Wednesday, December 3, 2014
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!
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.
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.
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