A new report shows that center-based child care costs in Colorado are higher than in 43 other states.
Read about the report here
Jun 24, 2014
Book Review: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
I've finally finished reading this amazing book and knew that this blog would be a perfect place to talk about it. Lengthy? Yes. An "easy read"? No. Worth every moment spent reading it? Absolutely. One thing that I want to note right away is that although this book may appear to be about addictions and dealing with people who are addicted to substances it is so much more than that and should be read by anyone who works in the social work field, with young children and families (especially Head Start), and anyone who has had to overcome personal challenges in their childhood or adulthood due to their own undesired behaviors. Addictions can be much more than just drug related: overeating, gambling, shopping, etc., and those addictions that aren't drug related tend to be brushed under the carpet much more and overlooked as being a concern. If you have ever heard of Vincent Felitti, MD, and the ACE scale, then this book is right up your alley.
In this book Mate shares his experiences working in the ghetto with patients who are to the extreme on the addiction scale (if one existed, that is) and shares insights into what he believes causes such addictions and why people remain in such states. He also sheds light onto the larger picture- the so called "war on drugs"- and how society views those with addictions (especially drugs) and how these approaches are far from what is most beneficial in helping addicts to overcome their struggles and become productive citizens in our society. Mate is able to step back and view these people for who they are- not as addicts or criminals or a waste of space. He not only sees these people, but he also sees that they have become who they are due to circumstances beyond their control in life beginning as early as in the womb. Many people he helps have suffered greatly: carried by a crack addicted mother, physically abused by a parent, molested by a relative, left to fend for themselves or take care of their siblings at a young age, the list goes on and on and can make a person cry thinking of all these things happening right here in the very world that we live in (the ACE scale clearly outlines such negative circumstances that have the greatest impact on development).
Mate understands that to help such people we need to see the larger picture and see that these people need help in many ways, such as counseling and social supports to help teach them how to live productively. By criminalizing people who are already struggling and see no positives in this world we are not helping them one bit, and are not helping the generations that will follow after them. Locking them up and refusing them proper care and the supports they need to overcome their challenges will not only hurt the hundreds of thousands of 'criminals', but it actually isn't beneficial to the government either, both financially and from a social reform point of view.
Below I will share some of my favorite quotes from the book to give you some insight into what Mate is trying to relay. I hope that you will take the time to read the book on your own and then make your own opinions about addiction. Everyone has their own story...
"It has been estimated that state and federal governments in the United States spend more than $15 billion per year, and insurers at least another $5 billion per year, on substance-abuse treatment services for some four million people... Today many clinics across the country have lengthy waiting lists, and researchers estimate that some twenty million American who could benefit from treatment are not getting it. The costs in human suffering, family disintegration, and lost productivity are staggering. The lingering questions remain, What is effective treatment? and How can it best be administered?" p.xvii
Speaking about the Mandala, the Buddhist wheel of life: "The inhabitants of the hungry ghost realm are depicted as creatures with scrawny necks, small mouths, emaciated limbs, and large, bloated, empty bellies. This is the domain of addiction, where we constantly seek something outside ourselves to curb an insatiable yearning for relief or fulfillment. The aching emptiness is perpetual because the substances, objects, or pursuits we hope will soothe it are not what we really need. We don't know what we need, and so long as we stay in the hungry ghost mode, we'll never know. We haunt our lives without being fully present." p. 1
"The fundamental addiction is to the fleeting experience of not being addicted. The addict craves the absence of the craving state. For a brief moment he's liberated from emptiness, from boredom, from lack of meaning, from yearning, from being driven or from pain. He is free. His enslavement to the external- the substance, the object, or the activity- consists of the impossibility, in his mind, of finding within himself the freedom from longing or irritability. 'I want nothing and fear nothing,' said Zorba the Greek. 'I'm free.' There are not many Zorbas among us." p. 114
"A child's capacity to handle psychological and physiological stress is completely dependent on the relationship with his parent or parents. Infants have no ability to regulate their own stress apparatus, and that's why they will stress themselves to death if they are never picked up. We acquire that capacity gradually as we mature- or we don't, depending on our childhood relationships with our caregivers. A responsive, predictable nurturing adult plays a key role in the development of our healthy stress-response neurobiology...
