Ready to be a director?

This course and really made us think about different aspects of being a director. All the different things that a director has to do. I now appreciate my director that much more because I know all the stress that she has. I also give her props for doing all that she does, from being a professor, to a mentor, to our director and having to deal with us and our needs. It is just amazing. How would you show your director that you appreciate her? I feel that we do not appreciate the things that our directors do for us because we do not understand their workload and we tend to take things for granted. How would you use these techniques that you learned to build your program? Even though you are not going to be a director, you can still use these when teaching. How would you use these for your everyday in your classroom?

Nature

Assignment 11:

Sarah used her resources well in this situation. Since she had such beautiful landmarks and such great learning opportunities, she created an program that was about nature and the children's environment. Her approach was to teach children that it is not all about "TV" and video games, nature is beautiful and she wanted to teach them how to appreciate it. The children in my program go on nature walks, we think about what we will see and make charts. The children learn about gardening and learning about different types of plants and see them grow. We teach the children that whatever is at the school, should stay at the school because it belongs there. The children enjoy catching potato bugs and millipedes, but they know that they need to go back home when we go back inside to play. I would love to be able to use resources from outside to help us learn about our environment because it is important that the children know what is around them. Involving the entire program was also great because then the children are all learning about the same thing.

Assignment 12:

As a director, I would want my staff to not feel like they are working for a corporate, I want them to feel like they are working in a open and welcoming preschool program. I would want the staff to be able to come to me to help them with any problems they are having. We have many different assessments, but I know that no child is the same, they are all developing the same, I feel that we often forget that children develop at their own pace. I really liked how they took the timepieces out of the classroom, because it allowed the children to not feel rushed. It allowed the children feel like they belong their. It wasn't so teacher-based and more about the child because the staff had to focus on the child and their body languages. My next steps, I would want to be able to use these techniques to create an amazing program!

Bringing my vision to life

What dispositions do you see Michelle bringing to leadership?

Michelle worked hard with her directors group to get help in making her program better. Even though she had a hard time leaving her program to go to the meetings, she knew that it was important for her and her staff for her to go. With these meetings, she was able to come up with ideas that would better help her program. She set policies and structures to help her teachers become self-reflective, collaborative planner and problem solvers. She had to redo her budget, staffing patterns, and her staff's professional development. She focused on her staff and how to make them be more confident in their teaching and planning. Michelle noticed what was wrong, for example, her staffing. She noticed that most of them were leaving or never stayed long, she was constantly hiring new staff. She knew that she was only hiring to fill the spot, not to find valuable and eager teachers.

How are your dispositions similar to or different from Michelles?

I think that for any person, we always reevaluate ourselves at a certain point. I always try to think about how I could do things better. With the support of my staff members, I always find ways to better myself. I know that without them, I probably would not be able to do what I am doing today. I went through what it was like to be short staffed and not having staff that stayed for very long. It was tough on the children and the other staff members because we were constantly overworked or had different people in the classroom. The children were constantly confused and testing the new staff which made it hard for us to have steady schedules. If I were to be a director, the most important thing I would want is for my staff to feel confident in what they do.

What aspects of her vision appeal to you?

What I liked best was the fact that she was so focused on helping her staff and bettering them. At the same time, she was evaluating herself and thinking about things that she could do better that would help her staff and her program. She also asked herself the same questions that she asked her staff. It was like she was connecting herself, rather than being the boss, she was learning along with them and helping them through the process.

What could you imagine yourself doing that is inspired by this story of Michelles work?

I feel like with this story, it helps us learn that even though you are a boss, you have to think about how to evaluate yourself too. Even though there is no one watching you make your mistakes, what you do is also gonna effect the staff and the program. It is a big responsibility, but if you take it slow and try new things, it will all work out. It is also important to have a good support system of people who are there to help you and guide you along the way.

My vision to life

• How did Lettie integrate her leadership work from each side of the triangle?

Lettie used the triangle, and worked together with the support of teachers and families to help create a vision for her toddler classroom. She wanted to make sure that her staff and families felt that they had a part in creating a program for the toddler classroom. She noticed that in most of the programs, the vision was on paper but she did not see it in the staff and the program itself. Lettie made sure that she focused on the children and the families, and include the staff, to help them feel involved and a part of the school. She focused more on the families rather than on the paper work. 

