Should all staff be observed periodically?

Knowing your adult learners will take more time than you have allotted during your interview. Although this is a crucial time filled with important information a director may use to decide on who to hire, it's no where near actually knowing someone as a teacher, or a person. I have only been to two interviews for a sub position, then a teaching assistant position. I filled out my application with all the works before hand, and was asked questions of how I would interact with children, handle conflicts, and more at the interview. I also handed them my professional portfolio and a binder of work sampling I had collected in the previous semester to show them more of my capabilities with correlated with their schools system of collecting data. Thankfully, I did get the job. But do I feel that they knew me at that point as an educator? No. I feel that although people may have the training or education, or say what people want to hear- actions speak louder than words. I feel that I learned a lot of things throughout my education, but it was not until I had opportunities to practice my skills in the classroom environment while being observed that I actually got to see, reflect, and appreciate all the good I was doing. It also gave me many ideas and areas to improve and work on. My instructor observed me about three times in one semester, and all were followed up with a debrief. I feel that these observations were one of the most valuable experiences I have had thus far throughout my educational experience, because I gained so much from it. If students are observed during their education in order to recognize the skills they are using, and find areas for improvement, should teaching staff be observed periodically as well? Should teachers be viewed as students as well?

Specific Blog Assignment #5,6,7

Assignment #5

Wow…! That word pretty much sums up every emotion I had while I read this example. I have never heard of such a thing during any of my classes or reading while I’ve been studying, volunteering, and working on the field. This school and culture seems to have a deep respect towards a child needing help. It seems that it this meeting is in no way seen as a negative or exhausting thing. I can imagine that some would feel burdened by the responsibility to attend and create an IEP plan for a child because it is tedious and a collaborative effort; but not these people. I really found the words and reminders shared at the beginning of the meeting useful and touching, because it is true. It’s refreshing, and I feel that if we all opened discussions or meeting about our children like this, things may be done and taken more positively. For example, my first experience doing parent teacher conferences: With the first couple sets of parents, the lead teacher kind of jumped right in with more critical things, and I could tell that the parents got quickly defensive and concerned. After those few, I suggested if I could open with a blanket statement that, “all children have unique personalities, interests, and strengths; and that we all develop at different levels. Our job is to look and find ways we can help their child improve.” All the meeting which followed seemed to be more pleasant for all parties involved J

Assignment #6

The first thing that came to mind while reading the strategy was separation anxiety. Although we do not have the challenge of children arriving in pajama’s at a critical time of the day, we do have a few children who occasionally scream bloody murder when it’s time for their parents to walk out the door. One strategy listed that I feel would be beneficial at our program is to, “Create consistent rituals for the beginning and ending of the day that families can participate in, such as singing, dancing, or playing music to signal these times.” The thing is, the teacher I am currently working with, who has had years of experience in the field, feels that it is not good for parents to “linger,” and that doing so makes it harder for the child. But I feel that if the children had a moment ‘at school’ to participate in something fun with their parent, it may ease the anxiety of their parent leaving because they will hopefully be happily engaged in an activity going on with the entire class. Less time to be worrying about mommy, daddy, grandpa, or whoever it is- leaving them. I also love the idea of a, “cozy corner for families,” because families will feel more warm and welcomed when you are providing them a place to spend a bit of time with their child. But for this strategy, should there be a guideline for how long they should stay with their child trying to ease the transition? Would being there with them for 15min prior to transition time be more or less affective compared to a shorter time of maybe 3-5 minutes?

How can I tell a teacher who has been in the field for about 30 years that I think these strategies may be a good thing, if she feels that “lingering parents” is more of a negative thing?