Children who suffer disruptions in their attachment relationships will not have the same biochemical milieu in their brains as will their well-attached and well-nurtured peers. As a result their experiences and interpretations of their environment, and their responses to it, will be less flexible, less adaptive, and less conducive to health and maturity. Their vulnerability both to the mood-enhancing effects of drugs and to drug dependency will increase." p. 201
"Poor attunement is also not something parents easily recall as they strive to understand the addictive behaviors of their adult children. As parents we make the natural mistake of believing that the intense love we feel for our kids necessarily means that they actually receive that love in a pure form. Further, parents who did not have attuned caring as small children may not notice their difficulty attuning to their own infants, just as people stressed from an early age may not realize just how stressed they often are... As a rule, whatever we don't deal with in our lives, we pass on to our children. Our unfinished emotional business becomes theirs." p.253
In the chapter "Ignorant Fanaticism": The Failed War on Drugs, Mate makes a valid argument: "Drugs do not make the addict into a criminal; the law does. When alcohol was prohibited, drinkers were breaking the law. If cigarettes were illegal, there would be a huge underground market for tobacco products. Gangs would form, criminal business empires would flourish, and smokers would be spending a large proportion of their income on nicotine-containing substances. Add the health ravages and medical and economic costs of nicotine addiction, the hundreds of thousands of deaths it causes, and the many family tragedies it already creates- and then factor in the enormous expenses of waging the War on Drugs on yet another front... Most of the social harm related to drugs does not come from the effects of the substances themselves but from legal prohibitions against their use." p.294
"The scarcity of scientific thought informing public debates on addiction is mirrored in the academic and medical arenas. In this era of sub-subspecialization, each discipline appears to work in isolation from knowledge gathered by other researchers in closely related fields. We need far more integration of knowledge both in the professional realm and among laypeople... 'As such, medicine has been the most resistant professional group to absorb and integrate the emerging findings about brain development and the importance of early childhood'". p. 314
"We need to take stock of ourselves and give up and hint of moral superiority and judgment toward the addict... We cannot help people when we put ourselves in a position of judgment. Addicts... are deeply self-critical and harsh with themselves. They are keenly sensitive to judgmental tones in others and respond with withdrawal or defensive denial. Worse, morally judging others clouds our eyes not only to their needs, but to our own true needs as well." p. 316
"'The War on Drugs in a cultural schizophrenia,' says Dr. Panskepp. I agree. The War on Drugs expresses a split mind-set in two ways: we want to eradicate or limit addictions, yet our social policies are best suited to promote it, and we condemn the addict for qualities we dare not acknowledge in ourselves. Rather than exhort the addict to be other than the way she is, we need to find the strength to admit that we have greatly exacerbated her distress and perhaps our own. If we want to help people seek the possibility of transformation within themselves, we first have to transform our own view of our relationship to them." p. 319
"Healing, then, must take into account the internal psychological climate- the beliefs, memories, mind-states, and emotions that feed addictive impulses and behaviors- as well as the external milieu. In an ecological framework recovery from addiction does not mean a 'cure' for a disease but the creation of new resources, internal and external, that can support different, healthy ways of satisfying one's genuine needs. It also involves developing new brain circuits that can facilitate more adaptive responses and behaviors." p. 360
"Painful early experiences program both the neurophysiology of addiction and the distressing psychological states that addiction promises to relieve. Yet human beings who are able to direct conscious attention toward their mental processes discover something surprising: it's not what happened in the past that creates our present misery but the way we have allowed past events to define how we see and experience ourselves in the present. A person can survive being beaten but cannot remain psychologically intact if he convinces himself that he was beaten because he is by nature blameworthy or because the world by its very nature is cruel. A child can overcome sexual violation, but she will be debilitated if she thinks that she somehow either deserved the abuse or brought it upon herself. She also cannot function as a self-respecting adult if she comes to believe that she is lovable or acceptable only for her sexuality. A neglected child may be helpless, but the damage comes if he acquires the defining belief that helplessness is his real and permanent star in the world. The greatest damage done by neglect, trauma, or emotional loss is not the immediate pain they inflict but the long-term distortions they induce in the way a developing child will continue to interpret the world and her situation in it. All too often these ill-conditioned implicit beliefs become self-fulfilling prophecies in our lives. We create meanings from our unconscious interpretation of early events, and then we forge our present experiences from the meanings we've created. Unwittingly, we write the story of our future from narratives based on the past." p.370
"The ego's tragic flaw is to mistake form for substance, surface illusion for reality. As long as the ego rules, we are all like the Hebrews who wandered to desert on their way to the Promised Land, 'a stiff-necked people.' We keep rejecting truth, bow to the Golden Calf, and scorn what would save us. As the present state of the planet indicates, we're not fast learners, we human beings. Each generation must absorb the same lessons over and over again, groping its blind way through the realm of the hungry ghosts. The truth is within, which is why outward-directed attempts to fill in the void created when we lose touch with it cannot bring us closer to the serenity we long for." p. 420
All references in this blog post come directly from the work cited below:
Maté, G. (2010). In the realm of hungry ghosts: close encounters with addiction. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books.
