One of my favorite Marcy Whitebook quotes comes from an interview where she is asked what are some of the biggest challenges in preparing the workforce. The following quote is her response to what she considers is the biggest challenge.
"Deep down in their bones, most people don't really understand what this work is, what it takes to do it, and why people in early childhood development need to be better compensated."
This quote brings out my motivation. The majority of people outside of early childhood do not understand what early childhood is, its importance, and what it entails to be an early childhood professional. I am constantly motivated in educating people on the field of early childhood so their understanding starts to develop.
W. Clement & Jessie Stone Foundation (Interviewer) & Whitebook, M. (Interviewee). (2012). An Interview
with Marcy Whitebook of UC Berkeley's Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (Interview
Transcript). Retrieved from W. Clement & Jessie Stone Foundation Web site:
http://www.wcstonefnd.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/spotlight_whitebook.pdf
Sylvia Chard said: Project work can provide a view of a child that most clearly reveals to the teacher what the child is capable of."
From my experiences, I see teachers all the time teaching the same stuff to all the children. Some children get it and others are lost, confused, or bored. We forget that children have different abilities and in order to truly see what a child can or cannot do, they need to be in their own element. We cannot judge their abilities based on a test. We need to watch them in their natural environment, where they are having fun and investigating. This is where we see the child for who they really are.
Chard, S. C. (1999). From themes to projects. Early Childhood Research and Practice. 1(1). Retrieved from
http://ecrp.uius.edu/v1n1/chard/html
She also said: "They are young scientists. They are curious. They like to investigate things, feel them, observe them closely, take them apart, and generally make things happen!"
Children do not learn by sitting all day. They learn best through hands on experiences. I wish the public and the public school system realized this concept and learn this quote.
Chard, S. (2012, January 22) Edutopia interview [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.projectapproach.
org/blog.php
From the video, two quotes stood out to me. The first shows my passion that all children deserve the best regardless of the background that they come from. The second quote shows my thinking each day I wake up and go to work. I do not work for myself, but for the children. I always have and always will.
Louise Derman-Sparks:
"The passion to make sure all children were taught in environments and in ways that truly nurtured their ability to grow and develop to their fullest ability."
Raymond Hernandez:
"Everyday I go to work I look forward to it because I know the services I'm providing for the children, its to their benefit. It's not anything that's going to benefit me, it's going to benefit them."
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010) The passion for early childhood. (Video Webcast). In Foundations: Early
Childhood Studies. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Personal Childhood Web
When looking back on my childhood, I was blessed to have several people that took care of me and nurtured me. I did not have a father but everyone in my family stepped in and took care of me and I never missed having him in my life. My mom was, and will always be, my biggest supporter, fan, and the person that takes care of me. It was just her and me growing up. She was separated from my father when I was born and the divorce followed the next year. Yes, she provided me with the basic needs of food, shelter, etc. But most importantly she instilled hope, faith, and values in me. She was and is always there when I need her. We had our ups and downs, especially in my teenage years. But now she is my best friend and I do not know what I would do without her. I am who I am because of her. My mom showed me how to be strong even when she was weak, she taught me I could be anything I wanted to be, and most importantly she showed me how to be a mother myself. Now that I am a mom, I realize all the sacrifices she made for me to give me what I needed. Even though I am married, I am still a strong and independent woman thanks to my mother.
My grandfather, Papaw, was everything to me. He played duel roles in my childhood-grandfather and father figure. His love was unconditional and always made me feel important. Although he had other grandchildren, I always felt I was his favorite. I felt this way because of how he treated me and looked out for me. There are stories where he insisted that he had to be the one to bring me home from the hospital when I was born. I could always run to him when I was in trouble with my mom. He helped Mom raise me. I learned a lot from him. I learned my work ethic from him-he never missed work and he always worked hard. Some of my favorite memories are sitting on the porch eating sandwiches. He didn't like the crust and would pull it off and throw it into the yard to feed the birds. I don't like the crust either and still pull it off. I apologize but it is hard to talk about him. He died in 2001 and it still hurts to talk about him. He was a strong man and I miss him terribly. I was the only person to get to tell him goodbye. Even up until death, we had a special bond. He had cancer and slipped into a coma before he died. I try to live everyday to honor him and make him proud of me. My son is named after him.
My grandmother, Mamaw, also helped raised me. My mom was a teacher so Mamaw took care of me during the day. She taught me how to cook, how to harvest a garden, and how to cross-stitch. Some of my favorite memories are sitting on the front porch working beans, as we call it. We would talk about the day, share stories, learn about my ancestors. Those are good memories. I also got my love of puzzles from her. During the winter months, we would sit and work puzzles while Mom was at work. I still love a good puzzle and find them relaxing. Also, the harder they are, the more I love them. Since Mom was not married, I learned how to be a wife from Mamaw. She showed me how to take care of my husband and family and how they should always be first.
I grew up next to my oldest cousin, Brian. We are a few years apart and played together everyday. In fact, I call him my "brother" and my son refers to him as "Uncle Brian." Brian and I are only children so we only had each other as playmates growing up. Since he was older, I thought the sun rose and set with him. I thought he was cool and wanted to grow up to be like him. He influenced me by having another child to be around in a world full of adults. We played games such as Checkers and Sorry. I am still learning that some of the rules he taught me, he made up just so he could win. He did treat me like a little sister, was mean to me but at the same time he was the only one that could be mean to me. Everyone else had to treat me right, especially the boys as I got older. He took my marriage hard and it was one of the few times I ever saw him cry. The night before I got married, he wrote me a letter. I still have that letter and read it from time to time. We aren't as close anymore due to where we live and we both have families. But we still look after each other and have that sibling bond.
My Uncle Eddie also took care of me as I was growing up. He is my mom's only brother. He is younger than her and worked with my grandfather. We had a fun relationship growing up. He would teach me things such how to fish, ride a horse, etc. I loved working in the garden with him. After a day's work he would go inside, take off his shirt, and drink Mountain Dew. I would imitate him and do the same. I remember the day Mom informed me I couldn't take off my shirt and I couldn't understand why. I was his girl. He eventually got married and had children of his own. But I was always his girl. We are also not as close due to where we live and families. But he loves my son and teaches him things like he did me. Now that I am a mom, I am not as thrilled about the things he teaches a child. But that is what uncles are for.
I have attached a couple of pictures. The first one is my mom and me. The second one is Brian and me on my wedding day. The last is a picture of my favorite picture of Papaw. I had it displayed at my wedding.
My grandfather, Papaw, was everything to me. He played duel roles in my childhood-grandfather and father figure. His love was unconditional and always made me feel important. Although he had other grandchildren, I always felt I was his favorite. I felt this way because of how he treated me and looked out for me. There are stories where he insisted that he had to be the one to bring me home from the hospital when I was born. I could always run to him when I was in trouble with my mom. He helped Mom raise me. I learned a lot from him. I learned my work ethic from him-he never missed work and he always worked hard. Some of my favorite memories are sitting on the porch eating sandwiches. He didn't like the crust and would pull it off and throw it into the yard to feed the birds. I don't like the crust either and still pull it off. I apologize but it is hard to talk about him. He died in 2001 and it still hurts to talk about him. He was a strong man and I miss him terribly. I was the only person to get to tell him goodbye. Even up until death, we had a special bond. He had cancer and slipped into a coma before he died. I try to live everyday to honor him and make him proud of me. My son is named after him.
My grandmother, Mamaw, also helped raised me. My mom was a teacher so Mamaw took care of me during the day. She taught me how to cook, how to harvest a garden, and how to cross-stitch. Some of my favorite memories are sitting on the front porch working beans, as we call it. We would talk about the day, share stories, learn about my ancestors. Those are good memories. I also got my love of puzzles from her. During the winter months, we would sit and work puzzles while Mom was at work. I still love a good puzzle and find them relaxing. Also, the harder they are, the more I love them. Since Mom was not married, I learned how to be a wife from Mamaw. She showed me how to take care of my husband and family and how they should always be first.
I grew up next to my oldest cousin, Brian. We are a few years apart and played together everyday. In fact, I call him my "brother" and my son refers to him as "Uncle Brian." Brian and I are only children so we only had each other as playmates growing up. Since he was older, I thought the sun rose and set with him. I thought he was cool and wanted to grow up to be like him. He influenced me by having another child to be around in a world full of adults. We played games such as Checkers and Sorry. I am still learning that some of the rules he taught me, he made up just so he could win. He did treat me like a little sister, was mean to me but at the same time he was the only one that could be mean to me. Everyone else had to treat me right, especially the boys as I got older. He took my marriage hard and it was one of the few times I ever saw him cry. The night before I got married, he wrote me a letter. I still have that letter and read it from time to time. We aren't as close anymore due to where we live and we both have families. But we still look after each other and have that sibling bond.
My Uncle Eddie also took care of me as I was growing up. He is my mom's only brother. He is younger than her and worked with my grandfather. We had a fun relationship growing up. He would teach me things such how to fish, ride a horse, etc. I loved working in the garden with him. After a day's work he would go inside, take off his shirt, and drink Mountain Dew. I would imitate him and do the same. I remember the day Mom informed me I couldn't take off my shirt and I couldn't understand why. I was his girl. He eventually got married and had children of his own. But I was always his girl. We are also not as close due to where we live and families. But he loves my son and teaches him things like he did me. Now that I am a mom, I am not as thrilled about the things he teaches a child. But that is what uncles are for.
I have attached a couple of pictures. The first one is my mom and me. The second one is Brian and me on my wedding day. The last is a picture of my favorite picture of Papaw. I had it displayed at my wedding.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
My fuel for my passion for the Early Childhood Field
Obviously children and my love for children are the drive and reason why I am passionate about early childhood. However, there are two other things that I consider my fuel for early childhood. The first one is when I see a teacher "get it." It is that moment they realize what they are doing and the impact they are having on the children. It could be as simple as teaching a child a calm down technique or helping a child master a new concept. The other is when I hear remarks against early childhood. I see it as needing to step up my advocacy and educating the world on early childhood. I am not discouraged by it, but fueled by it. I am amazed by the work that has been done thus far, but know that we still have a long road ahead to advocate for children and educate the public (parents, legislatures, and other teachers) on the importance and impact of early childhood.
By the way, I just attended the NCaeyc Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have left feeling empowered and the fuel from it has my car going 100 miles an hour. It was an incredible experience and I'm on a high from it. I also had the distinct honor of hearing Dr. Becky Bailey speak several times and personally meet her. If you have not heard of her and Conscious Discipline, I encourage you to look into it, especially if you are a teacher and/or parent. I am very excited to take what I have learned from her into the classrooms that I work with.
By the way, I just attended the NCaeyc Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have left feeling empowered and the fuel from it has my car going 100 miles an hour. It was an incredible experience and I'm on a high from it. I also had the distinct honor of hearing Dr. Becky Bailey speak several times and personally meet her. If you have not heard of her and Conscious Discipline, I encourage you to look into it, especially if you are a teacher and/or parent. I am very excited to take what I have learned from her into the classrooms that I work with.
Quote
"Children must be taught how to think, not what to think."-Margaret Mead
I adore this quote because I think society forgets this. We get caught up in testing and assessing, that children are just taught what to think and what to know. The true way that children learn is by finding out the information for themselves, through play and other hands on experiences. Play in early childhood is a topic I will save for another day because I could go on forever about it. But we need to take a step back and guide children in their thinking especially in this society. By teaching children how to think, we are giving them higher order thinking skills that will lead to huge future successes!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
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