• If you were to put relationships center stage in your management, coaching, and community-building routines, what routine or system might you want to start revamping?

I know that I want to make sure that the parents feel welcomed into the classroom. Making sure that I sustain positive relationships with the parents and the children. Rather than the parents seeing me as the office person who is in charge, I want them to see me as a teacher too who will help their child achieve goals and be the best they can be. I want to welcome them into our daily routines at the school and let them know that I am there for them. If there are things that I could help them with then they should feel free to come to me when they need. Of course, as a director I want to make sure that the parents know that I am there to provide for them and their child. I would also want to have my staff have the same idea of having strong relationships with each other and the families. Even though there are times where parents beliefs and personal beliefs clash, we should all be respectful to each other and work together in supporting the child.

• How would you describe Lettie's disposition?

I think that even though Lettie is the director, she made sure that she involved parents and was very involved in the classroom and learning about the children and their families. She related to them in many ways. She also built strong relationships with the staff and created an vision by visiting other programs and seeing what works and what didn't. She also had patience for making sure that she considered every idea from staff and parents to create a vision that incorporated everyone's idea. She made sure that everyone worked together to help each other. She wanted parents to feel welcomed into the classroom and do things with the children. She created a place for the children and families to feel at home and safe.

• What disposition do you want to strengthen in yourself to begin your revamping work?

I know I want to work on having my parents feel that they can talk to me about anything. Because I am so young, I feel like it is hard to relate to them because I do not have children, nor am I married. I also know that I need to work on my communication skills because I am shy. I want to make sure that parents will feel welcomed into the classroom and the preschool, but also maintaining professionalism. The children are the most important priority and I want to make sure that parents know that I am there to be there for their children 110% and that my goal is to make sure that their child is learning at their best abilities. 

The best approach?

What do you think is the best foundation to a preschool? I know that for my preschool, we are still trying to figure things out. Each week, we come up with new ideas and its hard to just focus on one thing because we are trying so many different things and have so many different ideas. With every preschool, there are gonna be things that need to be worked on. There is no perfect preschool, but there must be specific rules that keep children safe. I think that one of the most important things is to have a staff that is there for the children, and are there to build an environment that cater to the children's interest in learning and their safety. It is important that the teachers and the director work together as a team, and making sure that even though the director is their boss, they feel equal and help each other out. 

Manager vs Coach

Becky's goal is strictly business. She wants to make sure that things are done and that there is something to show. She does not care much about how it is being done or what is going on in the classroom. Rather, she wants to see what is written down and expects that everything is going well. It is all about looks rather than action for Becky. For staff development, Juanita is scared to tell her director anything because she is afraid of getting in trouble. That probably means she feels intimidated by her superior. Becky also makes Juanita feel like she is not competent because her students are not going by the schedule that she has posted. To get things done, she has one on one meetings, which are more intimidating and she just talks to Juanita about things that she is doing in the classroom that is on paper, but does not help or put any input about plans and concerns.

Yolanda's approach is coming into the classroom where the staff that work in the classroom are. She shares pictures and is excited to give input on things that she observed. She gives support on ideas and is excited to learn about what the children are learning in the classroom and what seems to be the interest of the children. She mentions anything that may trigger what may be the reason why the children are interested in moving. Also, she makes sure that the staff feel comfortable and asks for their opinions and ideas about how they could encourage and promote the children's development rather than just giving them answers.

Becky is more demanding and wants things in order, Yolanda is more encouraging and wants to have the teachers think and work together.

a welcoming director..?

I have experienced two different types of directors in my preschool career. The first director I worked for, she was always not "there," she always forgot things and was quite unprofessional. The other director I had was very in the way, demanding, and bossy. She made us feel like we were being attacked all the time and under the radar. She was quite rude to parents, it also caused parents to pull their child out of the preschool because they did not like her. Now, the director that I work for is not always there because she has other work to do also. So it is quite different. The structures in the preschool are also different too.