Feb 10, 2014
What is Continuity of Care?
Continuity of Care is the title of a classroom for children ages birth to three. At one center that I worked at on the East Coast there were only two different-aged classrooms: O-3/ continuity of care, or 3-5/ preschool. Here in the West my program is just transitioning to continuity of care classrooms and still has a few toddler classrooms as well.
Why continuity of care? From what research says it is best for a very young child or infant to be with the same caregiver for their youngest years. It is believed that if teachers are able to build relationships with children and families for extended periods then they are better able to support them as well as foster the child's ever-expanding development.
However- when you first read this and saw that a continuity of care classroom was for ages 0-3, did you shutter and wonder what the hell? Yeah, well that seems to be what most anyone I know says when I tell them. I've been on at least two interviews where I described my East Coast job as being in a classroom for ages 0-3 and interesting comments are made. One woman said straight out she thought it sounded like a "terrible idea" and that it seemed like it "wouldn't work at all." Strong opinion, but hey, we're all entitled to one. Even my superiors recently admitted to me that they were "thrown into it" because it was the new trend, yet they don't really know what it looks like and what the actual research is showing the benefits are. At least they understand some investigating needs to be done, I suppose! Here are some of my own thoughts and ideas on the 0-3 classroom:
What it looks like:
- One class (mine) has 3 "infants" and 5 "young toddlers" (12-24mths).
- The ratio for our age groups is 1:4 because of the infants, so whenever we want to split the group one of the toddlers must be left with the infants. Usually, this is usually when the toddlers go outside and the infants take a morning nap. Developmentally appropriate?
- This means an area of the classroom is devoted to non-mobile infants, while the rest of the room is designed for 5 active young toddlers (7 out of 8 children are currently boys).
- The design of the actual building was with a small book nook that is all windows, yet has three steps to get up on it. Yes, that's 3 stairs as the centerpiece of the room in a classroom with the above ages.
- In a previous post I showed how infants sleep at my school. Technically I guess they call them "futons", but it's really just a crib mattress on the floor. This area takes up a lot of space, and luckily we just got 5 toddler cots. Before there were eight mattresses taking up valuable floor space. Also, due to regulations, the area cannot have any sort of item blocking it, plus it is suppose to promote "independent sleeping habits" and should be open. Think of what a large open area with bouncy mattresses on the floor looks like to a young toddler.
- Nap time is an all-day affair. The babies sleep on-demand and usually twice-a-day, while the toddlers sleep once after lunch. Think of being in a toddler classroom where you are trying to encourage five young toddlers to sleep while there are 3 babies wide awake, cooing loudly, crying, wanting a bottle, etc. etc. This also means a lot of ticked off teachers who cannot lose their nap time.
- Teachers in this classroom never have a break. You have 5 young toddlers to entertain and teach basic social-emotional skills to, while at the same time you have 3 infants who need bottles, to be rocked, to be spoon-fed and just a slower type of care.
- Try doing art and sensory table activities when there are mobile infants crawling and pulling themselves up onto everything and trying to eat everything. You must challenge and provide for several at one developmental level, but you're not suppose to deny anyone, yet it isn't developmentally appropriate and could be considered a choking hazard or other danger to another. A teacher's daily challenge in the continuity of care room.
- When I watch the young toddlers interact with infants I realize that maybe this classroom does have some great benefits. However, on the same note there are times where the one year-olds want to throw a toy at the baby, or are rough with them because they are crying or taking the attention of the teacher. Without the proper teaching support this can be challenging to deal with.
My questions:
- I've worked at a lot of early childhood programs in the past 10 years and I've never known a center to have minimal turnover. Some centers seem to retain some staff for long periods, but for the most part this field has a devastating turnover rate. With that being said, how is it possible to say that it is best for the children to be in the same room for up to 3 years if the staffing would never remain the same for that long? Especially in this environment where no teacher really wants to be in a room with both infants and toddlers (personal opinion I've gathered from talking to colleagues, especially in the West), is this the most logical idea?
