How will you use the information and encouraging strategies from this course in your own practice?

Reading this book has helped me realize why I have chosen to work with young children. I have the opportunity to be in about 40 young lives each year in my building. I get to have conversations, sing, dance, play, and read with my young children. I am able to be a role model for them, wipe their tears away when they are sad, help them learn new things, and give them opportunities to excite their learning. At the end of the day, I am so happy that I work with children. The Afterforward of this book gives a lot of information on early childhood programs and projects to bring awareness of the importance of early childhood. We as teachers and aspiring teachers should be bringing awareness of the importance of early childhood education to everyone we know and meet. It's part of a package deal when you become an advocate of early learning. Looking back on the pages of this book, I have learned a lot about what it takes to be a director. Not only being a director, but a good quality educator. All the information given in this book can be related to all careers in early childhood education. One thing I will definitely take with me is that there has to be a balance in my work with children. The triangle is so important and I think it should be placed in every office at every early childhood program. Having a balance between managing/overseeing, coaching/mentoring, and building/supporting community is how a practitioner in early childhood will succeed. How will you use the information and encouraging strategies from this course in your own practice? This has been a fun class and thank you to everyone who has read and commented on my blog. See you all next semester!

-Ashley

How can we adapt visions for a program just as Sarah and Roberto did?

Thinking about my own program, considering it to be rural or urban, I think it is both. The place where the school is located is around many shops and fast food restaurants, but the whole back of the school is located on the Kapolei Park. I feel that Sarah's values resonate with me, because as a child, I too was an outside child. I was always outside playing with my friends whether it was sunny, raining, or snowing. Times have changed and it's not for the better. Children are not outside for many reasons. The reasons being that children and families are playing games (Xbox, Wii, play station), watching television, it's not safe where the child lives, the child can not go outside because there is no park nearby. It is so sad to see children not have the opportunity to play outside as I did growing up. The program I work at is actually amazing at promoting our children and families to be active in nature and feel part of it. We go on nature walks in the park every week and take field trips to many places that enhance their learning on the outdoors. The kids like to learn about nature and get their hands dirty. I feel that Sarah's ideas all were made into reality with the help of the families of the program and the staff. My program just recently won an award from Michelle Obama, because of our healthy and active lifestyle. The food we give the children were also part of the reward, because it is all cooked fresh daily by our cook and his staff and we have one vegetarian meal a week. I feel that getting families involved has helped our program thrive just as it did with Sarah's program. The children and families benefit from working together and form lasting memories.

Roberto inspires me to stronger leadership and self-empowerment by his whole momentum of thinking. He visions the center to be a place of learning and where children, families, and staff can work together. He came into the program when it was a mess and he needed to clean it up. He started doing that and in the process changed the staff's view on things for the better. Reading about his role and what he has and is hoping to accomplish made me feel that I can do anything I set my mind to. I can imagine adapting his innovating practices, such as, working in teams for accreditation focus areas, expanding my thinking about assessment, and untiming the curriculum. My next step would be to learn about the assessments my program does, so when I get my degree and become a teacher there, I will know how the assessments work.

What does a center consist of when the director has mastered all the sides of the triangle?

Involving what your program will be like through the triangle is what Lettie did. She used all sides of the triangle while brainstorming and performing the new actions of the center. Lettie made communication meaningful by involving families in interactions and storytelling, inviting families to participate in communication systems, such as the use of blogs within the classrooms. She planned meetings in which the teachers and families participated in discussion about their children and held group family conferences as well. She also had the families be part of the rebuilding of the playground by getting them and their children actively involved in the activities.

If I were to put relationships center stage in my management, coaching and community building routines, I would want to revamp the way teachers get their teachers involved in the school and in the classroom. I feel when parents are more involved in their child's schooling, the relationship between themselves and the teacher will grow and strengthen, Furthermore, the parent and child will strengthen their relationship by doing things together in the classroom, such as activities, field trips, singing songs, reading books, artwork, cooking, etc.