The preschool I am at now is okay with children being part time, coming in at any time, and leaving early in the morning too. It is quite different for me because I am used to structures and not just going with the flow like now. But I also think it is because I am still learning how to be a good teacher, that I am having some problems. 

As a director...how would you structure your preschool? Would you make it strict and have it full-time only? With mandatory 8am attendance? It is quite difficult to think about things like this because a director needs to consider to community and the parents that she is catering to.

Assignment 5, 6, & 7

Assignment 5:

I don't think that I would have thought of something like that. It seemed amazing to be able to experience something like that in the early childhood field. Our version would be a parent teacher conference with the child's parent, and it is mostly to talk about where the child stands. I am currently going through conferences with my parents and I rather hear what the parents have to say than what I have to say. It would be great to have meetings like this where all the staff and family could come together to help plan something for the child that everyone agrees on, because for one thing, just because I am the teacher, the children in the other classes also play with the child and the teacher should know the plans and ideas that are set for the child. Working with the other teachers is a great experience for everyone because they get to feed off each others ideas and get different professional pointers. How often do we get to actually talk to parents and share experiences that we enjoyed about the child? We only get to do it briefly with the parents during the day at pick up and drop off, or share one or two during our conferences. We often forget about the child's individuality, and that they are special in their own way. To have a meeting with a small ceremony where we focus on the child and how they brought everyone together, is a great thing. I would understand that it is quite difficult to do that for every child, which is probably why we do not do that for all the children. Also, I feel that if we were to have something like this, it is because the teachers may be having some concerns about the child's development and performance at school. Is it in the culture that the staff and the parents have meetings like this? How would you go about this for all the children in your classroom? Or would you only be doing this for the children who teachers have concern for?

Assignment 6:

In my program, the parents sometimes stay with the children for a few minutes before they leave. We have couches for the parents to read and hang out with the children or other parents. Although we encourage the parents to come early so that the child can get all the learning experiences they can get, which is mostly during the morning, we try to help the children go through transitions as best as possible. An experience that I am going through right now is with a child that is not in my class. However, his class and my class play together when dad drops him off. Dad would sit with him on the couch for at most, 5 minutes (child's choice), and when the time is up, I would come and pick him up. We would say bye to dad and then go feed the fishes that are in my classroom and then go to the bathroom, then outside to play. So far, he hasn't thrown a tantrum like he used to where he would be screaming for a long time and continuously ask for dad. Now he gets through the day well and plays with the children and is very happy. As much as possible, I try to encourage the parents to come into the classroom and look around, check out the artwork on the wall, and ask questions. We have times where the children are playing and 10 minutes before the school closes, we tell the children that it is time to clean up and read a book or puzzle until mommy or daddy get here. That is our way of telling the children that mommy and daddy is coming. We also try to tell the distressed children that the teachers are staying with them until their mommy or daddy comes, so they do not have to be scared at all. We also encourage the parents to call if they are going to be late, so that we are able to tell the child that their mommy or daddy will be a little late, which gives a little ease to them.

Assignment 7:

I thought of myself as an enthusiast, the reason is because I am so willing to try different activities. Although I am a perfectionist too, I like things to do perfectly, and sometimes it gets frustrating because the children do not do what I want, which I can't help. I do not force my children to do the activities that I plan for them because I want to give them that choice to say no. If I were to ever be a director, I think I would want to try to be an architect because they build so many amazing buildings with great foundations. They also have intricate thought out plans and have to think about the product as a whole. I would try to take classes and go to as much workshops to help build myself as a professional director because early childhood education is changing everyday and new techniques and methods are being discovered.

An Equal Triangle.

