One More Sentence, Please, Dear Reader/Writer?

Posted on August 6, 2010 by randomyriad

The reader! You, dogged, uninsultable, print-oriented bastard, it’s you I’m addressing, who else, from inside this monstrous fiction. You’ve read me this far, then? Even this far? For what discereditable motive? How is it you don’t go to a movie, watch TV, stare at a wall, play tennis with a friend, make amorous advances to the person who comes to your mind when I speak of amorous advances? Can nothing surfeit, saturate you, turn you off? Where’s your shame?

Having let go this barrage of rhetorical or at least unanswered questions and observing himself nevertheless in midst of yet another sentence he concluded and caused the “hero” of his story to conclude that one or more of three things must be true: 1) his author was his sole and indefatigable reader; 2) he was in a sense his own author, telling his story to himself, in which case in which case; and/or 3) his reader was not only a tireless and shameless but sadistic, masochistic if he was himself.

John Barth, Lost in the Funhouse/ Life-Story

I often feel like a character-author of some plodding fictional tale, but reading John Barth’s Lost in the Funhouse makes me think I am not intellectually up to the task of being the author. So I must content myself to being a character, probably some bit part that moves a minor piece of the plot. Hopefully it is a piece that brings about some enlightenment, but most likely just some lightly humorous sidebar.

I have been wading through this dense little book until I got to the above passage and it made me think about what in my novel my character would have affected to any great degree. I came up with a few:

1)      Through my marriage, I have affected the overall arch of my wife’s character, both in positive and negative ways. (Mostly positive, I hope)

2)      I have helped conceive and raise 3 fairly stable, and as far as I know decent, thoughtful human beings.

3)      Through teaching I have influenced parents to adopt more thoughtful parenting strategies and plan their lives taking into account the needs of their children. Now whether this leads to actual improvements, I can’t be sure, but I know that I have influenced parents to make changes.

4)      There have been many times when my inaction or passive denial of facts has lead to misunderstandings between myself and others (friends, families and others). And, though I don’t think I could be considered the villain of any piece (But then what well developed villain would actually consider himself so) I could be a piece of the machinery that undoes the protagonist of someone else’s story. There may be people out there who don’t like me and think I am a thoughtless wretch.

So what does all this mean to me at this moment. I am not sure. As a writer it makes me think of what the hell do you write after reading this. As a character, I think about ways I would write my story so it is more like one I would like to be in. Maybe I will write a happy ending, but we all know where this story is going. It is what you do before you get to the end that counts, or doesn’t depending on who is writing or reading. Just give me one more sentence, but not this one.

Posted in can't really complain but, funny stuff, lists, make your own world, Other peoples words, paying attention, philosophy, playing games, Questions and riddles, Teaching and Learning, the end is the beginning, thinking in words, Wacky World, whereever you go there you are | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Little Cervantes and Some Short, Fuzzy Answers

Posted on August 2, 2010 by randomyriad

This morning I was feeling  sick and tired of filling out endless online applications that seemed like written job interviews. When I came across this quote in Lua’s very literary Blog. It made me feel like by just trying your best to be honest and ethical, you could be satisfied even when things are hard. Things are hard, but I feel OK, because in the end I feel I have done my best to do the right things in my own special way, which is usually a flawed, blindly groping effort. But, hey! I do my best. Thank you, Cervantes and Lua for giving me a more positive perspective.

“I was ever charitable and good to the poor, and scorn to take the bread out of another man’s mouth. On the other side, by our Lady, they shall play me no foul play. I am an old cur at a crust, and can sleep dog-sleep when I list. I can look sharp as well as another, and let me alone to keep the cobwebs out of my eyes. I know where the shoe wrings me. I will know who and who is together. Honesty is the best policy, I will stick to that. The good shall have my hand and heart, but the bad neither foot nor fellowship. And in my mind, the main point of governing, is to make a good beginning.”

Cervantes


Here are some of the answers that I came up with in 1200 characters or less:

The classroom at my last position was very small and crowded. I worked with the children and used my Reggio experience to redesign the space. I added several large mirrors and put space into general use that had been used as teacher space. The children and I came up with strategies for table use and guidelines on how to use walkways so that we could move around safely. I included the children in most of the process, and they were quite successful in using the classroom or negotiating with each other when there were conflicts.

