Preschool is a Precious Time

I know that many preschool parents are in the fray of looking for an elementary school right now. I hope you take many moments to appreciate this amazing and amusing time in the lives of your preschool children. in a few months this process will be over and you will be in a school, and right now your child is engaged in a very magical connection to their teachers, peers and you.

The Buy-In

I attended a roundtable discussion about documentation and Reggio inspired work where I got into a heated debate with one of the facilitators about the responsibility of educators to make their teaching visible. There was a panel of four educators; each one presented a documentation piece from their classroom or playgroup. After each presentation there was a question and answer period. One of the panelists presented an inspiring documentation about a bird project that lasted for months. What struck me most by her discourse was the fact that she had another teacher in her classroom who struggled against project-based curriculum and who kept doing her "canned curriculum" she had been doing for years. I raised my hand and innocently asked, "What action did you take to help your other teacher understand what you were doing?" The panelist replied that she hadn't really worked on that piece, and maybe she should have. Now this is a very important component of my teaching; I'm constantly trying to figure out how to transmit information to parents, teachers and children. Since this roundtable was, in essence, about this topic, I asked, "What would you have done to get the teacher to buy in to your philosophy?" Suddenly, another panelist become visibly upset and announced that the teacher had no responsibility to solicit the other teacher's buy-in. I respectfully disagreed, "I understand that we are all on a journey, and that everyone is at a different place with how they teach, but I strongly feel that it is our duty to inform the field about why we do what we do. If our teams don't understand or support each other, then that's a problem." Her pretext that, "teachers doing this work didn't have time to mentor other teachers," wasn't good enough for me. Here she was talking about the significance of documenting, which is a vehicle we use to convey what we do and why we do it, yet she couldn’t see how her words contradicted the basis of her seminar.

So What?

What are "best practices" and where do they come from? I enjoy my conversations with parents and educators about this hot button topic that, I believe, encourages a narrow and subjective view of child development. I believe that there are optimal practices, but they are optimal only in the social, cultural, geographic, individual and/or interdependent context in which they are realized. I can and do have strong feelings about what is best for the children in my care, but I respect and appreciate the optimal practices of other teachers who may or may not share my views. Janet Gonzalez-Mena writes about the concept of "third space". for me it is the idea that I can have strong beliefs and still hold a space someone with very different beliefs. This is not only liberating, but keeps me open to language and practices that are different from my own. My 25 years of experience is only as good as my ability to assimilate and incorporate new perspectives into my practices. I need to reflect on the question, "so what?" Why is what I'm doing right now so important? Is it because I said so, or do I have a developmental reason that is rooted in the task at hand? Perhaps there are indicators that are pointing me in a different direction, but I'm stuck in trying to control the teachable moment. When and if I become aware of such conflicts, I try to let the teachable moment guide me. For example, the other day I brought big trucks into the classroom in the morning. We had tracks on the floor made out of tape and the children were thrilled. They began pushing the trucks around slowly and carefully, I reminded them to do so often. Finally, they couldn't function inside my somewhat controlling guidelines and started bolting around the classroom with the trucks. I was amazed at the speed and energy the children were producing. My heart pounded because I did not think the children were capable of being safe at such speeds with such big metal trucks. I reflected on my trepidations and realized that I didn't like the noise and was afraid of what the parents coming into the room would think of the "chaos". I decided that those reasons were not good enough to stop the children's play so I stepped back, intentionally, and the children continued to run around, stopping when they needed to let someone by, or if someone was moving at a slower pace. The children were learning about where they are in space and where others are in a shared space. When parents came into the room most of them smiled at the scene being played out at knee level. I explained my process to the few parents who seemed reticent and I think they got it. I know that the children had a meaningful and personal experience that I facilitated by reflecting on my practices then letting go of my need to control their play.

Men in ECE

Why are there so few men in ECE? I believe that it is a complex and fascinating phenomenon. I am a man who has been teaching for over 25 years and have not seen a significant increase in the number of men in the classroom. I attend national conferences where I am among the few men in attendance. At workshops designed to support men in ECE, I hear men tell their stories of why it is hard for them to stay in the field. Low wages and hostile working environments seem to dominate the conversation. While I agree that the wages are low, this fact has not deterred women from making sacrifices in their lifestyles and with their families to persue this career path. Wages should be higher in the field because teachers need to eat, not because they are men or women. Sometimes I feel that our country is stuck in the mindset of a 1950's sitcom where men are the breadwinners and women have little trivial jobs to fill their time. It is not a good enough excuse for me, and I feel embarassed for my gender when I hear men express this opinion.
I do, however, believe that the Early Childhood Education field can be a hostile and intimidating place for men. Flashback to the 1950's movie where the flustered father is useless when it comes to comforting a crying baby and has to be "saved" by the mother who takes the infant from him and miraculously, the crying stops. Parents as well as teachers often question why a man would want to work with children. they are suspicious of men's motives and defer important questions about their child to a female teacher. We are warned, "for our own safety," not to be alone with children and not to take children to the bathroom, we are even forbidden to hold children in our laps in many settings. This, to me, is a good enough reason for men not to join this field.

Where Do The Children Play?

In the ECE world we often hear the phrase, "Environment is a second teacher." In other words, a classroom environment that is carefully managed helps the teacher by allowing the children to have deep and meaningful play without many conflicts. A classroom like this is obvious when you enter it. it feels like a place that you would like to explore, not flee. It is stimulating enough that it peaks your interest with clearly defined areas, a balance of appropriate materials, space, and light. children need and deserve a warm and beautiful place to spend their day. A cramped classroom may have wonderful materials but invites conflict as children fight for space. A classroom with a lot of space but too few materials invite conflict as children fight over materials. A great way to make decisions about classroom management is to base them on observations of the children as they play in the space. Where are they drawn? Which areas do they avoid? and then we have to ask ourselves that question that seems to put even the most seasoned teacher into defensive mode, "why?" each year I reassess my classroom with my team. after 12 years, It feels really good. some of the problems had to do with the arrangement of the room. Big cubbies blocked the view and flow of the children towards the back of the room where our sink, art, book, and science areas were located. also, a big easle coupled with a large table made access difficult. A big closet that a parent help convert into a soft children's book area freed up plenty of space in the back of the room. Then, by rearranging the cubbies and getting a wall mounted easel to replace the big easel, we created a more inviting and useful area for the children. Area rugs help define the Block and Dramatic Play Areas. the furniture is arranged to allow movement between the two areas.

My First Entry

I have finally entered the world of blogging. I hope this blog will inform me, other teachers, and parents alike regarding teaching and raising children in today’s world. I have 25 years of experience in the field and am thrilled about learning new ways of approaching teaching. (Or not-so-new ways that are tried and true.) I want to be a part of a community of forward thinkers who are interested in changing the landscape of the ECE field. I will be discussing such issues as using an authentic voice with children, emergent curriculum, strategies for problem-solving with children and adults and working with diverse families.