Reflection

1. Please write a brief reflection about the topics and issues that stood out to you the most this semester. What would you like to know more about? What programs were you drawn to? How has your teaching changed because of this course?

Through this semester we wen through a lot of different topics and even if a lot of the articles and programs I read through was all interesting and it made me think a lot about the things that go on in my own classroom too. 

One topic that I found really interesting was the project approach. First of all through out the class it always seemed as if all the topics would relate back to this. Understanding what the project approach is; how this study lead to a lot of the programs that we have like Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio, from these types of programs you take a little deeper look at what children are learning and how they are developing through the course between the ages of 2-6 and how preschool is a very huge impact towards children. 

Another topic that I found interesting through this semester was basically the overall from the developmental stage for children, through the readiness, and how different preschool is and how its a huge "gap" or "debt" to kindergarten. Having that said I wish we went a little more in this part because I found this article was interesting with how different the learning is from preschool to kindergarten and how the development to preschool and grade school can change so easily just by a standardized test or how your age shows how ready you are for school. 

As for my teaching I feel I have grown more confident the more I go through these Education classes because its comfortable knowing that there are others that understand what its like being in classrooms or working with children so my perspective on my own teaching is growing as I begin to form my own kind of teaching style 

For this semester I have learned a lot through these article and from my  classmates, this semester was filled with a lot of different perspectives and interesting outlooks, I was glad to be a part of it and enjoyed everyones posts.

Thank you I hope to see you guys again in other classes and thank you for taking part in this wonderful experience with me (:

School Readiness: A position statement of the NAEYC / What is School Readiness?

1.  How is readiness a deficit model and one that requires intervention?

Readiness is a deficit model based on the idea that children must acquire a set of skills before they enter school. Since the skills that are needed to enter Kindergarten is relying on their experiences, those who have none are the ones who suffer. Lately children are blamed for for not being ready and are already thought of as failures for something they had no control over. For parents and for families responsibility to provide your children with the experiences needed to support their learning throughout school. Towards families there is never the time or the money to provide the children with the resources and the opportunities for the children.

For this model it needs a look at because if children are being blamed for something that they don't understand and that they should know the skills that are needed in order to help them through school then why would are children be in school now. Those who place the fault on the children need to see that in order to be able to place your child on a future that is promising then you have to be able to give your children those experiences and take responsibility in your own child's learning. 


2.  How should schools get ready for children?
Schools should be supporting and offering additional resources to families in order to get children ready for. Having teacher meeting the needs and creating a curriculum that fits the development of each and everyone of her children. Having said that they have to provide the children with the experiences and reach the developmental skills and to challenge the children in the appropriate ways. Families need to be able to support their child and also be able to give them meaningful experiences. 

1.  Should the Hawaii State Constitution be amended to allow public state funds to be given to private preschools?  Why or why not? 

I think that the Hawaii State Constitution should amended and allow the state funds to give private preschools. This would be a good way to be able to offer preschool and early education to families. Reason for that is private preschools are accredited so they can have some state funds to be able to use towards the preschool. Through this if we are able to use the proper funds to fund the programs then it would give so much more opportunities to children through out school, and for their developmental process as well. From there the children are able to grasp and connect with those around them and form skills and create who they are or to become as they get older. 

Week 12 Teacher choice, child-centered vs teacher-centered instruction

1. Discuss the reasons “highly questionable practices” pose a problem for DOE schools.

According to the text there are four reasons that were placed to explain the reason for “highly questionable practices” Towards these types of practices it results to a trend that forms to demand more for kindergarten students. The first practice is the inappropriate use of screening and readiness test, second discouragement or outright denial of entrance to eligible children, third is the development of segregated transitional classes for children deemed unready for the next traditional level of school and lastly is the increasing use of retention. From these types of practices its mainly directed to those children who are able to achieve their groups. Where there has been evidence that proved that children who are surround by those who are likely to achieve more then themselves are likely to not do as well as those of diverse and mixed groups of social, cognitive, and emotional development.

From these types of practices it does stand a problem for the DOE schools because of the lack of intention of the child and their families for the “protection of the child” to be able to hold a child back or to deny their entry of school based off the child intellectual and affective abilities in order to move to the next “traditional level’” as well as holding a child back to repeat another year of a grade because of their age and the year that they were born. So this allows a lot of preschoolers who have been in preschool to have to take it for two or even three years because of their birthdays are late.

