Blog Assignment #11

In these readings about Sarah, there are many values that I see in her approach that I would like to be able to bring to the center that I am at. I am very much so a person that not only enjoys nature but also respects nature. I like that Sarah has a real conviction to get children experiencing the natural world and also to get them to start thinking of ways in which we could help nature. Another very important feature I see in Sarah is that she is an advocate for the children, in a sense that she is always taking the time to learn about the things children and families are interested in when she has little knowledge on the subject. She is also good at acquiring grants and free resources that are available to educational programs.
In our center we recently held a garden clean up day in order to prep our garden for the children to plant seeds. Children are always asking to go water there plants and look to see any progress that may have been made. We also recently took a trip to a stream where the kids where allowed to swim, explore and even catch fish. I do feel however more emphasis could be put on preservation and care for nature and the animals that live there. I feel that children would take on more of a responsibility for nature if they where taught to see nature as an equal and friend rather than as a resource that we use.

assignment #10

Who is responsible for turnover rate? Is it a reflection of poor directing or teachers that just could not hack it? In the readings Michelle was sure that changes need to made to her coaching, mentoring, and hiring approaches in order to have a staff of self reflective problem solvers. I thought that Michelle was very well versed in coaching and mentoring, her conviction to providing a better experience and environment for her staff was something that I firmly believe in. One of the things that Michelle did that I would implement in my own program if I where director would be the side by side mentoring which allows teachers to get 1 on 1 live mentoring in areas that they feel they are not well versed in. Should continued education be a requirement for teachers? Does it matter if staff are not qualified? and does it have in affect on the children in the center?

assignment #9

How can we introduce new and more innovative methods into our program? How do we get staff and family members excited about trying different things? How can we incorporate family and staff feedback into our plans but still stay true to your vision? In the example in chapter six we read about the endeavors of Director Lettie, a director who was really adamant about trying different things to encourage family involvement and a sense of community in the classroom. One of the things that I like about Lettie’s approach to directing is her openness to feedback from families and her ability to take that feedback and revamp her original plan but also appeasing the concerns of parents and staff. I I hope that through experience I can develop this same sort of ability to build a sense of community in my classroom and also the skills necessary to be a coach and a mentor  that the staff feel listens to their concerns and provides positive feedback and also incorporates these ideas into her own plans.

Are you a good manager and overseer?

This chapter talked about the importance of being a good manager of your program. The writer starts off by telling us a story of director who was great at supporting the staff and loved by them to, but because of her lack of managerial skills they felt unsupported. All the children directly affected by teacher's who feel unsupported in their approaches or times of need? If so how do we as teachers gain support in an environment such as the one in the story in the beginning of chapter 5? and as directors how are we to become a fully well rounded director in which we excel in all areas of the triangle? or Can I be a director who is one sided? Shouldn't it not matter what the director is like as long as the teachers do their job?

Blog Assignment #8

 While reading the two stories I could not help but feel that the director Becky was focused more on the paper work, curriculum, and teacher training, than she seemed to do on the children and families. i mean not once did the families even come up in her meeting. While Yolanda on the other hand seemed more rounded in her approach by advocating for all the groups. While Becky's approach to staff development seemed rigid and training based, Yolanda's seemed to be centered on collaboration and dialogue. Another interesting difference that I noticed between the two different stories was the fact that in Becky's story it seemed as if the teacher was scared to give personal input or even question something that she though could be done differently, while on the other hand in Yolanda's story you can see the openness to questions and change and even listening being done by the director.

While further reviewing the stories I feel that I relate to Yolanda in a sense where I am not  managerial in style but more lax and open in a sense like Yolanda.

Are you a coach or a manager?

How do we direct staff properly? How do we handle sensitive staff that could be easily offended? "The Visionary Director" gives us many great strategies and ideas on how to effectively train and oversee staff. One of the most beneficial pieces of the chapter to me was the part that said that in order to effectively train and oversee staff one must assume the role of a coach rather than a manager and not just any coach but the book uses the specific example of a pregnancy coach, one who will encourage and support and give feedback and respect. By doing this you are able to help build and prepare teachers for what they will face but also build a positive relationship with the teachers. I think that another strategy that I see being effective was how the book said to approach training's as a time of reflection, whether it be on the children's development or even the development of the staff. It is also important to remember that we should not just focus on the weakness of ourselves and others but unstead reflect on strengths to. The book stresses the fact that water runs down stream in the sense that if the teachers are not happy and properly trained the experience of the children will be directly effected.

Blog assignment #7

A leader is a person who blueprints and plans out his strategy and vision in order to prepare for the building of a successful program. A leader is a person who is able to mediate any situation that may arrive. A leader tends to his or her program grooming and watering it to grow to its full potential. Leaders need to be all of these things like the architect he must be able to make a plan that everyone can stick to. Like the mediator he must be prepared to handle staff or family conflict. And lastly he must be like a gardener who tends to his plants daily in order to ensure they grow and remain healthy, Who would of thought that the director had so much holes to fill?

Blog Assignment #6

Rethink daily routines, this is a strategy that I think everyone can benefit from. It is import for us to remember that as teachers we also have he responsibility to learn about our students and base curriculum and routines accordingly. In this instance they are talking about using these routine changes to incorporate families into daily routine and also help ease transition for children. The book gives an example with the child coming in still dressed in pajamas, the book then goes on to give a suggestion on how the adding of a room for parents to change children or brush their hair would be good. A simple thing like that incorporates families into programs and also helps develop a positive line of communication between teachers ad parents. Are you open to change?