I know that this may not be relevant to what we are learning now, or it may be. But today I had a really tough day at work. It was also hard to not be able to talk to my fellow teachers about it because we all have our own worries to think about. Also, it is hard to not have a set limit for certain things because there is still a lot of figuring out to do. I have a child that could possibly have behavior problems, it is hard to deal with in the classroom because he gets impulsive and aggressive. He is also at the toddler stage of development, but he is older. The first time this happened, it wasn't so bad. The story was, my co-teacher who I work closely with between our two classrooms was on a trip. So during nap time, I was not able to be with the child. The schedule was really different and I was not around the child much for the two days. One of the days was Friday, after nap time, I went to check on him because mom emailed me and told me that she would be picking him up early. He was awake, so I got him up to go to the bathroom, after that he was acting weird. He did not want me anywhere near him and he would scream. It carried on to the weekend, and when we were back at school on Monday, he was still the same. It was very frustrating, especially when my assistant is not there on Mondays. I had a hard time trying to discipline him and keep him in the classroom. He would also hit me and run off constantly. This mood went on for a few frustrating days. After, he started slowly talking to me again then forgave me. 

On Thursday, I was sick so I was not able to come into work. I then returned on Friday. However, he was starting to act strange again and did not want to be near me. I figured it was because he was mad at me for not being there on Thursday. I was trying to get him to go to his mat for nap time, but he refused. As we were sitting and listening to story with the Pre-K children, both my co-teacher and I gave him many warnings about how he would have to leave if he starts playing with the toys because its story time. After the last warning. He fought with me and made a commotion about leaving. I had to physically pick him up and take him out of the classroom, he then was able to hit me on the face a few times. That really frustrated me, but I took a breath and calmly but firmly told him "Please do not hit me, you are hurting me and it makes me sad." He felt guilty after awhile, but he still was not listening to me. Today was the first time ever since I started in the preschool field, even as an aide, where I thought I give up. My friend then sent me this quote, and it has stuck to me all day.

Some of you ask how I would create an work environment where my staff would never feel attacked or targeted like how I was. I simply feel like no workplace should ever be that way, but unfortunately,  there are. I feel like there are people who just take authority in a different matter, and how people take what you say is something to consider. Sometimes, what you think is funny may be offensive to others. Which is why it is important to get to know each staff member and be professional at work because we never know what could be offensive to a person. I would love to have a great support system for the staff. Where the staff feels comfortable discussing work related issues to each other and provide feedback and help. I am lucky that I do have that, but sometimes I do feel alone. With the three sides to the triangle, they are all equally important, but they all somehow tie into each other. 

I know I am not ready to run a preschool, I am still figuring out how to be a teacher. We all make mistakes and I think with a good support system and good communication, it would slowly work out. In the ECE field, there are always something different that happens and everyday is a surprise. So as a director, I feel that it is important for them to be prepared for anything to happen!

Am I ready to be a director?

When I was thinking about how to categorize the situations into the three different areas of the triangle, I just couldn't figure it out. I wanted to be able to categorize them, but they all seemed to fit together in the same areas and the same suggestions came up, even after I reread all the characteristics for each side of the triangle. Am I the only one that is having this problem? I feel like the role of managing and overseeing would be the easiest side of the triangle for me, because it is more about dealing with the business side of the preschool, where I plan training courses, meetings, and evaluate the staff. That part is easier because it is somewhat more set in stone than the other two sides. In the book it states "your managing and overseeing role has limitations when it comes to applying what is known about adult learning theory and effective staff development work." That is very true because if a preschool was more about paperwork, then it would be a business rather than a preschool. I would not know how the staff run the classroom and not know much about the children and the way that the staff teach, which would cause me to be stereotypical and go based on research and what is expected in the children through studies. Without the other two sides of the triangle, I would not be able to make the program a program about the children and the staff. However, the managing and overseeing side is important because it is the foundation to what the staff do with the children because I plan training classes for the staff, what they learn in the training will be applied to the children, so it is important to know the children well and get insights from staff member, which means I need to form bonds and be in the classroom.

"If supervisors can just get their staff to remember all the regulations and guidelines, or if they purchase a research-based curriculum, they will have a quality program." Directors who believe that if they train their staff enough or if they buy expensive and well noted handbooks, it just takes a lot of time and is very useless for the program and the staff. Learning how the staff teaches and how they work in the classroom is important because it can help you build a program that is fun for the staff and the children. It makes the staff feel important, because they are, they are there to teach the children to their best potentials. With being able to show the staff that their teaching style is important to you, then it makes them feel like they are doing well and you are willing to work with them. "Adult learning theory suggests that as a director you must be mindful of the family and cultural backgrounds and the life experiences that the staff bring to your program." With the different cultures and the different backgrounds that the staff have, there can be many different ideas and thoughts that come with it, which is great because not everything will be one-sided. Staff are more willing to work together when everyone is eager and come with different ideas, which they can bounce off each other. I feel that this would tie together with the building and supporting community, because with everything together, support for the teachers will make them feel comfortable and willing to explore outside of their comfort zone.