- Although scaffolding amongst ages is important, have there been other research studies to show infants and toddlers interacting for group times or periods throughout the day, while each still having their own respectful classrooms and schedules that they can retreat to?
- Has anyone ever heard of training related to working in a 0-3 classroom? Just thought of that. Because I never have, but people seem to ask me a lot of questions like I know what I'm doing. Because a teacher has to understand how to care for infants and toddlers this job is extremely challenging. Making bottles of formula or breast milk, following EHS regulations when it comes to food and eating for infants, diaper changing, cleaning spit-up daily and other sicknesses as they arise, plus planning daily activities throughout the room to entertain the toddlers including sensory and art. Shouldn't continuity of care teachers receive extra training and even a bit higher compensation?
I don't know. Some days I have pro's for it, but most other days I am just so stressed that I don't see how it can be a prolonged solution to early care. I wonder if the classroom was truly mixed with ages from 0-3, so there are more older, independent toddlers and not so many infants and young toddlers all very close in age. Maybe someday I will meet a teacher in such a classroom and can hear their thoughts. I'll be looking forward to more research and writings on the topic too, thats for sure!
Why continuity of care? From what research says it is best for a very young child or infant to be with the same caregiver for their youngest years. It is believed that if teachers are able to build relationships with children and families for extended periods then they are better able to support them as well as foster the child's ever-expanding development.
However- when you first read this and saw that a continuity of care classroom was for ages 0-3, did you shutter and wonder what the hell? Yeah, well that seems to be what most anyone I know says when I tell them. I've been on at least two interviews where I described my East Coast job as being in a classroom for ages 0-3 and interesting comments are made. One woman said straight out she thought it sounded like a "terrible idea" and that it seemed like it "wouldn't work at all." Strong opinion, but hey, we're all entitled to one. Even my superiors recently admitted to me that they were "thrown into it" because it was the new trend, yet they don't really know what it looks like and what the actual research is showing the benefits are. At least they understand some investigating needs to be done, I suppose! Here are some of my own thoughts and ideas on the 0-3 classroom:
What it looks like:
- One class (mine) has 3 "infants" and 5 "young toddlers" (12-24mths).
- The ratio for our age groups is 1:4 because of the infants, so whenever we want to split the group one of the toddlers must be left with the infants. Usually, this is usually when the toddlers go outside and the infants take a morning nap. Developmentally appropriate?
- This means an area of the classroom is devoted to non-mobile infants, while the rest of the room is designed for 5 active young toddlers (7 out of 8 children are currently boys).
- The design of the actual building was with a small book nook that is all windows, yet has three steps to get up on it. Yes, that's 3 stairs as the centerpiece of the room in a classroom with the above ages.
- In a previous post I showed how infants sleep at my school. Technically I guess they call them "futons", but it's really just a crib mattress on the floor. This area takes up a lot of space, and luckily we just got 5 toddler cots. Before there were eight mattresses taking up valuable floor space. Also, due to regulations, the area cannot have any sort of item blocking it, plus it is suppose to promote "independent sleeping habits" and should be open. Think of what a large open area with bouncy mattresses on the floor looks like to a young toddler.
- Nap time is an all-day affair. The babies sleep on-demand and usually twice-a-day, while the toddlers sleep once after lunch. Think of being in a toddler classroom where you are trying to encourage five young toddlers to sleep while there are 3 babies wide awake, cooing loudly, crying, wanting a bottle, etc. etc. This also means a lot of ticked off teachers who cannot lose their nap time.
- Teachers in this classroom never have a break. You have 5 young toddlers to entertain and teach basic social-emotional skills to, while at the same time you have 3 infants who need bottles, to be rocked, to be spoon-fed and just a slower type of care.
- Try doing art and sensory table activities when there are mobile infants crawling and pulling themselves up onto everything and trying to eat everything. You must challenge and provide for several at one developmental level, but you're not suppose to deny anyone, yet it isn't developmentally appropriate and could be considered a choking hazard or other danger to another. A teacher's daily challenge in the continuity of care room.
- When I watch the young toddlers interact with infants I realize that maybe this classroom does have some great benefits. However, on the same note there are times where the one year-olds want to throw a toy at the baby, or are rough with them because they are crying or taking the attention of the teacher. Without the proper teaching support this can be challenging to deal with.
