know" all I want but demonstrating this to each child is another story.  It needs to be my priority each day.  Even the rainy days, the stressful days, the loud days, the long days, and those last days before any kind of vacation!

DEC Code of Ethics
III.  Responsive Family Centered Practices
     Responsive Family Centered Practices 
         3.  "We shall respect, value, promote, and encourage the active participation of ALL families by engaging
              families in meaningful ways in the assessment and intervention process".

• I think that this ideal is often difficult.  I want the best for my students and I want to believe that their families also want the best for them.  Sometimes I'm not so sure this is the case.  I need to constantly remind myself that not all families are well-educated, especially in the areas of special education and interventions.  Instead of getting frustrated at their response, lack of response, or other comments I need to come up with creative ways to help them understand a student's need for intervention and trust that their ultimate decision will be best.

NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment
Section III Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues
    A - Responsibilities to co-workers 
        I-3A.2 - "To share resources with co-workers, collaborating to ensure that the best possible early childhood 
                    care and education program is provided".

• I love receiving teaching ideas and hints.  I love getting a list of useful resources from someone who found something I didn't know about.  I love to share my ideas with my colleagues.  Well... most of the time.  I need to be more willing to share ideas and resources with my co-workers.  I ran into some problems with a previous co-worker a few years ago - I shared my ideas for awhile and then found that she was just copying my plans for her class and doing everything a day later than me, after observing how I did it.  It irritated me, yes.  I should have brushed it all off.  Who knows, maybe she was out of ideas.  Maybe she wasn't trained well.  Maybe she was insecure.  Maybe she really needed my help and input but was afraid to ask.  Who knows?!    

 

A Children's Book That I Love

Why do I love The Napping House by Audrey Wood?  It's simple: I love it because my students love it.  When students love something, especially a literary work, a teacher can find almost instant joy in allowing them access to it over and over and over again.  Each time we read this book (which, mind you, is at least twice a week) it just gets better and better!  New and improved sound effects come out, unseen illustrations POP out at you, and the giggles... well the giggles get gigglier! 

Educational Quote

"The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don't tell you what to see."
-Alexandra K. Trenfor