I think that the most important thing is to build a strong bond with the staff to make them feel comfortable, and to base the program off the values and the teaching styles of the staff, also to avoid bias because we want to make all families and staff from different backgrounds to feel comfortable. It is just important to me to make sure that my staff feel welcomed and work well together because if staff members do not work together than it just becomes a and environment for everyone.

The Triangle...

After doing the scenarios that were provided in the textbook, it really made me think about how I would handle these situations. I have been in situations like this, where the teachers did not like one teacher. Also, when the staff started to turn from the director because they did not like the way she approached us. I have felt like I was being attacked all the time when the director was talking to me, that was the reason why I have left after being there for 1.5 years, it was tough letting go of the children and the staff, but because I felt like I was always being targeted, it was really not healthy for me to be there.

When I was working on the scenarios, I had a hard time differentiating which issue belonged in which category. Mostly because I felt that all the issues somehow applied to each of the categories. The main issues that I saw were that Mary Beth and Katrina did not like me as a director because they are used to doing what they usually do. This leads me back to the taking risks assignments that we have done. Because I am a new director, they felt that I would change everything and they are resistant to change. This could be why they did not want to listen to me and ignore me, also why they voiced out to Doreen about not liking me and telling the other staff to go about doing what they usually do. I think that the main thing that Mary Beth and Katrina have a hard time with is accepting change. They are used to doing the same curriculum every year, where they do not see that the children learn nothing from the activities that they are providing them because it does not interest them at all. As much as it is great to have a curriculum in the classroom and have things planned for everyday, with a focus on what the children will be learning, the children's interests should also be hugely considered in the planning situation. Although it may be hard to find something that all the children are interested in, the children learn more when it is something that they want to know or want to learn more about. A strategy that I thought would be good would be to have a meeting with the staff about what their goals are for the children and the program. Maybe have evaluations and ask questions about why they wanted to become a caregiver. I also think that it is a good idea to let the staff know that I am there to make the program the best it can be, and that I am open to suggestions and know that I make mistakes too. I want to be able to let the staff know that I support them in any way possible rather than them feeling like they need to be reserved with what they do.

With the issue with Michael, I think that it is a safety violation because the food that is in the cubbies, it causes roaches which would leave droppings and the children would be touching it. I maybe suggest that, yes his philosophy is great, but the way that he is approaching it needs work because the children are just putting things into the cubbies. I would suggest that he have different areas for the children to put different things. For example, art boxes for the art that they do, cubbies for their clothes and personal belongings, and for the toys, if they are not done playing with them, he could have a "Save Tray" with their names on it, where they put the toys that they are not done playing with on the tray for later on. Even though Michael is resistant, I will have to put my foot down on the topic because it is a safety hazard for the parents and the children because it is the main walkway where the parents and children are being dropped off and picked up. 

How do you know...?

As I reflect on the past few days of work and all the things that I have been reading about "risks." The first thing that comes to mind is special education children. I have a child, who we think is special education. The child sometimes has very violent outbursts, and by the middle of the week, all the staff members are burnt out. How do you know when it is time to talk to the parents about the behavior and how would you approach it? It is never a good thing have to talk to a parent about how their child is behaving...... I feel that this is a big risk because the parent might take it wrong and become very upset.

Is your personality someone who is willing to take criticism? Sometimes, when I know that I am trying and working hard, when someone tells me something negative about my work, I get very offensive and it just bothers me. I always want things to go smoothly, but I know that it never happens that way. Everyone also has their own opinions about things and I know that sometimes my boss is just trying to help me become a better teacher. However, sometimes it's hard to listen to her opinion on something that she saw happen, because she doesn't understand why it happened, or what the purpose of something was. Sometimes she would see something and later bring it up and suggest something, it is a good idea if I was able to give that child that one-on-one, instead of having to give 12 other children the same attention. I have a hard time just saying that I would try to do what she wants to do. Do you have that issue too and how would you handle it?