Last year I had student with many challenging behaviors. He was impulsive and often physically abusive toward others in order to control their behavior. Whenever he was present I would position myself in physical proximity and provide both verbal and gentle physical reminders of positive ways to resolve issues. I gave him a number of strategies like clapping his hands and growling when he felt frustrated. I debriefed each day with his mother who was also concerned with his behaviors. By the end of the year, he had made several friends, and he was able to play across the room with minimal supervision.

I help people work in the classroom by providing clear guidelines and expectations and specific feedback. They should know what they are expected to do and have input into the planning if possible. I, also, provide assistance with challenging situations and model appropriate language and actions. I have periodic meetings with volunteers both give feedback and listen to their ideas and concerns.

I believe that each classroom must develop curriculum that fits with the needs of the group of children involved.
Documentation can be in the form of anecdotal individual and group observations, work samples, and conversations with other staff and parents. There should be a way to gather observations on each child into a report or portfolio that shows a child’s progress in the different aspects of their development. Parents should be involved in the process as much as possible.

Maximizing positive staff interactions with children on the child’s level.
Flexibility within consistency: Allowing children to follow their own schedule as much as possible while maintaining a daily routine.
Individualization: You need to take into account the individual temperaments, abilities, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles of each child.

The children as individuals: I have to get to know each child, their interests, temperament, abilities and cultural background.This is always numbers 1-4 on my list.
Developmental level: What are the appropriate expectations of the age group you are serving.
Cultural aspects of the community: What can we learn from our diversity as group.
Environment: what space do we have available and how is it best utilized.
Community Opportunities: What can we learn about the neighborhood and community surrounding the classroom.
The skills and interests of staff and parents involved.
Fun and fascination: Activities need to be engaging and provide joy for most of the children.
Variety: A good program provides a range of activities (indoor/outdoor, calm/active, messy/contained, individual/group etc.) to provide for different learning styles and emotional needs.
Hands on: Children need to be actively involved in learning in a very physical way.
Flexibility: Any curriculum I develop has be flexible enough to take advantage of unplanned for learning opportunities that arise.

The most important part of guidance in this age group is developing a good working relationship with each child. I talk with children and their parents and caregivers, observe children closely in the classroom, and work daily on building trust with each child.
The environment is also very important in guiding a child’s behavior. Each classroom needs to reflect to needs and abilities of the children who use it. Often I will adjust the environment in order to help children work well.
I use creative problem solving in collaboration with children, redirection, self-awareness and emotion coaching, listening and feedback, and group think approaches.
If a child is having consistent difficulties in the classroom, I like to involve the parents as collaborators working toward positive solutions to the problem. This usually gives the parents some ideas on how to deal with issues more positively at home and gives me insight into some of the nuances in the child’s thinking.
I do a lot of commentary on positive approaches I see children using to deal with difficult situations that come up. I make my statements as specific as possible so that the children can repeat successful strategies.

As a Head Start teacher, I worked closely with parents in all aspects of their lives, developing goals for each parent as individuals, for their families and individualized learning goals for their children during periodic home visits and conferences. I have worked with families of a wide variety of cultural backgrounds and who use many languages. I have a lot of experience building classroom communities with diverse language and cultures.

Can you guess what the questions where?

I am so sick of typing vague little answers in tiny boxes!

Posted in All part of the process, can't really complain but, Other peoples words, paying attention, philosophy, Questions and riddles, Teaching and Learning, thinking in words, working world | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Looking Beyond McCare World

Posted on July 28, 2010 by randomyriad

There is a lot of interest in me as a teacher all of a sudden, but I am skeptical whether any of the interested parties are willing to support me financially. That is the way it is in the early childhood field if you are a competent teacher. Parents love you and want to leave their children with you, administrators respect you and want you to work for them, but nobody is able to give you a living wage. There is always  overhead and support staff, and no help outside what parents are able to afford, which for most parents is not enough to sustain the system. In most other first and some second world countries the government actually makes some financial commitment to childcare and early learning. They get that it is important to give children a solid foundation in life. In our country children are seen as the sole property and responsibility of their parents, and none of the rest of the countries business even though the cost of early intervention, quality care, and support for working parents is shown to be a fraction of the costs of a fragmented system of underfunded day cares that stress  employees, children, and parents.

The McCare system of corporate for-profit warehousing of young children is a travesty and indictment of our countries lack of planning for the future. We as a country are handing our future over to people who will try to make a dollar anyway they can.