I would describe Lettie's disposition to be a real relationship advocate. She really enjoys building and having relationships in the classroom the school, and in the community. I feel that I should strengthen building relationships with families. That is one of the most important aspects of a teacher and a director. To be able to have a good relationship with the family it will give you, the child, the school, and the community better opportunities to learn new things and develop. I really enjoyed reading about the journaling Lettie had brought up. It seemed really interesting and a good way to communicate with families.

I feel that Michelle trying to better her center by having the teachers become advocates in learning and planning with other teachers and mentors is how she brought leadership to the school. She made the decision to invest in her teachers right from the start, which is a great thing to, especially when trying to get preschoolers to have higher education. These new teachers are receiving the information needed to run their classroom and to be mentored by other teachers in the school. My own director does this in my center. For the first week or so she pairs new staff up with a mentor teacher and they learn and follow them.

I think having the interview with other potential hire-es was too over the top. That would make me so nervous, because it would feel more of a competition between other applicants. I wouldn't do that. Putting that type of competitive pressure on someone is not a good idea. I can see her disposition on this, but in my opinion, I wouldn't do it. I would conduct a regular interview and maybe have a series of interviews for potential hire-es, but I wouldn't put someone on the spot such as Michelle did.

I feel that when she invested in her teachers right from the start and providing side-by-side mentoring appealed to me, because they work. You want your teachers to know what they are doing from the start and learn the new procedures and how the school runs. Having new employees learn from regular staff can build relationships and new things can be learned by both the mentor and the new employee. I think I could imagine myself developing teachers as thinkers not technicians. Just like Michelle said, "Who is the self that teaches?" Having teachers reflect and think about questions and things that go on in the classroom will help teachers become more positive thinkers and will be able to contribute their knowledge with the rest of the team. 

How can early childhood programs make a classroom of multi-aged children a success, such as a lab preschool?

When reading chapter five, I came across a paragraph talking about expanding the age group for preschool rooms (pg. 190). It seemed the book was pro for having directors consider in placing multi-aged children in the same classroom. I have mixed feelings in this strategy, because I have experienced two classrooms in which the children benefited from having multi-aged children and have had problems in multi-aged children in a classroom.

The program I work at has one classroom that has three and four year old. I am not going to lie, this classroom is not my favorite class to work in. I feel that it is one of the hardest classrooms in my program. The children are very loud and obnoxious. There is very little discipline and the building has a hard time working with the assistant teacher in the classroom. There seems to be little communication between the regular staff, which is a negative. Who am I to judge and say these things as an aid/substitute? It's what I have observed while working in this class and many other subs has experienced the same as me. Over the past year a new teacher was hired and honestly I think she has turned around the class in a positive way. I feel this new teacher has done a lot for the class and the building likes her, but the assistant teacher still has a lack of communication which affects the whole outlook of the building. Don't get me wrong I really like the assistant teacher and I think she is a good teacher, but she may be a little outspoken which causes conflict with the other teachers in the building.

During my lab at the LCC Children's Center last semeste, I was very apprehensive in working in a multi-aged classroom. As time went on I actually started to like it. Although, lab preschools are very calm and collect when being there, it's a very good opportunity for children to interact and learn from each other at different ages. They did separate the three and four year olds during group time to do their own special activities which are suited at their development. It made me believe that multi-aged classrooms can beneficial to teachers, children, and the community of the school. Of course, the program did have a lot of staff for one-on-one engagement with the children, which made the ratio really good. The teachers, student workers, and lab students all communicated with each other and had a planning session every week and discussed activities and the children's development which was very interesting and made me wish we did this in my own program and classroom. A question that arose was, how can early childhood programs make a classroom of multi-aged children a success, such as a lab preschool?

Would you need a balance between Yolanda and Becky's approaches to be a successful program director?

