Specific
Blog Assignment #9
I
really loved what Lettie did with her “newly defined vision.” Like she
mentioned, she felt that many programs don’t live their ideals. It was pretty
amazing to read about how Lettie really strived to build strong relationships
with the families from the very first phone call they made to the program. She
put a lot of attention towards building and supporting relationships and
community in everything she did. She worked her program to what would become
the best and most effective result for the children and families in their care.
She used her managing and overseeing skills to overcome issues where other
programs would prefer to keep it anonymous amongst other parents. Her resolving
an issue by inviting the families and Emily’s family to discuss their concerns,
and ultimately ending in positive results was neat to read about. I would
personally feel a little scared to do this because of how parents could
possible react to one another but I guess this shows the teachers abilities to
oversee and manage a group discussion by acknowledging everyone’s points but
bringing them to a clear understanding of why things happen with children. The
thing that I would want to work on in order to strengthen myself and revamp my
work would be building relationships with families. I would want to re-design
the classroom environment with furniture and space for families to feel more
welcome. I feel that a strong relationship and sense of belonging for families
is a big deal. I would not want to walk into my child’s class and feel
uncomfortable like I should leave right away…
Specific
Blog Assignment #10
Michelle
seemed very open to reflecting on the things that were not working in her
program. She was not in denial, but instead found ways to have better outcomes
with things like her employee’s turnover rates, professional development,
teachers using paid planning time effectively, etc. The aspect of her vision
that appeals to me was the professional development as a daily experience.
Although I do feel that much can be gained from trainings and workshops, I think
that having resources that come into the classroom environment to help teachers
learn new things would be so much more effective for me personally. I actually
enjoy being observed, then being able to debrief with the observer after; that
way I can hear the things I am doing well and the things I can improve on. I
find that very constructive and meaningful to me. Actually, one of the most
meaningful experiences I had in the ED program was exactly that. I feel that my
desire to learn what can be improved with myself in my work, and that I work to
improve those things are similar to Michelle’s dispositions.
After reading your post about Lettie, I wondered why do programs often leave out families, when we learn that families are the center of our profession. What are your thoughts? I mean by having conferences with parents and maybe a few open houses and workshops wouldn’t that be enough to involve families? But taking it further like Lettie did as you mentioned, bringing them to meet amongst each other to resolve an issue that the families were concerned about, was a new idea to me. I mean in fact the families were more concerned because of the knowledge they may lack about children, but Lettie wanted the families and the staff to understand every perspective. How do you plan on extending to include families, and continue to have families involved in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteYou said Michelle’s experiences perfectly, “She seemed very open to reflecting on the things that were not working in her program.” Sometimes I feel that we’re in denial about the problems that may be occurring because we may not want to face the challenges that lies ahead. But Michelle faced it. I also feel that sometimes we may be too blind to see any problems, maybe were so caught up in the easiness of doing things the same way over and over again. Michelle was willing to learn other perspectives to see what can be improved as you said. What can you do to see the problems in your center? What are ways that you will overcome your problems? What type of resources will you turn to? What if you don’t have the funds for resource, will that stop you?
Hi Elena,
ReplyDeleteDeep reflection and use of the reflection to improve practice seems central to your work as well as what you observed with Lettie and Michelle. How might the triangle framework develop if reflection is placed at the center of the triangle? How can a reflective environment be fostered for a director? If the director embraces reflection, how might this impact the reflective practice of teachers, children, and families? How might reflection be the constant across a program? How might it be defined and who might define it? Can different definitions of reflection exist within one program? Why? How?
Jeanne
Hey there Elena,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a lot of us want to work on our communication skills with families. Furniture is great way to start. It creates a welcoming environment without having the teacher say much at all. As far as time, how would this new objective change your daily routines and those of your staff? I was also surprised when Lettie discussed the biting issue with a large group of parents. it made me think about how that parent felt or if the parent was even there? if i was that parent i might have felt a attacked. Resolving the issue as a group turned out well for Lettie but how can we ensure the that all clients feel respected and protected during issues such as those?
Hi Elena,
ReplyDeleteIn Lettie's case, I agree it is great how she has effectively built relationships with the families so that they can openly discuss issues and work together. I am also in need to revamp my ability to create meaningful relationships with the parents/guardians. How can we have meaningful relationships with families that may not be open to us? Do you think a teachers unintentionally distance themselves from these parents/guardians that he/she does not immediately connect with? The case with Michelle, professional development seems to be her focus. You mention about resources coming to the classroom. How would determine which resources are useful for your classroom? Would you look for these resources? What if it was a resource you're really interested in but it could not come to you, what would you do?
Jenna
Changing your environment to make a space comfortable for parents is something to strive for especially if space is limited. Without having a space for parents, how can you make your parents feel comfortable? Having and maintaining a positive relationship with parents can make a difference. This relationship alone can help them feel comfortable and not have the feeling that they have to leave immediately. I enjoy when parents stay a bit with their child, but have experienced when parents leave, it is easier for their child to transition as children tend to behave differently with parents and teacher.
ReplyDelete