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.
Comment for Assignment 7: Hi Monica, that's awesome that you are willing to try different activities at work. I believe that when you work with children you need to be willing to try different things and change your plans for the day. You might have an exciting outdoor activity planned for the day but then it starts storming outside so you will have to be willing to switch your activity to something indoors. Does your trait of being a perfectionist sometimes clash with your enthusiasm? What strategies do you use to not let your frustrations how to the children when you get frustrated when things don't go perfectly? What is your plan for children that do not want to try the planned activity?
ReplyDeleteBeing an architect requires perfection because one wrong miscalculation would be disastrous. Having a trait of being a perfectionist would come in handy if you were an architect so that's a great choice Monica. The connection you made between being a director and being an architect and having to think about things as whole is very true. As a director you must look at the big picture which is the program but then you need to think about all the little details which is the same as an architect. You are both responsible for the outcome of the program/building.
Hi Monica,
ReplyDeleteAt the start of your posting this week, you share during your own parent/teacher conferences, you as teacher want to hear from the parents/families rather than just having you talk. This seems to be something you are considering throughout the rest of your post -- what is the role of the parent? And how do I as teacher give parents/families more voice?
As a director, in what ways might you support these desires for teachers? What kinds of policies and practices would be central to reflect parent/family voice? How might these voices influence how a community is developed and maintained? Can more parent/family voice impact how power is shared (or not shared) within an early childhood community? How do the examples in the text inspire you to consider how to construct spaces for parent/family voice? Are these inspirations more teacher or director based? Is there a difference?
Cheers,
Jeanne
Response to SBP #7:
ReplyDeleteYes, early childhood education IS changing everyday and we need to be ready and equip for whatever comes our way.
I completely understand your frustration when children do not do things the way you planned. That is actually something I struggled with during my first year as a teacher’s assistant. I was taught that the process of things was more important than the product when you are learning or teaching something. And with that, I would plan to have children go through the same process as each other and learn specific things. I had to realize that we can plan all we want, but if the children aren’t interested in it, then it’s not gonna flow. We have to be the ones to go along with their flow and use what they give us to teach them what they need to know. How can this idea be applied to you wanting to be an architect or director?
Specific Blog Post #5
ReplyDeleteHi Monica,
You spoke about how it was nice for all the members of the teaching staff to meet together to discuss the child's IEP in an inviting, non-threatening way. You also mentioned how it might be difficult to do that for all the children in your class and I agree with that. Families of young children often have very busy lives between work, school & caring for their own children. What might you do to provide that same warm and welcoming feeling in your parent-teacher conferences? Do you make it a point to express to your parents what a privilege it is to have their child in your class? How can we create this kind of space and comfort?
Thank you for sharing,
Kaliko
Hi Monica,
ReplyDeleteAssignment 5:
I agree that hearing what the parents have to say about their child is really important. I think that it benefits the staff to hear the input and maybe the goals and concerns that the parent has for their child. I also like the idea of the ceremony and where the focus of the meeting is. I think that the focus should be on wonderful things that the child does. There should be more discussions on the positive and the growing and development. I feel that this type of meeting should be for all children and not just the ones there are concerns for.
Assignment 6:
I really enjoy how your classroom welcomes the parents and seems very inviting and consciously doesn’t things for the parents. I like that the parents are welcomed to walk around the classroom and sit with teach child. I think that it also benefits the child if the transition is consistent, which it seems like it is.
Assignment 7:
I thin that its great that you are an enthusiast and are willing to try new things. I can relate to the children not doing exactly what you want and what you envision. But I have learned that children may not do things or use things in the way that our adult mind envisions things to be. Bu they are very innovative and create new products and act in a amazing way. An example is the manipulative table toys that we have in the classroom. The different blocks are separated in different plastic containers. The children take out the toys and end up mixing them up on the table. But the amazing thing is that they start to become innovative and create restaurants, train station, cities, etc. with the waffle blocks, the wooden logs, the farm animals, etc. I envisioned in my mind of the children playing separately with one type of toy, but they ended up playing with all the toys together to build something amazing through creativity and collaboration.
Hello Monica,
ReplyDeleteBlog Post 5 Response:
I think that it would difficult to always have a ceremony with a feast like the one in Michael's IEP meeting. On the other hand, it is possible to celebrate every child in the classroom in our own way. We can be responsive to the children's social and cultural contexts. We can make families feel welcomed and we can share stories during those informal chat times, even if they may be short. What are your strategies in making families feel comfortable during conference meetings?
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Geena
Aloha Monica,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think you would't have thought about a scenario like this? Do you think we often stick to what we know/experience? How does this new awareness affect you as a teacher? your vision as a director? How will you use this new awareness?
How do you encourage families to look around the classroom and ask questions? I struggle with this and incorporating families into routines. How do you include families into routines so that they are an equal partner?
Mahalo
Chloe