Teachers come in all shapes and forms.
There are teachers that know children
There are teachers who follow the books
There are teachers that teach in front of a black board
There are teachers that teach through motions
There are teachers afraid of mess
There are teachers that have taught for 20+ years
There are up and coming new teachers
There are teachers who follow instructionsThere are teachers who are instinctual
There are teachers who teaches instinctually
There are teachers that teach for money
There are teachers that love children
But what distinguishes a teacher of worth? of quality? of nurture? of character?
What distinguishes THAT teacher, from all the rest? are they truly better?
--Some of the richest countries have the poorest systems.--> Go figure, as you can see in our own country we can have all the wealth but that doesn't necessarily mean that we have the best preschool systems. And to add the richest countries don't always spend their money, particularly, on the children.
"The quality and effectiveness of programs do not depend entirely on wealth."
You can have a classroom filled with all the wonderful stimulating toys, blocks, colors, aesthetics, books, and so on, but it takes a person, a teacher who understands children, to make learning effective--to have children learn, and love learning.
--“research shows that didactic classrooms do not support effectively the holistic development of young children, in particular their creative capacities, and their socio-emotional and physical development.”
Teaching according to a book, teaching according to tests, teaching according to a teachers preference --> Has no importance to THE CHILD, THE HOLISTIC CHILD, THE CHILD TODAY, the child that is supposed to be taught. The most meaningful learning is the learning done today, the learning that is connected to the interest of the children, the learning that makes sense to the child.
Why doesn't our society see children as a whole?
Why does our society teach according to books?
Why does our society teach with chairs and desks facing the front and teachers teaching at the front on a chalk board?
Why doesn't the rest of the school system, in our society, teach like early childhood educators?
“experience needs to be present for new information to connect and hold”
--“Teachers often make the mistake of teaching lessons on subjects some children haven’t experienced.”
In recent discussions with colleagues, about elementary tests, we talked about children being tested on animals like squirrels, beavers, skunks, and so on. These animals are unfamiliar to children. I would even add dinosaurs to this discussion. As an example, these animals, are of no interest to children, yet it will in their later schooling years. So should we still be teaching children about these particular animals?
To add, my husband just took his CDL permit test, but failed on questions about train track crossings, and snow. This just goes to show that yes he has not experienced these circumstances, yet he needed the knowledge of it. So if children need to know certain aspects of unknown experiences, what do we do as educators?
Do we present the material to them? Or no?
--“We learn from the children, from our colleagues and friends and from our whole community as we explore collaboratively, thinking about what the children’s behavior might be telling us. We try many things, hoping that what we try will move us in the direction of helping the children with their intentions, and we will sometimes succeed. We will learn from our errors, and search, not for new certainties, but for new ways of exploring and understanding, leading to new ways of assisting capable, rich, thoughtful children’s explorations.”
I find myself making mistakes as THAT "new teacher." But i've found that being THAT "new teacher doesn't make me un-knowledgable about children, it doesn't make me a teacher that goes according to the books, it doesn't make a teacher that is not useful, as if children are not learning.
I can say that going through the mistakes, I have definitely grown, and I have a more wider view of teaching in more instances. So can I be THAT teacher? rather then be THAT "new teacher?"
By: Jadelynn Davis
Excerpt From: Clemens & Gleim. “Seeing Young Children With New Eyes.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/6f7k2.l
I love what you did with this post Jadelynn :) it made it fun to read! I too have asked myself many of the questions you asked in this post & have wondered if I am a good teacher, or if I am doing things the right way, or if I am helping children grow and develop in the way that they should be! Often times I feel like people outside of education don't view our jobs as early childhood educators very important. They think we are pretty much just babysitters and how hard could it possible be?! But I view the early years as some of the most important years of a persons life! These years shape who that person will become and how they will view the world around them! This can feel overwhelming and stressful at times because what we do as teachers really is important and really does effect the children in our care.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that scares me the most is that sometimes what we do in our classroom seems out of our control sometimes! Whether its because of management, lead teachers, government policies, or standards to be met. Its frustrating to feel like we can't do what we want or teach the way we want to teach! Sometimes when I look at children today I feel like they are forced to grow up much to quick, like their childhood is kind of lost in a way.
As technology transforms and infiltrates our lives, play has begun to disappear from the landscapes of childhood. Creative, open-ended play seems to have vanished from certain schools as well as homes. According to Eric Erikson's theory of psychological stages, the central challenge for young children is the development of initiative through fantasy play. "These activities are not mere diversions, but VITAL exercises that spark creative potential" (Olfman, Childhood Lost, 2005). When we take this away from children and do not allow for creative open-ended play we are not just foreclosing on their fun, we are actually hurting them!! We are forcing children into academics at such an early age. This may indeed get children to succeed in reading, writing, and completing math equations precociously, but should that be our main concern?! By choosing this for our children in America, "we may be creating a cohort of children who lack spontaneity, creativity, and a love of learning" (Olfman, Childhood Lost, 2005). Allowing our children to engage in open-ended, imaginative, fantasy play allows them to develop emotionally. This, to me is what is really important!!! Emotional awareness is the cornerstone of all aspects of intellectual development......so why would we take away one of the things that helps children develop this?!
Hi Jadelyn,
ReplyDeleteSomething you notice is quite powerful in your posting - viewing childhood, the right now, as important and a place where children should spend time and be. Early childhood is not meant and should not be positioned as the place to prepare for going to "real" school or elementary school. Yet, decisions about early childhood are often made in conjunction and only about what come next. If you consider the documentation of the children with the markers and the rolled paper in the Making Learning Visible text, what is the intention? Is the intention to prepare these young children to go to elementary/primary school? Or is the intention something else? Does it relate to time? relationship? questioning? exploring? understanding? listening? responding? How does this documentation view children as capable? And how might this view be how early childhood could be defined and enacted?
Cheers,
Jeanne
How do we prepare teachers to be "THAT" teacher? How can I become "THAT" teacher? These are questions I asked myself after reading your post. Do I do it through books and theory, or is it something that will come through experience? Is it something you just have or is something that can be developed?
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking about early childhood education of today we can see how teachers are getting caught up in the kindergarten prep mode instead of the holistic development of the child. Or as Jadelynn described it they get stuck teaching in the future and not the now. But how do we teach in the "now" for holistic child development with the ever growing pressure of assessment preparation?
Hi Jadelynn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. I also agree that there are many types of teachers and reasons for what we do. The same can be said for children, as they grow and learn at their own pace. They explore things around them, make mistakes and learn from them. As teachers, we try to teach them things they are interested in or things a book thinks children should know before leaving preschool. At my school we are not restricted to a set curriculum, instead we meet to discuss things that are of interest to the children or things that pertains to field trip visits. Living in Hawaii we do not see things such as snow, trains or different seasons but there are other ways we can bring it into the classroom so children can experience them. For instance the children in my class has never seen snow in person before and I have only seen it once in my lifetime so it was a challenge for us to bring it into our lesson. Many of them were fascinated by snow after watching shows and movies like Frozen and asked why we don't have snow where we live. To start the lesson we did an experiment to learn how ice is made. Next, we brought in a shave ice machine to introduce children to snow and how it relates to their experience living in Hawaii. We originally wanted to bring in a snow machine so they could play and feel snow for themselves but we realized that it was very expensive and since it is too hot it wouldn't last very long.
I believe we should teach children in the NOW and on things that are of interest to them. It's the experiences and relationships that they see and go through NOW that will affect them later. Why are our views of learning so different from the education system that focuses mainly on tests and a set curriculum? Why do these people think that pressuring children into learning/memorizing things is an effective method of teaching and learning?