Well we made it through the first 8 week class of our Masters of Science in Early Childhood Studies.
I have learned much and been privileged to meet some very interesting people in my class.
I wish to thank all of my classmates for the interesting posts and want to encourage them as we forge ahead in our next class.

I especially want to thank Dr. Dartt for her guidance and comments on my discussions and papers.  I look forward to working with her again as I progress in my classes.

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Blessed Winter Solstic
Linda

Hell just froze over!!

This week we were asked to review NAECY and the Division of Early Childhood codes of ethics and comment on three of the points that we identified with.  

The points from the NAECY statement are:

1) "Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn."  

           As a Montessori teacher I recognize this in my classroom.  I have children who are chronologically one age and developmentally another age.  I have a little boy who is 41/2 but developmentally is about 3.  His favorite area to work in is the kitchen, dramatic play and the painting easel.  When he came to us he did not know his colors, letter sounds or numbers.  He does have awesome self portrait skills at the easel that other children don't posses.  Another of my students is tall for her age and advanced academically.  However she is an early 4 and has limited social skills. None of the children I work with has the capacity to work alone.  Constantly asking that I sit with them as they do their work even on things they know how to do.  I do have one child who at 5 has developed the ability to teach another child what he knows or help other children with lessons that they are having trouble with.  

2) "Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)."

             I live in my own bubble.  Especially at work, I am in the classroom with the students and my co-teacher eight hours a day.  I have to remember that my colleagues, students and families all have a uniqueness about them that supersedes my thinking.  I strive to take perspective and observe my own behavior and theirs.  I need to remember to listen attentively and not formulate a response until I have thought about what has been said.  This is hard for me as someone who is always "on".  I am a goal oriented person and my approach is to find out what I want to know in a direct manner.  Sometimes asking a direct question is off putting to people so I have had to find different ways to communicate my needs and questions.  I am becoming better at this but still have to work to do.

The point from the DEC is:

3) "We shall strive for the highest level of personal and professional competence by seeking and

using new evidence based information to improve our practices while also responding openly to

the suggestions of others."

              I find reading research fascinating but as I continue the process of my career I find that the experience of my colleagues  trumps research.  Nothing proves research like a good old fashioned run through reality.  this is especially true with education.  Education is a theory that only works if you have the same kind of students the theory is based upon.  The trouble is that people are novel and unique.  Now two are alike so a one size fits all approach does not work well.  This is one reason I am drawn to the Montessori Method.  The idea of freedom with limits and following the child when correctly understood and applied with in the environment are wonderful things.  It takes observation and years of experience to be proficient at it.  

               Even with all of the evidence based research I have found that in some early childhood education programs some children just don't learn as well as with others.  I have two students in my classroom who can not use the Montessori environment to learn and resist every attempt to engage them.  After thirty years of believing the Montessori Method was for every child I have had to raise the white flag and say for these two students it would be better to place them in an environment where they can just play and hope that when they get to the public school they will have absorbed enough social graces to get along with others and be able to attend to academics.  Neither is cognitively challenged they just do not want to engage in any kind of challenging work such as learning to know letter sounds, numbers and how to write the rudimentary things required by the state for Kindergarten.  (If you heard a cosmic crack, Hell just froze over from my saying that some children can not learn in the Montessori environment.) 

Well friends its time for me to let my brain rest and think of other things such as how much snow we have gotten and what I am fixing for dinner. 

Namaste and do good work.