Becky seemed to have goals towards the curriculum being based off of the themes of the month, like many programs do. She has a goal for her teachers to have all of their plans and observations/checklists done by a certain date. She plans staff training workshops and provides criticism when needed to her employee. Yolanda had goals towards her employee's thoughts and ideas that came about during their staff meeting. They made goals for the children's development individually and as a group. Some strategies Becky used to reach her goals were to use checklists, give feedback, offer praise and assistance in addressing her employee's weakness, and to have a private meeting with her employee. She also was very clear that rules and regulations were extremely important. Some strategies Yolanda used to reach her goals were to keep herself attuned to the activities that was going on in her program (observing in the classroom), to understand where the development each child was at, and to create activities based off the children's weaknesses. She was clear about the standards but allowed conversation among the teachers about different topics.

I think Becky was more of a managing and overseeing part of the triangle. I feel that part of her practice undermines in supporting her teacher, because there was no room for Juanita to discuss with her the problems she was facing in her classroom with the curriculum. There should be open communication between the director and teachers and it seemed that Juanita was too scared to talk to her director about the concerns she had. There was no real dialogue between Becky and Juanita, it was more of Becky telling Juanita what she is doing well in and what she needs to improve on. While, Yolanda's practice encourages in supporting her teachers. Yolanda allowed the teachers to dialogue with each other and express each others concerns, feelings, ideas, and activities done or to be done in the classroom. She also observes the children and teachers in the classroom, which she then brings ideas to the teachers.



I am not a director, but I do work in a four-five year old classroom every morning.
Current Approach:
- Listen to what I am told to do by my program director in terms of meeting standards and rules/regulations.
- Understand what to do in the daily routine of the classroom.
- Observing children in the classroom during activities in groups and individually. Reporting back to my lead and assistant in what I observed.
- Working closely with my lead and assistant in creating activities and going over the children's documents and things that need to be done in the classroom.
New Things to Try:
- Discussing things with my director more often in terms of some challenging behavior of a child, obtaining more songs and fingerplays, and reflecting on my practice and what needs to be improved.

How do we as teachers support our director?

The Golden Rule Revisited: Treat Adults as You Want Them to Treat Children. When reading through the first couple of pages of this chapter, I came across this statement. I kept coming back to it and thinking about it. How do we want others treating children? Of course how we would want to be treated. We want others to treat children children with respect and guide them in their development as a young child, just like how us teachers do. We treat other adults with respect and help them when they ask for it. Viewing teachers as competent thinkers and learners is an important part of being a director, because teachers do have some insight while being in the classroom with the children. The have hands on experience, but may need to ask questions at times and learn new things as well. When reading Susan's story on page 131, it gave me an insight on why teachers should be viewed as competent thinkers and learners. Five words that describe my view of this teacher is a risk taker, brave, supportive, thoughtful, and respectful. Five things this teacher needs to learn is the framework of building a philosophy, taking action based on the reaction of the teacher's answers and responses, understand the learning standards, and defining the role of the teacher. She had some really great ideas in creating the program's philosophy, but other factors need to be addressed, such as, the community the school's are located in. The community plays a huge role in the school's philosophy and they should be accounted for in the philosophy as well. We are learning about a lot how a director supports the staff, children, and community, but how do we as a teachers support our director? - Something Revisited.

Specific Blog #7

What am I?

 As an Architect I would use their designing skills to build my indoor and outdoor area. Being able to visualize something and making it real. As a weaver I would make be very creative and good with my hands. As a sculptor I would also have to visualize what I’m modeling. As a mediator I would take their patience and knowledge. As a horticulturist I would take their skills to take something small and help it grow to its full potential. I choose each skill to help me as a director. As a director we must take on different roles and aquire different skills. Being able to design my environment to its maximum potential as a architect builds a building. Creating new works of art as the weaver and sculptor will do with their art. It’ll take patience and a clear mind as a meditator to teach others. A horticulturist using their ability to care for something as flower (child) and help them reach their full potential.