Not that the public education system is helping the argument for government support of early childhood with its bloated bureaucrat heavy, top down approach to what amounts to school age daycare. There has got to be a way for parents to get together and support each other by supporting centers that hire good teachers and support staff at fair wages without building a juggernaut system that becomes an all consuming monster whose only purpose is to sustain itself. We need a system that provides quality care with well trained and well supported staff who understand how children learn and thrive with active parental input and involvement. In the long run we get what we plan and pay for, which at the moment is mostly an overburdened system of isolated and underfunded day cares some of which are actually striving for quality.

Posted in can't really complain but, change, paying attention, Teaching and Learning, thinking in words, working world | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Everything Is Up in the Air and Coming Down Fast

Posted on July 20, 2010 by randomyriad

I have just finished my new improved resume, and now I look around at the havoc that is my home in the midst of the moving process. It looks like a giant picked my house up and shook it like a snow globe. Come to think of it my life is little like that too.

I was summoned to a meeting Wednesday night and given two weeks notice, and though I have been told I will get paid for this month, I am not sure what hat they are going to pull that rabbit out of. Did mention that we are  moving. My wife is going to take her nursing boards tomorrow. She will get a job after she passes, no problem. I am not so sure about my prospects., but hey, there is always unemployment. Come to think of it, maybe this is more like juggling snow globes while on roller skates going down a steep hill with the giant at the bottom waiting for me. Maybe he’s a friendly giant.

Posted in All part of the process, can't really complain but, Family, House and home, the end is the beginning, thinking in words, Wacky World, working world | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Waking Up From A Dream Job

Posted on July 17, 2010 by randomyriad

Well the final blow has come. I am soon to be unemployed. I actually thought the school I am working for was going to make it. I thought we had weathered stormy night of economic bad times and come out into a gentle day of calm with a chance of some favorable winds to take us forward. But, ’tis not to be. ‘Twas all a dream in somebodies pipe now gone up in smoke.

I have gotten to know some really wonderful children and families, and I am grateful for that. I guess I have always been lucky that way.  I really love working with children and families especially when my supervisors or administrators or benchmarks or regulations don’t get in the way of the relationships that make for a good learning environment. This was one of those situations, and one of the only times in my 25 years of teaching it has occurred. So now I am faced with the loss of something precious and the depressing task of selling myself back into the bondage of “The System” which neither supports my style of teaching or the uniqueness of every child and family.

There is a lot lip service paid to individualizing and a lot of research that shows the best ways to teach. The way I see it, there is no best way to teach any given group of children. There is no curriculum that can help you optimize the growth and development of children as if children were generic. Children are not. Curricula must flow from the group and individuals in that group and the families involved with the teacher as a collaborator watching and seizing the opportunities that arise without pre-loading the situation with personal preferences. Sure you must set up a rich environment that stimulates thoughtful play and encourages interactions, but if you go into a new situation loaded with ideas for activities and busy work you will be more interested in implementation than observation. A good teacher must wait, watch and be ready to seize every opportunity to engage students in their own pursuits and allow the family life of children to seep into the environment and interactions on a daily basis. In my experience, students will show you the path to teaching them if you  pay attention. And, you cannot pay attention properly if you have carefully crafted lessons plans to lovingly administer. You cannot serve two masters. Either you are paying attention to what you need to teach or you are paying attention to who these growing people are. And if you don’t know who they are, you are only doing surface teaching. Nothing deep and lasting occurs.

This is my philosophy basically, and it is not popular in most early childhood programs, because teachers and administrators are mostly all about control of children and families. They have spent their lives studying children and families and have ideas about what is best for them based on these studies. The problem is that as soon as you start generalizing about human beings you lose the essence of who they are as individuals. People are complex. Children are complex. Families are complex. And if you have a philosophy of education that is generic you might be successful in fulfilling required benchmarks and have children who demonstrate certain behaviors, but have you helped a child or family feel they have the power to learn and grow with or without a professional’s guiding hand? In short the better you are at planning curriculum the less empowered your students become. The more you rely on preplanned events and activities the more you exclude the parents involvement in their child’s education. Public schools in general are a good example of this.

I am looking for a job, but I am not optimistic about finding one that will let me do the work in a way that I believe is best.  For a year and a half I did not have to compromise my philosophy of education, and for that I am grateful. But, now I don’t know if I can go out into the world of lesson plans and benchmarks and requirements, and find a place that will let children be individuals, leave room for families to participate, and let me facilitate a learning environment that empowers children to be who they are as learners. But, who knows, maybe I will get lucky again.

Posted in All part of the process, can't really complain but, change, developing relationships, paying attention, philosophy, Teaching and Learning, the end is the beginning, thinking in words, working world | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment