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.