                 

 

Specific Blog #6

Do we look at daily routines as a teaching strategy?

Getting ready in the morning is as stressful to the parents as it is to a child. Parents have to get themselves and their child(ren) ready for the day. To have a center that allows parents to come in and help their children transition into school will work out well for those who need the extra help. I like the idea of turning daily routines into a transition from home to school. It puts less stress on both the parent and child. Using “transition times as opportunities for connection and community” is a great idea. Teachers tend to limit transitions in the classroom because the stress it causes on children. By using dally routines as transitions we can make transitions as a teaching strategy.

Specific Blog #5

What is seen first: the child or the problem?

In Michael's case working with a special needs child the "professionals" were having a staff meeting. Where they looking at the problem or the child? I don't know. When I look into my professional life as a teacher when I'm faced with a child that needs extra help do look at the child or the problem first. Many times teachers will focus on the problem and not the strengths of a child. Teachers feel that they must focus on the problem and find a solution. In Michael's case his family is "honoring" the child. The child comes first. 

I recently attended a workshop on challenging behaviors. The first exercise we had to look at a picture of a child smiling with a birthday crown on and were asked a few questions. One question was very basic “What do we see?” I answered a happy child who looks as if he’s celebrating his birthday. The next question was, “What is his challenging behavior?” From a picture we couldn’t answer that question. This child had autism. By looking at the picture we were able to see the child first. When watching a video with a child showing his challenging behavior we all focused on what the problem was. This workshop helped me to realize that in order to help the child with a challenging behavior we must focus on the child first and then work on the problem. In Michael’s case he learned to “honor” the child because of the boy’s family.

In creating a classroom environment that facilitates to these daily routine strategies, how do we get parents to understand a quality transition into school with their child?

Reading this strategy made me love it. I agree that transitions in the morning can be very difficult and I wanted to learn more about transitioning the child into the class in the mornings. One of my kids has a hard time saying goodbye to his mom in the morning. She leaves very fast and has busy mornings. When she leaves, her son cries for about two to three minutes. During this time I usually take him to the library center and give him a tissue and a hug and reassure him that his mom will pick him up after she is done with school. I sometimes read him a book as well. About five minutes after this he's happy and ready to eat breakfast and play. Is this the right way of doing this? It works for him, but recently there has been talk about parents just leaving their kids when they're crying and reassuring the parents that their child will be okay. I've noticed that sometimes when parents stay with their child for a longer period of time in the mornings that it can be harder for the child to adjust and transition into the day and it can also make it easier for children to adjust and transition into the day. These strategies were very interesting and I will try them in my own classroom. A question that emerged was, "In creating a classroom environment that facilitates to these daily routine strategies, how do we get parents to understand a quality transition into school with their child?"

As teachers, how can we make a bigger impact on each child that enters our doors?

While reading this story I was a little confused if this meeting happened in the center or outside the center. Was it a gathering for the child that his teachers were invited to? Other than these questions, I found this meeting very amazing and powerful. When Michael stated, "We come together for his or her sake, and this child must be very important to have brought all of us together," made me think that isn't this why we all decided to go into the early childhood education field, because every child is important and brings children, teachers, families, and the community together? That's why I decided to become a teacher. Every person that enters a young child's life may leave an impact on their life. But it's what kind of impact you make on each child's life that counts. Each child is important to their family, community, society, country, and world.

This meeting reminded me of a child's first birthday that is celebrated here in Hawaii. It is a celebration of all the benchmarks the child has completed from when they were born to the age of one. It's a time when the entire family comes together in celebrating the child's life and blessing the child's life. Each child belongs to a family and is so very important and precious, that it should be our honor as teachers to be able to be in their lives and teach them. A question that emerges to me is "As teachers, how can we make a bigger impact on each child that enters our doors?"

How do directors create an environment that consists of a family-like atmosphere for the staff in the program?

A couple of months ago I decided to sit down under a tree when my class was outside at the playground. I just wanted to see what they see and put myself into a child's shoes. I actually had an awesome time doing that. I was shorter than the children so when the children talked to me they looked down upon me, which was nice for a change. It made my view completely change mainly on how we stand tall next to children but when they talk to us we stoop down to their level. A lot more children came up to me to talk and to just sit with me. I think it was a positive experience for both myself and for the children. This helped me understand the greater expectations when designing a program environment that nurtures the community along with the children and families attending the program. The program I work at has six buildings with two classrooms in each building. My director always tells us staff to think of our program as being like a village. So being able to read about this in the text was encouraging to me to know that other programs are like this as well, because it does work, especially in larger programs. I really enjoyed reading about the strategy Explore the environment as a child might, because it's important to set up your environment that will interest the children of your program. That is why I sat down under the tree, so that I could understand and observe how children explores and interacts with the people and things around them.

As staff members at programs, we do spend a lot of time in and out of the program (as noted on pages 74-75). We spend our days with children, families, and other teachers. It's like our home away from home. I feel that my workplace is like another family. I have been lucky to have co-workers that support me in my professional life, education, and personal life and that is truly rewarding. A lot of them are older than me so I look up to them for advice and we all share friendship with each other. We all are like an ohana at my workplace and I wonder if other programs have that same type of atmosphere. That raised a question, how do directors create an environment that consists of a family-like atmosphere for the staff in the program? When the atmosphere is fun and exciting, work is more fun and exciting. When work is more fun and exciting, things will get done in the program and the teachers will be happier and thus, the children will receive better learning experiences. Every teacher does have their own way of teaching and views on teaching, conflict will always arise in the workplace. But when the director is able to create an environment that is open and willing for discussion on new ideas between the staff, that is an environment that will be easier to work in.

Why is it  so hard to bring our community in the classroom?

While reading this chapter I thought to myself we living in a community, yet there is no sense of the community in the program that I work for. Why not bring our part of our daily lives into the classroom to make it more meaningful to the children.  I thought about my own center and thought why not open up the classes and let them mingle and see what happens. I’m an extended day teacher and work with three year olds. The site I work at has two three year old classes and two four year old classes. The three and four year olds have separate buildings. In each building there are two classes (same age group) which are separated by a sliding door. I would like to see it opened now that I have read this chapter.

I was captivated by the scenes in the beginning of this chapter. All scenes made even the reader feel welcomed because I could feel how the characters would’ve felt knowing that they are welcomed in their children’s school. I wished that would be the feeling when the parents picked up the their children are the end of the day. It made me start thinking of what I do to welcome the parents when they pick up their children. I noticed that the parents are more willing to talk in the afternoons because most have to rush out in the mornings to get the work or drop off other siblings. My partner and I try to talk with the parents and most times they want to know if their child had a good day in school. I find myself distracted because we do have to supervise the rest of the children in the classroom. This also made me think about our rules in my preschool and we have a strict policy which allows the parents a 10 minute window to pick up their children from extended day and leave. If we wanted to make a time for parents to connect with their children and the teachers I don’t know how that would be possible at my particular site. It is something that I’m going to look into.  

While studying what a director's role should consist of, how can we bring in these components into the classroom as teachers?

I think both the issues and strategies was difficult to think of at times, but I found scenario two a lot easier to point out the issues and strategies. I feel that coaching and mentoring and building and supporting community felt more familiar to me in generating responses for. I feel that managing and overseeing is a little more difficult for me, because I sometimes can be a little shy when taking the lead in something.

Some goals that I would like to set aside for myself to cultivate a more balanced approach to directing from each side of the triangle would be a more outgoing person so that I can stand up for my opinions and views that would better the program I work at, be able to go to more workshops and training sessions so that I understand more early childhood practices, and to create a diverse classroom environment in the future program I work at. A question that arose while answering these questions was, while studying what a director's role should consist of, how can we bring in these components into the classroom as teachers?