2. Select your top 2 recommendations and explain why they are vital.

           

Looking at the recommendations of the six different principles that look vital would be principle 2 and principle 6. According to principle 2 it is about children being enrolled based on their legal right to enter. So basically this means that this doesn’t pressure families to delay their entrance for a year based on the child age making parent having to find other resources to enroll their child in. This is something vital because of this a lot of parents are being forced to prolong their child education but a lot of the time they call this “gift of time” so parents feel that its no longer an obligation for their child to enter school yet. To me this is very discouraging to families because of the wait and the need to have to go somewhere else in order to give their child the education. In my preschool we have had a handful of children that had to take preschool for another year due to their “late birthday” because of this it holds a child back developmentally and having to find a way as preschool teachers to find a way to reach those standards that they should already be learning in Kindergarten. So while they stay another year in preschool and they are all turning five its hard to find other ways to challenge them. So I feel that its sad having to see children stay in preschool longer and or having to wait another year before they could ever enter school. For me I didn’t go to preschool and I entered Kindergarten when I was four where my parents fought the school to let me in because of the whole “no child left behind” act at the time. So just because a child birthday is late they still fall under the same developmental year as those ahead of them right?   

           

Then as we look towards principle 6 we see that this is for all children are welcomed as they are into a heterogeneous kindergarten setting. So this means that they are not segregated into extra-year programs to or following regular kindergarten. With that being said it means that all schools need to be able to accept the responsibility to accept children with all skills that they bring and for the school to be able to support the child in all of the learning areas. From that if children are segregated by their academic achievement that evidence shows that through those types of programs that children are likely to fail than from being mixed. Having mixed groups over segregated groups actually help to improve the children’s development.

1. Should the field of ECE be standardized? Who benefits and who does not benefit?

           

            If we are looking to standardize ECE like normal school like in the article used report cards to show the children’s “grades”. First it does help to benefit the parents and the families on where their child stands for improvement and what they have already exceeded in. For the children it would be a pressure where the child is more likely to lash out emotionally because of their development growth. In most cases its not beneficial at all because then the focus is more towards the standards then the development process of the child. We do make observations of the child and we do have a already set guideline to where the child is in there development but as you can see that children only grow through their own pace and time so its something that they are constantly improving on as they go through their developmental paths. So in my own perspective having it become standardized is something that is pushing the child too much in what they are already trying to succeed themselves.

2. Recently here in Hawaii, there was a bill in the state legislation, that did not pass, that attempted to allow public funds to go to private preschools if they complied with an assessment tool to measure readiness skills (academic and social) and would have tracked student progress through a longitudinal data system (part of the P-3/P-20 federal grant). What are the benefits and problems with this approach to institutionalizing ECE?

            The benefits of being able to keep track of the children’s development shows where the child stands and being able to have that when they are going to schools is just like a transcripts when you transfer schools or when you get into schools. In some ways it does create a competition among others entering the school because it sets a guideline to the types of students that they are looking at and if they are applicable to be entering the school or not. That would be a benefit to have for schools but a negative thing would be how allowing only a certain students in based off of the measurement of what they know so far.

Week 11 Q&A with Gloria

1. Define culturally relevant pedagogy and what would it look like in Hawaii preschools?

According to the interview with Gloria the “culturally relevant pedagogy is broken down into three things. The first being a self-learning on student learning which she relates to a laser-like focus. Then there is the development of the cultural competence of the students and lastly would be socio-political consciousness. So from these three premises it shows that the children are learning from what is around them including their environment and their own culture as well as answering the question “why?” towards what they are learning.

So having that in Hawaii preschools would make the preschool really diverse if the teacher has to be able to bring it all into the classroom but if the children are left questioning their environment and to be able to answer the questions on the subject or the topic. So being able to incorporate this into preschools would help with the development of the children because they are able to learn more about their culture as well as learning within the standards that you can relate to the culture.

2. Explain the difference between the achievement “gap” and the achievement “debt”. Which construct is preferable and why?

