Entry 5: Four Ways of Looking at Myself as a Learner/Educator

Looking Backwards: About half way through the Hunter MS in ECE program, I find that I have a much better handle on the important theories, history, and strategies that heavily influence the field. Through the foundation courses, and in the more specific subject courses, I have noticed several concepts that continue to reappear and influence my own philosophy of education. The most important of these concepts are: the constructivist theory, or the belief that children are constructors of their own knowledge, the importance of balance and all aspects of learning, as well as the need for differentiation and anti-bias education. These reoccurring concepts have shaped my views of ECE and influence the way I approach learning in the classroom.

Looking Inwards: As an ECE student, I’ve grown and changed in many ways. I have not only learned more about developmentally appropriate and best practices for children, but also the reasoning and research behind them. This has strengthened me as an educator, providing me with a deeper understanding of children’s development and learning. Realizing that, as a teacher, I must also be a life long learner to lead children by example is probably one of the most significant changes I’ve experienced. I’ve also learned the importance of being and advocate for developmentally appropriate practices and best practices. These realizations have inspired me to continually seek to better myself both professionally and personally.

Looking Outward: My education at Hunter has greatly impacted the way I approach learning in the classroom. I’ve learned to ask questions that help children make their own connections, and to give constructive feedback that not only improves learning and understanding, but also encourages children to be resilient. Using theory and research-based practices, such as constructivist theory, social-constructivist theory, information processing, and ecological theory, better inform my own practice. Guidelines, like the DAP, and knowledge of different approaches such as Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Head Start give me a framework of good practices to guide my own teaching. Knowledge and understanding of the field of ECE has been the most impactful in the way I have reshaped my philosophy of education.

Looking Forward: My short-term goals for continued professional development include passing all exams for certification and to graduate with my masters and certification in the spring of 2016. My long-term goals include becoming a certified kids yoga instructor, possibly pursuing a doctorate in education, and to open my own preschool abroad. I strongly value continued professional development and consider myself to be a life long learner.  

Entry 4: Building Family Partnerships

In 'S' class there are two teachers, a lead English teacher, Ms. I, and a lead Chinese teacher, Ms. R. Because the day at POA is long the two teachers work as a team to build healthy and strong partnerships with families. Ms. I arrives at 8 in the morning for drop-offs and greets each child and parents warmly. She will often discuss the child's progress or share funny anecdotes from the previous day. The parents feel welcome and free to talk to her about their children's growth and development. Ms. R arrives at 9am and stays with the children until pick-up which ranges from 5pm to 6pm. She will answer any questions the parents have about the child's day and has a good rapport with the parents. Because all children are dropped off and picked up each day by either a family member or caregiver, there are many opportunities to communicate child's progress and build rapport with the children's families. 'S' class also sends home daily reports about the children's day that keeps parents updated on the child's meals, naps, and overall feeling each day (see below).

The school also arranges events about once a month for parents to join in festivities or activities related to the month's theme. In February, for example, the school arranged a Valentines Day party where children and parents participated in fun Valentine themed activities for the morning. Ms. I reports that at this year's Valentine's Day party each child had at least one parent join, indicating high levels of parent involvement. Finally, twice a year parents will sit down with both teachers for Parent-Teacher conferences. Ms. I has indicated that communication with 'S' class parents is going well and that parents feel open to suggestions and overall communication. 

Entry 3: Teacher Interview

For this assignment I interviewed the Pre-K teacher in the room next to 'S' class, "Kelly". Kelly is the lead English teacher in 'T' class and has been teaching at POA for three years. She is currently certified in teaching Childhood Education (grades 1-6), and is working towards her Masters in Early Childhood education. 

Beliefs about Early Childhood Education:
Kelly emphasizes the importance early childhood education has on children's experience of school. She believes that early childhood education is essential for setting the foundation for school, "Preschool is the beginning of them learning a lot of stuff, like the alphabet, being introduced to school. If they're placed in a nurturing environment, then then throughout their lives they will think education is fun, but if they're not in a good preschool, they might not see education as fun" (personal communication, March 17th, 2015).

Curricular Scope:
At POA the school uses the creative curriculum. Kelly reports that general monthly themes are suggested by the school's administration, then teachers choose which specific elements within the topic they would like to teach the children. For example this month the topic was Authors. 'S' class decided to hone in on Dr. Seuss stories, while 'T' class decided to focus on Mo Willems.

A brief abstract of the Creative Curriculum can be found in Fred C. Lunenburg article, Curriculum Models for Preschool Education: Theories and Approaches to Learning in the Early Years:

"The Creative Curriculum for Preschool was developed by Diane Trister Dodge. The approach is based on her career in working with preschool educators. The approach helps teachers to make their practices consistent with their goals for children by arranging their classrooms to support teachers’ developmentally appropriate practice and children’s active learning, which is directed toward their social competence. Teachers arrange the learning environment into ten interest areas: art, blocks, cooking, computers, house corner, library corner, music and movement, the outdoors, sand and water, and table toys" (http://www.nationalforum.com/) 

Modifications to Meet all Students Needs:
Kelly pays attention to how each child reacts to each lesson and modifies her lesson depending on the student's level, "If kids are having a problem [with a lesson] I might make it easier. Or if they know it, I might change it. Or if its too easy I might make it harder. And if I notice one particular child is really struggling I might spend more time with that child during center time" (personal communication, March 17th, 2015).