What can a director do when her/his staff may not be completly organized?

What issues are raised from each side of the triangle by this situation?

• Managing and Overseeing -

                Keeping a neat and organized classroom is a requirement when working with young children. Environments can affect the children in negative and positive ways.If  the classroom is unorganized and messy, it can become a safety hazard. If you start to smell rotten food that is a big sign that your classroom needs cleaning. Messy classroom also is a negative aspect to the parents of the children. Families want to bring their children to clean and safe classrooms.It interferes with clarifying professional standards and expectations and also makes the school look bad.

• Coaching and Mentoring -

                 This may cause some conflict for the director and the teacher. It seems like he is a very good teacher, but he needs to keep his classroom clean. This may also cause some distance between the teacher, because he may be stuck in his ways. Making the responsibility of cleaning the their cubbies entirely on the children is a lack of responsibility on the teacher.

• Building and Supporting Community -

                 Having a messy classroom is something that will be unattractive for families. It could also be a make or break for families decisions in putting their child into your school. Messy classrooms are also not attractive when accreditation comes around and you're being evaluated.

What strategies from each side might you use to address the issues?

• Managing and Overseeing -

                     Having children have specific jobs during the day will help them learn about responsibility. As a teacher, you need to keep your classroom clean but you can also have the children learn to keep their classroom space clean as well. By saying, "Oh my gosh, look there is a paper on the floor, I am going to pick it up and put it in the trash can so no steps on it and falls." Making a big deal about cleaning up such things can help children understand why we need to keep our classroom clean. A clean classroom can also be a safe classroom. As a director I would make this known to the teacher, because it is not a good situation to be in when you have a messy classroom. I would tell him, "You need to keep your classroom clean, don't make the entire responsibility be to the children."

• Coaching and Mentoring -

                   Talking to the teacher about this in private is a must. Discussing why in keeping his classroom clean is something I would do. The dangers of having papers on the floor, toys everywhere, smells coming from the cubbies is not attractive for families and is a safety concern for children and yourself. 

• Building and Supporting Community -

                    Having an organized, clean, and safe environment needs be talked about with this teacher. When families come in and tour the school they will be turned off by a messy classroom and families who already have their child go to the school will be discouraged about the teacher being messy. And when families talk about these negative aspects to other families your school will be not considered when putting their children into a school. During meetings, I would let all the teachers know why it is important to keep their classrooms clean and to remind them to always try and keep it clean during the day. Children will be messy but teaching them to clean up after their mess is important but also cleaning, sanitizing, and organizing the classroom is your job as a teacher.

How can a new director ease their transition into the school, but is confonted with challenges from left to right from the more experienced staff?

What issues are raised from each side of the triangle by this situation?

• Managing and Overseeing - 

                 Some of the teachers are not cooperating with the new director. There is some talking behind the director's back, which is not right. Problems are not being solved, so it's hard to manage the program when the staff have different ways, in some cases old ways,  of doing things in the classroom. There is no respect for the director, besides the one girl who has spoken and acknowledged the new director. This causes issues when the director clarifies professional standards and expectations, establish effective communication systems, and organizes training options and meetings.

• Coaching and Mentoring -

                The teachers of the school are not allowing themselves to use different strategies and activities in the classroom that the director is mentioning. One thing with early childhood education is that things are always changing. That is why even after getting your degree one must still go to workshops and training classes to get informed of the new ways of working in classrooms. New strategies are always coming out and teachers should be attentive to that. When the director suggested new ideas, she was let down by the teachers. This makes the teachers look very bad in my opinion, because their showing a lack of respect for their director. This interferes with the director ability to offer opportunities for self-assessment and goal setting, allow time to practice new skills and apply new understandings, nurture dispositions favorable to effective teaching, give feedback and support for growth and change, and foster mentoring relationships.

