A Note of Thanks and Support

During this past quarter we have interacted with colleagues, administrators, families, and other caregivers.  In reflection, these interactions were supportive of our continued professional development, because they allowed us to see issues from another key stakeholder’s perspective when it comes to the care of children and families. Being able to see from another’s perspective affords us the ability to be effective advocates, because it brings empathy to the walk of another.  This are some key experiences to reflect on as we conclude this internship course.

In the thesis of my research paper, I discussed that the foundation for early literacy is supported, when it is first understood as to how it forms in young children, and when obstacles are removed that impede early literacy development, e.g., processing delays in early intervention systems; teachers not knowing how to use developmentally-appropriate practices in the classroom, or how to empower parents to incorporate literacy at home.  Taking steps to proactively work on behalf of the benefit of another is the way we become effective advocates.

 

This course has allowed me to reflect on what it means to be an advocate on behalf of children and families, and has walked me through the steps of the things I need to consider in order to be a focused and committed advocate.  I appreciate all the support of my colleagues in sharing their stories and insights that helped me to further reflect on what it means to be a strong advocate. 

Observing and Interacting with Children and Families

During this aspect of my internship, the interaction focused on children and families in my setting.  My observation setting is positioned at the AGBMS School in Wheeling, IL., which is a Montessori School and an alternative school for the hearing impaired. 

One of the families that I interacted with was experiencing severe separation anxiety with their child.  He had been in the early childhood center for approximately 4 months and when left at the center would continue to cry for prolonged periods of time, like a new child.  This child was just under 2 years old.  These separation issues created concerns for the child, his family, the children in his classroom and for his teachers.  I had some discussion with the other classroom teacher and the director about the child, and we all agreed to meet to talk about some potential solutions. 

We discussed the child’s family setting, family customs, habits, family work schedules, and any other issues we thought would be important to helping us all sort things out together.  We used video to help the parent see what happens in the child’s daily environment.  The video became a reflective practice tool to further discussions by comparing notes, and perspectives.

After sorting through all the data and continuing in dialogue with the family, a suggestion was made to establish a ritual for the child, i.e. pick-up and drop-off would be done the same way, same place and same time. This ritual would facilitate predictability, comfort and consistency.  The family along with the staff discussed what the ritual would be daily, and all parties agreed to try not to deviate from this ritual to support the child in getting beyond this hurdle.  I suggested to the family that they put together a small family photo album, and let the child help to do this.  Then whenever the child had difficulty with separations we would use the family album to help him sort through them. The parents were so grateful for the suggestions and the overall support, and even shared their satisfaction with others in the program.

Reflective practices using video and other resources were key to helping this family sort through and discuss concerns.  Encouraging families with dialogue and verbiage that indicates that you will "sort things out together" helps families feel like they have geniune support when going through difficult times with a child.

Observing and Interacting with Program Directors and Other Administrators

My task for this aspect of my internship was to observe and interact with program directors or other administrators in the program.  The administrative structure for the AGBMS School consists of an Executive Director of the School, Director of Education and three Associate Directors, which includes a Director of Deaf Services and an Admissions Director and Early Childhood Director.
 
The Early Childhood Director, Jessie Maag has spoken at length with me about her efforts to revamp the literacy program, and create a project approach to language and literacy for all the early childhood classrooms.  This would be a coordinated effort that could require teachers to collaboratively work together e.g., in a lesson-study group format to discuss and integrate ideas that could support all teachers.  This concept supports the professional development of teachers, as it helps teachers work together to form best practices in a particular area of focus.  This supports the aspect of my research, that asks the question, "how can professional development of teachers build effectiveness and quality in the field. It is supported by the premise that when teachers are versed in early childhood educational practices in both theory and application in the classroom through observations and quality interactions with the children, they are able to engage in more meaningful learning that helps support early literacy.

The Director said that the  idea is to construct a year-long theme which would be integrated school-wide.  For example if the theme is "Seasons"  -- each early childhood classroom, would initiate books of the month into the classroom that would be read  2 -3 times minimally a week, and would include realouds during circle time venues.  Each classroom would implement their own developmentally appropriate ideas for other language activities.  These activities would encompass areas such as sensory, phonemic awareness, music and songs.  It was discussed that children that are exposed to words at least 5 different times are more likely increase vocabulary and literacy results.

The Director, as well as the Exective Director's focus  is to attempt to build a community of parents, teachers,& administration that can work seamlessly together to enhance the literacy levels of all children within the school.

Observing and Interacting with Professionals and Colleagues

My fieldwork was performed in a Montessori Toddler Program in Suburban Northwest, Illinois.  What I learned in the Montessori Toddler program is that professionals who work in Montessori Programs, tend to be life- long advocates for this concept of education.  They even call themselves Montessorians which typifies a conversion to the philosophy that emanates from Montessori Schools.  My teacher colleagues indicated that most public and private schools make their State Standards a guiding light to educational ideas and concepts.  Montessori makes State standards secondary to the child’s interest and pace of learning. The Montessori Philosophy advocates that all children can learn well, and that the standards for education should automatically be met, if not exceeded, if the Montessori educational concept is administered properly.

One insight that I gained concerning this philosophy is that any standardized assessment comparing a child with norms would not be applicable.  Montessori relies on daily observations of each child to make determinations on how children are progressing, and what direction they should be taken – particularly for the 0- 3 age group.  Assessments at this age do not seem to be a priority as with those who primarily follow State Standards.

 

Early assessments which are a crucial part of the documentation for early intervention then do not align philosophically with the Montessori educational theory.  This raises the question of how then is the development of a child viewed if the child does not adapt to developmental benchmarks and milestones within a time that may be considered medically normal development? How does this philosophy that considers child pace and interest primary, over developmental standards, impact the window for a child who would otherwise be eligible for early intervention services before age 3?  Are both positions valid to a certain degree?  Some children do experience development for certain areas later what is considered normal, and should not be compared to another child (It is said that Einstein didn’t talk until he was 5). However, I do not think we would want any child to miss out on such an important service, albeit a diversity in educational theories.  Would the solution be to extend the cutoff for early intervention services from 0 – 3 to 0 – 5, to ensure children have the greatest opportunity to receive services designed to help them succeed?

Interview of Two Professional Colleagues

Building a Professional Learning Community starts with initiatives such as interviewing professional colleagues in the field.  The following individuals were part of an initial professional interview, and included a recent early childhood program director for an early learning center (0-5), and a state certified pre-primary early childhood teacher as participants of this interview.

 The teacher expressed her most significant concern over the timeliness in which professionals integrate child assessment results in collaboration with Early Intervention Services, particularly because children age out of EI services at age 3, and it impedes the child's ability to receive the full benefit of intervention.   Additionally, the child forfeits opportunities available to them during the critical zero-to-three window. The teacher said. "when children age out of these services, it makes it even more difficult to work within the bureaucracy of local school districts to gain the appropriate support services for them.  The teacher seemed to be very passionate about the success of the child, and in helping to ensure that the child has the proper opportunities to grow and develop.

The director had several concerns, but her greatest concern centered on how extremely important it is for parents to understand that teaching begins at home, and that they are their child's first teacher, and it is critical for them to understand what implication this has on the overall academic results of the child. The Director said she continued to be concern over whether parents had the proper tools to act effectively as their child's first teacher -- particularly in the area of literacy, which she had been informed was the topic area of interest.  She said "sometimes in economically oppressed areas, families have to learn how to break the cycles of the past, and this requires them to have the right tools and forums."

Both the teacher and the director both expressed how the knowledge of the classroom teacher, and continued professional development plays a critical role in establishing instructional and classroom management strategies that support the development of early literacy.

The teacher felt that sometimes administrator's views are very different from their own, especially if they are of the an older regime of educators.  The teacher felt that in many cases creativity is stifled because some administrators insist on teaching based on older methodologies that research now shows is not effective, and discourage newer teacher's attempts to embrace the things they have learned in their degree programs.

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I made it.