The difference that is stated between the “gap” and the “debt” is that the isolation towards one achievement. So if you are looking at the both you begin to see that the difference of both spoken from her perspective is that with the “gap”, it could mean that you are behind and that you need to be able to catch up. Then when you hear debt there is responsibility taken place in the situation its not towards a singular person but something that everyone takes responsibility for.

Looking at the both of these you see that one gives more of a negative aspect then the other. So to me seeing debt sounds a little more preferable then having to be called a gap because it is true that it does make it feel like that you are behind or that you are above everyone just hearing the word gap. But upon hearing the word debt you think of it as a whole. But hearing both anyways sounds negative anyways but between the both it does sound preferable to have debt instead of gap.

Project Approach

1. Giving some examples from your teaching, describe the difference between theme/unit teaching and the project approach.

When we are discussing the teaching we use in our class it revolves around the children where we build up a “curriculum” or a “study”. This is basically what the children are interested in. Through this we build up the curriculum using the fields of art, math, English, blocks, science, basically all the areas of the center and we bring the focus into the center. So usually the first couple of weeks we observe the children and we see the different types of interest and try to focus the interest on an area that the class is interested in. So for example the focus or the “curriculum” that we have in our classroom is foods, the different taste and how we make food. So in certain areas we changed dramatic area into restaurants, or a grocery store. So from this the children are learning and developing personality through there own personal experience when they are in the area. But we also cook once a week with the children with the food that they are most interested in. This past week the children showed a huge interest towards Italian food so we have been talking a lot about pizza and slowly moving towards pasta and the country from where it originates. Usually if there is a area of study or “curriculum that the children are not interested in anymore then the curriculum changes with it. So if the children are no longer interested in food and are interested in what are communities then we usually close off the first curriculum and transition from the old focus moving into the new focus. This is the type of teaching that is done.

In the project approach there isn’t much difference that I see because the goal is to be able allowing children to question a topic and help them seek answers and ask others like your teachers or parents. The only thing that might be different is that for the focus of study the project approach goes really in-depth with the focus and strives to do the activities strictly through the focus or study.

2. Katz reminds us that in the project approach children pose questions, generate theories and make predictions concerning possible answers to their questions. How can this be done in a preschool classroom?

Just like in our own classroom children are able to generate their own kinds of observations and try to make their own solutions towards problems. So the way this “project approach” being used in a classroom is that you are able to grasp a focus that the children seem to show a lot of interest in and be able to turn that in to a focus of study and be able to support and provide the children with the materials needed for their observations through the activities that you provide for them. Like many of us that work in classrooms we always try to strive and allow children to be able to understand and grasp the material without them realizing that they are really learning through what they enjoy.

Nimmo and Technology

1. Nimmo makes a case for the historical separation between adults and children but cross-cultural research indicates that children learn and gain identity by having engagement in “real life”. Bloch & Adler (me) and Reggio Emilia examples. Discuss his position in the context of 2014.

While reading through the article you notice that the findings that Nimmo states that children are being alienated from the adult society going back to 1974. Where children were sent to “daycare” but when you are pulling the child away from the environment that the parents are taking part in leaves the child to excluded while the parents believe that they are shielding their children from the world. This type of censorship towards child’s cuts down on the culture and the environment that surrounds the child. He points out that taking part of your child’s life is a very important role for not only the teachers but also the family and parents too. From that it creates a strong relationship and allowing the child to behave and gain an identity to form them.

Communicating and taking part of your child’s life is important because it helps with their development and growth. So allowing your child to take part in their culture or their environment then having to shield them.

2. How could the six elements proposed as an alternative framework for research, analysis and practice be implemented in childcare centers today?

In the article there are six elements that are proposed. From the research provided childcare centers implementing and practicing these elements. Intimacy is the first element and what childcare centers can do is to be able to follow-up on the same affection and care that parents provide for the child. To be able to maintain the care for the child as well as, to be mindful when things are difficult. Continuity in the childcare centers is to establish strong relationships with not only with the child but with the families and being able to communicate among them too. Complexity is establishing and encouraging a playful environment for children to explore and expand on their imagination and create an atmosphere to promote children’s curiosity and interest. Identity is providing the needs of all the children and being able to give them the support and the encouragement to grow and develop through the interest and to be aware of the certain needs of the children. Diversity is giving the children different perspectives of culture of children in the classroom or those who are interested in a certain culture and also looking into the environment and the surrounding of where they live or where they go. Reciprocity is having high expectation and desired outcomes for children and having programs guiding children is important towards reaching their milestones and help work on the needs of the child’s strength and weaknesses.