• Building and Supporting Community -

                  Even though the two teachers have worked in the program for some time, they should know that each set of children they get every year learn differently and requires them to change up their teaching strategies, activities, and environment. New insight by the director might do them some good, because it effects the children of the community when they are not receiving the teaching and curriculum that they deserve. This effects the director's ability to have acknowledgment and respect with each individual and the contributions each brings to the group, learn the family contexts and cultural frameworks that shape the individual lives in the program, help people make connections and establish bonds with one another, and link the people in your program to the wider community around them.

What strategies from each side might you use to address the issues?

• Managing and Overseeing - 

                     I think it may be hard to come into a program as a new director, especially if it's your first time in the position. If you have been a teacher in a program then you will know what a director's role should be. If you have just finished school and it's your first time in a program it may be hard at times to be acknowledged of your thoughts and opinions, but why is this? Experience and education is both important to have, but you can't gain experience if you no one will let you and you if you have experience you should have education as well. If I was the director I would keep doing my part as the director should. I would use all the three parts of the triangle and do the best that I can do. I would hold meetings regularly to talk about the new curriculum and changes I would like to see in the program. I would also want to gain advice from the more experienced staff as well. But when I would change something I would have evidence to back it up so the staff would understand why I would be changing things.

• Coaching and Mentoring -

                     As the director I think I would let the staff know that I am there for them in any way, if they needed advice or wanted to talk about certain things. I would allow them to have their opinions and take in consideration what they say and how they feel about things, but I would also want them to do the same. Showing respect for one another is something I would do, because in the end, if you are a really good director and do things the right way even when things were tough in the beginning, things will turn around for the better.

• Building and Supporting Community -

                     As the director I would hold as much workshops as I could and make some mandatory for the staff so that they are gaining new insight of early childhood education. Having resources for teachers and families will help build a better foundation of new practices or strategies for everyone part of the program. I would also hold community events to have the families become aware of the program and also to have the staff come out and get to know each other and learn about the community they work in.

Being a director, means you have to make sacrifices at times, but how far are you willing to go?

Reading about the Program Vision in chapter 2 has opened up my eyes to a director's position and how they are to handle things. I have always been wondering what my own director does and how she handles things. Sometimes I feel bad for her, because she is always busy with running the school and worrying about ratios, who needs a substitute, making enough hours for the substitutes, making sure everyone is taken care of, and so much more. She is at work for someimes 12 hours or more. I feel that her job is taking over her life. So I have always been compassionate to her and letting her know my hours, since I'm a substitute, and being available for her so if she needs me to stay longer at work or come in earlier I'm there so she doesn't have to stress out. Sometime, as humans, we should sacrifice some of our time to do something to make someone's life a little more easier.

The three parts of the triangle are managing and overseeing, coaching and mentoring, and building and supporting community. The one that I am most like is the coaching and mentoring, because if there is a problem I am more likely to help the person who has a problem by having them talk to me and giving them ideas to help them solve their problem. I really like Donovan's approach, as this is coaching and mentoring. But I also like Maria's Approach which is building and supporting community. I also see myself as this approach, because if there is something that needs to be done and someone is not there to do it, I will step in to get it done. Teresa's scenario is a tough one, but she should find another alternative in the mornings to not be late. Maybe the director could find a substitute on staff for a little while until Teresa came into work. Or the director could bumb Teresa's shift thirty minutes later so that she wouldn't be late. I didn't like the managing and overseeing approach in this scenario, because it was just too overbearing. Teresa is a good teacher, she just has a little problem of being late, but threatening to fire her is not the answer. My co-worker had this happen to her. Her shift was bumbed up fifteen minutes later so that she would have time to catch the bus in the mornings and make it to work on time. It's possible to work through this problem if everyone is willing to listen to other's ideas. If I was the director I would hold a meeting and figure out the best way to handle the problem that makes most or everyone satisfied. This is one thing I like about working in a preschool. The school is like a family. They help each other and think about others before oneself. It is definetly necessary when working with young children. We need to model to them about compassion and friendship. This brought up a question I have, being a director, means you have to make sacrifies at times, but how far are you willing to go?