Assignment #7

Skills Affecting my Community Building Roles

Architect: spatial awareness, organization, care, cultural knowledge

Weaver: social, attentive, comforting, positive

Sculptor, Meditator, Horticulturalist: Gentle, patient, calm, hopeful, positive, purposeful

These skills would apply to my work as a director because I feel that directors need to have such a wide range of skills to deal with all that they must manage and do every single day. They need to plan and be organized for meeting, staffing, etc. They need to communicate and be social with many people in a positive manner. And they need to be patient and purposeful through all of their challenges as a director. These are just a few of the many, many skills that I feel directors must practice in order to be at their fullest potential.

What I’m amazed with is how many people directors seem to have to communicate and meet with. It seems as if they are the piece that connects everyone together.

Due to the diverse ethnicities of children in Hawaii, how might a program go about making their center feel like a home?

Here in Hawaii, there are many different ethnicities. One homes decor may look completely different than another. From different wall hangings and art, to various designs of furniture. For many families, living in Hawaii comes with the expense of barely making it by. Many homes are furnished with the bare necessities, and not much more. With this is mind, how does a program design their classroom environment to meet the childrens' comfort of their home environment without making them feel "out of place"? 

A strategy from the text suggests incorporating elements from home-design magazines. I would not neccesarily agree with this because the look of homes in magazines are often very different than the homes of the children in our programs here in Hawaii. The strategies from the text which I feel could be put to use are: adding a variety of elements, cozy lighting, and displaying children's art work and photo's of their families. These here are simple things that can be done in any center. 

Because of Hawaii's diverse ethnicities and economic challenges, how might a program go about making their center feel like "home" to every child involved? Should we have a different set of strategies specialezed to our world here in Hawaii?  

Specific Blog Assignment #3 and #4

Assignment #3

Scenario #1: 

1)-One of the first issue that I felt was there, was the lack of a relationship between the new director and the teachers Mary Beth and Katrina.      

-Another issue which I felt was there was the lack of respect towards the director.                                             -No direction for the enthusiasm of the new employee

2)-The first issue stated above relates to all the areas of the triangle. No one should just walk into a classroom, and make suggestions for improvement. Because the people involved may feel attacked, or like the things they do are not good enough, and have a "who are you to tell me" kind of attitude. As a director it is important to build relationships with the members of the staff. Talk stories with them and spend time in the classroom pointing out positive things you see around and in what they do. Verbally express it to them. This will help help build a supportive community, and after this, they should be more receptive to constructive criticism. This will make your job and their receptiveness to you managing, overseeing, coaching, and mentoring them more respected.     

-Another thing which could help improve the programs sense of community would be to arrange for Mary Beth and Katrina to mentor Doreen. This could be a way for Doreen to learn more, but also maybe share new ideas and inspiration with the them as well. This could also be a collaborative effort in making new signs and things of the mix to spunk up the classroom. If the director partners with Doreen, Doreen's enthusiasm to learn could also inspire the "set in their ways" teachers to open up a bit more as well.                                                                                                                                                                 

Scenario #2                                                                               

1. -The first issue sounds to be Michael's lack of consideration of others in the community.                                                                               -The second issue seems to be the that the director did not give advice for how to address or improve the matter at hand.                                 
2.  Due to Michael's lack of consideration for the larger program community, although his intentions are good, the results of it have had a negative affect on the environment and the cleanliness of the program. I would suggest the direct take a more productive approach by offering Michael solutions to his problem. He could still allow the children the independence without changing the focus of his efforts by adding steps which could help alleviate the clutter, and odor. An extension to his practice could be having children clear out their cubbies daily. He could create a "take home" bag or something similar for the children to transfer the things they want to keep and take home in. The children could also be designated to sweep, or clean around cubbies (as a daily assigned "job") to help manage the areas cleanliness. We call this constructive criticism!

Assignment #4

The side of the triangle which was harder for me to connect to was managing and overseeing. This area seems to deal with the more professional development aspects and technicalities like training, and standards. This area requires more concrete knowledge of information. It is based for on facts, standards, and things of the sort. Things which I am more unfamiliar with, as opposed to the other areas of the triangle which involve more abstract thinking or ideas for positive improvement.