Taking Risks

My personality in general is that I do not like changes. I always get really nervous when things are different or things are changing. I like consistency and routine, which is why I think I work well with children because they need consistency and routines. From a personal point of view, I always thought change was scary because sometimes, I don't know the outcome of things, and I want to make sure that if I did a certain thing, either something good comes out of it, or just the fact that I will be okay. Also, when I am comfortable with something, I don't really like changing it. I like to come up with ideas and think of new things to do too. I am willing to try new things if given the chance, however not much of a risk taker.

The text asks "are you satisfied with how things are in your program, in your profession, and in society at large?" Well, I have to say that nothing is perfect, but I feel that our program has its ups and downs. It may not be as strict as other preschools, but because of the families that we cater to, I feel that we give more leeway to them. In my profession, I wish that we could be taught more things about what we can do in the classroom, activity wise, dealing with children, and other things that we can apply in our daily routines with the children instead of learning so much about theory. In society, there can be so many changes that can be done, but there is only so much that a person can do to change society unless they are someone who is watched constantly under social media.

I always thought my dream was to become a preschool teacher, and now that I am living my dream, I wonder, is this where I am at forever now? Have my dreams finally come true? But I feel like I haven't succeeded yet because I have yet a lot to learn about being a preschool teacher. I always wanted to be one teacher that I worked with, she was really good at what she does, her children were always engaged and she always knew the right thing to do. I have a long way to go to become that perfect teacher, but when will I know when I have reached it?

A question that I thought of while reading the paragraph was, how do you even start to think of a perfect program? Where do you even begin? There are so many things that need to be done that it seems like endless amounts of work. I feel that my director always has so many things to do and it never gets done because there is always something else that she has to do at the same time. I feel that way about us teachers too, these past few weeks have been so overwhelming that the other teacher that I work with is also losing his mind too.

Overall, I feel that the perfect program is different in every program because of the different backgrounds of children that they cater to. With the program, with the perfect staff that work well together and are able to handle the amount of stress and take on responsibilities, I feel that the program will do well. 

Taking Early Childhood Education Seriously...

The text talks about how the early childhood education field is predominately female. At the preschool that I used to work at, it was all females. At the preschool that I work at now, we have a male teacher and an male aide, which is quite different. However, I feel that gender does not make a difference in anyones passion in teaching. The way that my fellow teacher teaches is really amazing and he handles situations well. I feel that sometimes, he does a better job than most teachers that I have worked with. So what does that say about gender roles? I feel that it is offensive for people to say that teaching is a woman's job. Why does it make it a woman's job? I feel that I work just as hard and it is very tiring just as any job there is.

Do you ever think that when you tell someone that you are working in the education field, that it is expected of you because you are a woman? Women are always known as being the caregiver at home and the ones who take care of children, nurture the children, and care for the home. However, roles are changing now where men are starting to be the ones who care for the children because their wives are the ones who are the breadwinners. The male teacher that I work with, he is the primary caregiver for his 4 year old daughter because his wife is the one who makes more money. Does this mean that society is changing? Does that make it wrong for men to be the primary caregiver? 

Week One

Many times, I wonder how I could become a better caregiver. As I am starting my new journey as an early childhood educator, I am often intimidated and scared because of all the responsibilities that are involved in this position. I am glad that my director and the teaching staff believe in me, but the question I always question myself is "do I think I can do it?" Do you often feel like you are not fulfilled enough to be the teacher? Sometimes I feel like I do not do enough or I'm just so scared of doing everything wrong. However, without error, I will not be able to learn from my mistakes. As caregivers, the children look up to us for guidance and for answers, what if we do not have the answers? I want the children to be able to look at me and say "that's my teacher!" Although often times it is not that way, because I am still learning and co-teaching with a senior teacher, it is quite difficult at times actually voice out that I am in charge also because I also run to him for help. If you could, please tell me how you handle your classroom and or take care of your classroom and how you give confidence in your teaching skills?