Entry 2: Analysis of POA's Philosophy

On their website, Preschool of America shares their philosophy of education:

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About Us

Founded in 2004, Preschool of America opened its first school in New York City’s historic Chelsea neighborhood. Since then we have opened a total of seven centers throughout Manhattan, and we continue to grow. The founding principle of establishing outstanding day care centers and preschools for New York City families remains uncompromised.

Preschool of America prides itself on providing high-quality preschool education with daycare amenities and service in a warm, nurturing environment. We understand that choosing the right center to fit a child’s needs is an important decision, and we strive to meet the expectations of every family we serve.

Our Preschool of America programs are carefully researched and thoughtfully taught, and we approach every day with a sense imagination, innovation, and fun to help young children learn comfortably and confidently. Every curriculum includes a variety of interesting and inspiring activities to stimulate early brain development with a focus on creative play. We encourage a love of learning through working and playing with others. Our children have fun while they learn just another way we make sure children get the most out of their experiences at school.

At Preschool of America, our beautiful and modern facilities provide each child with the ability to learn and grow physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. Our full-time programs, a good curriculum that provides plenty of hands-on learning and high quality teachers prepare the children in our schools for elementary school and for life-long learning.

Our Mission

Preschool of America is committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for young children. We provide enriching opportunities every day so students reach their full potential socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively within the learning environment.

The play-based curriculum focuses on literacy, math, science, social and emotional skills, and physical development. Classrooms are designed to inspire young learners, capturing each child’s interests, ideas, and independence to encourage a growing awareness of self. We prepare students for on-going schools by continually monitoring their readiness for new learning challenges.

We believe that the strength of the program is in the dedication of the teaching staff. Teachers create a kind, caring atmosphere to foster imagination and creativity. We strive to create mutual respect and encourage daily communication between parents, teachers, and administrators. We believe parents are the most significant adults in a child’s life; therefore, our doors are open to parents at all times.

Preschool of America is an organization that values people: the children in our care, their parents, and our employees. We continually work to earn the trust placed in us and strive each day to be the best providers of early childhood education in the community we serve.

(http://www.preschoolofamerica.us/)

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The Preschool of America (POA) shares some educational philosophies with me. The following points are aspects of POA's philosophy that align with my own and resonate with me:

• a commitment to providing a safe nurturing and stimulating environment.
• encouraging children to be independent and self aware.
• emphasizing relationships with parents and creating an environment of mutual respect amongst parents, teachers and administrators. 

POA does not mention the DAP in their philosophy statement online, but from my observations the content taught during the day and the activities the children engage in are developmentally appropriate.

POA's website does not directly address diversity in their philosophy statement, however because the school is a Mandarin/English bilingual school, many different cultures and ethnicities are represented. In the 3-4 classroom I observed there were children of Chinese, Dominican, Trinidadian, Taiwanese, Italian and American descent. I found that because all the children in the classroom were so different from each other, there did not seem to be a dominant culture or race and the children were very accepting of each others and their own differences.

If I were to rewrite POA's philosophy statement to reflect some of my own beliefs, I might add more research based goals for the approach used in the classroom. The children at POA have a balanced day of teacher-directed and child-initiated learning, but this is not reflected in POA's philosophy. I might also emphasize the importance of cultural diversity within the school. The POA's website does not fully expand on the fact that they are a bilingual school and that the children are exposed to two languages throughout the day. I feel that the school should expand on this point in their philosophy online so parents can better understand the significance of this experience.  Other wise, I might revise the statement to be less repetitive and more to-the-point so that parents can gain the deepest understanding of the school from the information provided online. 

Entry 1: Field Work Plans

Preschool of America

I will be conducting my observations at a private bilingual Mandarin/English preschool called the Preschool of America on the lower east side of Manhattan. I will be observing an infant class (3mo to 1yr) and a preschool class (3-4) for this assignment.  I plan to observe each class for 10 hours over the next few months on either Tuesday or Thursday. I'm interested in observing the infant and preschool class because I have the least experience with these age groups and I hope to learn more through my observations. I am interested in observing how curriculum in used and implemented for the very little ones and I am interested in seeing how the curriculum in the 3-4 classroom approaches a bilingual curriculum. I expect the infant toddler curriculum to be more focused on quality care for the infants with careful attention placed on the infants schedules and needs. I expect that the 3-4 class will begin the alphabet and phonics in English as well as an introduction to some characters in Mandarin. I'm looking forward to observing these two age groups and learning more about their curriculum and development.