How important is having a positive relationships with parents?

How important is having a positive relationships with parents? To what extent would you go to make a family feel welcomed and respected? While reading through the scene I could not help but feel like this is the kind of program that I would like to work for. The amount of respect for the students culture was impressive. When reading through the part where the teachers were told to wait while the family elders served themselves first, I kept waiting for the part were one of the teachers would do something that offended the family. This was a perfect example of the way that teachers learn and respect others cultures in order to get a positive community feel going in the classroom. I ask one question though, Another part that I really liked was the stress and importance that was put on respecting the child and remembering that it is for this child we have gathered together. Is this a realistic scenario that you see yourself participating in? Is this something you could implement into your own program.

How do you integrate community into your classroom?

Is my classroom welcoming not only to the children of the center but also the adults? Does my curriculum allow for parent participation? What are some things that I could change to having my classroom more like the programs from the scenarios presented in the book? This chapter really opened my eyes to how much more I could do to create an environment that supports the aspect of community. When reflecting upon the center that I am currently in I can honestly say that not to much of the making parents feel welcome through larger furniture in specific areas. There are some things that I can see in my center that follows along the lines of what we read in the last chapter such as parents coming in and helping upkeep the play area, seminars for parents, and open invitations for parents to get involve through a kind of PTA thing. All in all there is always room for improvement and I plan on advocating for a change in making our classroom have more of a welcoming community feel to it. How do you integrate community into your classroom?

Assignment #4

While analyzing the two scenarios presented in the previous exercise I feel that I was more comfortable with generating responses for building and supporting community because I personally haven't been in a situation were I was able to gain experiences in mentoring people under your lead. How do you gain that sort of experience before entering the classroom? Who is it you see for mentoring when facing crossroads at work? My goals is to observe the directors in my work setting and learn from the strategies they use to implement the three sides of the triangle.

Assignment #3

Scenario #1

	Managing and Overseeing	Coaching and Mentoring	Building and Supporting Community
Issues	·         Effective communications not established ·         Clarify expectations	·         Not much of a mentoring relationship has been established ·         Learn your staff	·         Develop a shared vision ·         learn and understand staff did not take place ·         create opportunity for shared experience
Strategies	·         Staff meeting needs to be held to make clear the vision for the program	·         Build a report with the staff	·         Clearly state vision ·         Set up opportunity for staff to interact other than during work

Scenario #2

	Managing and Overseeing	Coaching and Mentoring	Building and Supporting Community
Issues	·         Expectations not clear ·         Training that help teachers learn and grow	·         After facing rejection by teacher director gave up	·         Environment is not designed to promote sense of belonging
Stratagies	·         Set clear expectations on how the program views the importance of organization	·         You must fin affective ways to reach all staff members ·         Assign staff members research on whether the environment affects learning ·         Appropriately provide feedback to the teacher about the mess	·         Develop a shared vision between teachers and students ·         Clean the room and hall

The many roles of a program director

While reading through chapter to of the second chapter of " the visionary director" my eyes where really opened my eyes to all the work that directors of programs have to do. I never stopped to think about the extent of the work done by directors. Their job not only requires them to interact and direct every aspect of the program from hiring to curriculum. Reading through this chapter has shed a new light on the way I see administration and I now realize the heavy load that they carry.

Are You a Risk Taker?

When it comes to being a risk taker I think I can say that is kinda what I like to do whether its in the classroom or at home during my daily life I can say I am a risk taker. As far as my program goes I am satisfied and have no problems with it but as far as teaching as a profession goes I would say that I am far from pleased. For one the support and funding we receive is mediocre at best and two is we are definitely not paid a wage worthy of the service we provide. I think that it is time that society wakes up and realizes the importance of early childhood education. I would say that I fall under the category of willing to challenge the status quo for something that I truly believe needs changing. I am willing to advocate and stick my necks out if I feel that it will help children receive everything that they could possibly need to make their educational experiences here in the program meaningful.

A lose lose situation, How do we gain resources?

If you look back on the history of teaching as a profession , you would see that teaching was a profession started by women for women. So it is no surprise that  the field is dominated by females, because of this I feel through out the course of history teachers and students alike have never fully experienced support and resources like other departments. In fact it seems like whenever a budget cut needs to be made the first place they look is education. So naturally we as teachers are not going to explain that are inadequate funding and support is leading to providing children with sub par early education in fear that what little support is given will be taken away. So how do you advocate for funds for the children without making our program look sub par in the process.

How important is it to have a vision?

When it comes to early childhood education it is important to have a personal vision and also a common vision in which staff views the children's learning experience. The reading talks about the importance of self reflection and determining your vision and mission statement for your classroom. I also think that it is important for you to examine your reasons for becoming a teacher and what it is that you want to accomplish because regardless of what you do in life if you wander blindly you will not be successful. For me the reason that I am getting into early childhood education is because over the past five years while working in the special education department I have had the opportunity to work with children of all ages. During this time I have seen the result of early intervention and the lack there of. These experiences have really shaped my vision and mission in a sense that I have a real conviction to work in early child hood to provide meaningful and appropriate experiences for young children.

              The Socratic Method is a method of inquiry between people based on asking questions to stimulate critical thinking about a certain rule or norm. It challenges norms by disputing its weaknesses and critiquing its every shortcoming. It is important to critically analyze and asses without the influences of personal bias or pride.