If nobody wanted to speak up when needed, how would things get done in the workplace?

Being a risk taker has never been part of my vocabulary. I was sheltered when growing up so it has scared me to come out of my comfort zone. I am slowly becoming more trusting in my life that occasionally involves taking risks and stepping out of my comfort zone. I am very satisfied in the program I work at. There are certain things around the campus that brings up some safety concerns for the children and some organizing/cleaning I would like to do in the classroom I work in, but overall I'm very happy and blessed that I work at the school. I am very satisfied with the profession I have chosen and feel that I can make a difference in the lives of the children I work with. My dream is to become a preschool teacher at the school I currently work at. I want to work with four to five year olds. Once I get my BA degree in about another year and a half I should be starting my dream job.

One statement I feel that is most like me is, "When I feel something really needs changing, I'm willing to stick my neck out." If something is bothering me at work I like to talk about it with my colleagues close to me or my director. One thing that I like about the school I work at is we're all encouraged to talk about the things that bother us, if we need help with something, and asking for advice. I feel that before, this statement would not have been most like me. But now growing up and becoming an adult I feel that I need to be able to learn how to stand up for myself and not be that shy girl I was before. If nobody wanted to speak up when needed, how would things get done in the workplace? I feel now, that nothing would be done without someone taking a stand for it and being responsible in getting things done. I am learning now to humbly voice my opinion when needed.

How do male teachers feel and think about working in a dominantly female career?

While reading this paragraph, it actually shocked me a little bit. I feel that the first sentence is true and I agree with it. A stereotypical teacher is usually a female. You usually see females working with young children and young elementary school children. Why is this? Is it because females are more nurturing than males? Does males think that females are more capable of teaching young children? I work with three males and all of them is amazing at what they do. The children really love them and the boys tend to go to them when they want to play catch or tag. Why is this? Is it because the children know the male teacher are little bit more lenient about tackling and rough play? I think we need more male early childhood educators in preschools.

While reading the sentence, "In early childhood care and education our message is often "We are doing such a good job with children; please give us more recognition and resources,"" made me think that being a female educator has been a social norm for so long. Women have felt empowered as teachers and they are good at what they do. I feel that teachers, though, are taken advantage of. They should be making a lot more money and be recognized more, because there would be no doctors, lawyers, or politicians without being taught by teachers. Even as early as three years old teachers give the foundation of learning to each child. This is also why I think teachers feel that they need more recognition in their career and in society. One question that I thought of is, "How do males teachers feel and think about working in a dominantly female career?

As adults why is it so hard to voice our opinions, but children are able to do it so easily?

While reading the quote from Maxine Greene, it opened my eyes that children are being taught to voice their own opinions and understand that it is good to have their own opinions. As a child, I was shy and didn't voice my own opinions very often. Growing up in a military household it wasn't easy to voice my opinions either. Being able to voice our own opinions enable us to feel we have our own place in this big world. The quote also helped me understand that children need an envionment that help them discover, risk, and ask questions. These attributes all help children learn how to be creative and use their imaginations. They need people around them to help them accomplish these things. Allowing children to be creative in the classroom is important for them to grow and develop skills needed for the future.

Learning about the Neo-Socratic Method reminded me of the classroom I work in, partially becuase I hear the children reflecting, asking questions, talking about experiences, expressing ideas, and arguing their opinions and views. I see the children make connections during their play and learning, which they are thinking and concentrtating. This amazes me that children are able to do this so well, while it's so hard for us adults to do these things. Being able to do these things during the day, children will learn how to go through these steps while talking or writing about their own ideas and views.