1. What are the pros and cons of parents and young children working together on technology?

Now days the children of this generation are known to be the technological age. So younger children are more interested in technology and using technology. Pros of using these tools are that children are able to learn and manipulate through a different way. That having technology for younger children and having them exposed to technology you are able to open them up to more then the environment around them and exposing them to a new perspective and another form of explorations through the internet and exposing them to different forms of a technique. From this it allows children to manipulate and create more forms of technology that could lead to future innovations. Cons of having children learn through technology that it becomes a self-taught program allowing the child to intake too much information through the internet and that too much exposure to technology can take effects towards the child development and that if a child is spending too much time on technology it’s the abuse towards the user if the user is using it towards video games and watching senseless videos.

2. What is the concern about technology usage and DAP? Do you agree?

In accordance to DAP having technology can be isolating towards a singular area that if technology isn’t being used for educational reasons that it obstructs from growth and development. As you read through the article you find that through technology that it has improved on communication and experimentation. For me I agree that technology is a useful tool if it is being used properly in the classroom and that there are guidelines to the technology being used. As we continue to move forward with technology it is constantly improving and becoming better where using technology as a teaching technique or using it in the classroom to be very helpful. In our classroom we do use technology in the classroom. Usually our class has been really interested in different formations of building and how it is built, we already have in our class pictures and books that provide the same information to build building but it was also good to be able to allow the children to watch a video on what tools they use, the different types of materials and watching how the building is built through this our children were able to have an entire curriculum dedicated on building because we were able to give a different perspective instead of taking the children to see a building being built which we thought might be a little dangerous to allowing us to use the video gave an alternative to use. So I believe using technology is good because since it is something that children will constantly come across in their lives that its good to incorporate to their learning but then it still needs that supervision and limits.

Three Approaches

1. These three approaches have been introduced as “progressive” but have been around for years in Europe. In the U.S. what is considered “traditional” ECE and how have these programs been integrated into US education?

There are three approaches that the article states that are Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio. As you can see according to the European teaching have know to be a progressive teaching. So that is something that is always being improved. Then we have the United States who has used these teachings as traditional guidelines. Through these types of approaches America has been able to promote and encourage children through reading, literacy, and math. From these types of programs that the Unites States has integrated to the education. You can see that it is used in a lot of the different teaching styles. It helped to improve on a lot of educators to improve in the formative methods. Through this we are able to be able to work with the children to impact on their learning.

2. Compare the three programs in terms of teacher role and assessment discussing which YOU feel would benefit children in the US. Explain WHY you favor certain aspects of each programs and/or WHY it would not work

Looking at the three programs and the roles that the teachers need to model for the children it seems that when you are looking at the styles to be difficult to do because of the fact the through the ECE classes you learn to develop a lot of skills from each one. But looking at it the one that I have the hardest time understanding the most would most likely be Waldorf. I like the fact that it is an all-natural program and that through it the child is able to expand on their own kind of independent learning through creativity and imagination. It was always strange to me how they have dolls with no faces but I really enjoy that they have natural lighting and that the classroom is too. Then there was Montessori that allows independent leaning through self-directed learning which I think is amazing because allowing children to be able to learn through their own needs is a great way for children to learn. Lastly, we have Reggio where there is learning through natural and environmental engagement for children. Which I think is really cool because being able to allow children to learn through the things that are around them is something that doesn’t happen often. To be able to use the community for children to learn off of is something that doesn’t only just interest me but its something that is naturally great. For me if I was to be able to have a teaching style it would most likely be leaning towards is towards Montessori and Reggio because of the fact that it is based off the learning of the children. Isn’t that what we when we teach children. I think tat these are the two learning styles that I find myself doing a lot of in my own classroom because a lot of the activities that I plan for my children is always based off the interest of the children and the things that they are interested in we try our best to get the children involved in their community and learn off of their surroundings.