My questions:
- I've worked at a lot of early childhood programs in the past 10 years and I've never known a center to have minimal turnover. Some centers seem to retain some staff for long periods, but for the most part this field has a devastating turnover rate. With that being said, how is it possible to say that it is best for the children to be in the same room for up to 3 years if the staffing would never remain the same for that long? Especially in this environment where no teacher really wants to be in a room with both infants and toddlers (personal opinion I've gathered from talking to colleagues, especially in the West), is this the most logical idea?
- Although scaffolding amongst ages is important, have there been other research studies to show infants and toddlers interacting for group times or periods throughout the day, while each still having their own respectful classrooms and schedules that they can retreat to?
- Has anyone ever heard of training related to working in a 0-3 classroom? Just thought of that. Because I never have, but people seem to ask me a lot of questions like I know what I'm doing. Because a teacher has to understand how to care for infants and toddlers this job is extremely challenging. Making bottles of formula or breast milk, following EHS regulations when it comes to food and eating for infants, diaper changing, cleaning spit-up daily and other sicknesses as they arise, plus planning daily activities throughout the room to entertain the toddlers including sensory and art. Shouldn't continuity of care teachers receive extra training and even a bit higher compensation?
I don't know. Some days I have pro's for it, but most other days I am just so stressed that I don't see how it can be a prolonged solution to early care. I wonder if the classroom was truly mixed with ages from 0-3, so there are more older, independent toddlers and not so many infants and young toddlers all very close in age. Maybe someday I will meet a teacher in such a classroom and can hear their thoughts. I'll be looking forward to more research and writings on the topic too, thats for sure!
Jan 26, 2014
Beds on the Floor
So, as you may know from my prior posts my current classroom is ages 0-3. Have you wondered about "nap time" yet? Well, obviously since infants sleep on demand and usually twice a day, this classroom does not have one nap time where all of the children are resting (although on occasion we can get them all down for about a half hour of overlap sleeping!). Needless to say, nap times are tricky. With the babies we just try to rock them and then lay them on crib mattresses on the floor. For the toddlers we pull out small cots and group them in one area just in case the babies are awake and need a place to play.
Before I came to this center I had never seen infant mattresses on the floor for babies. I was told that the concept is taken from Reggio- where the child has the freedom to lay down when they are tired, learning to independently care for their own needs. I do understand this concept, however in our American society I have yet to meet a baby who is able to independently put themselves to sleep. I also know what toddlers are like, so clearly they just want to go jump on the mattresses and make a game out of playing in their and being asked to come out. I also feel bad for the babies a bit, as they are not allowed any blankets or foreign items (other than a pacifier if used), and must sleep on their backs. So picture a little baby laying on the floor of a classroom while there are seven other children present. Cat naps take place and I'm okay with that, I understand why the babies can't sleep so well like that. Yes, yes, I know there are safety issues and I want to keep them safe, but there has to be another way to help babies sleep at school comfortably and more realistically, as I doubt any of them sleep like this at home.
*Please note that these pictures are shown only for discussion purposes. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with a particular styles or school beliefs and not describing a particular school by name, only sharing personal opinions that I have on the topic.
Before I came to this center I had never seen infant mattresses on the floor for babies. I was told that the concept is taken from Reggio- where the child has the freedom to lay down when they are tired, learning to independently care for their own needs. I do understand this concept, however in our American society I have yet to meet a baby who is able to independently put themselves to sleep. I also know what toddlers are like, so clearly they just want to go jump on the mattresses and make a game out of playing in their and being asked to come out. I also feel bad for the babies a bit, as they are not allowed any blankets or foreign items (other than a pacifier if used), and must sleep on their backs. So picture a little baby laying on the floor of a classroom while there are seven other children present. Cat naps take place and I'm okay with that, I understand why the babies can't sleep so well like that. Yes, yes, I know there are safety issues and I want to keep them safe, but there has to be another way to help babies sleep at school comfortably and more realistically, as I doubt any of them sleep like this at home.
*Please note that these pictures are shown only for discussion purposes. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with a particular styles or school beliefs and not describing a particular school by name, only sharing personal opinions that I have on the topic.
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| Community Playthings Wall Panels |
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| Must Have Opening to Support Independence |
Jan 18, 2014
Cost of Child Care vs. College
What an interesting thought to ponder: the current cost of child care is higher than in-state tuition in most states. Early Childhood Education in our country has been growing since the civil rights movement when more women were joining the work force and children did not have other family members to care for them during the day. Once Head Start was created, an emphasis grew on quality care and what exactly that might look like. In 2014 we are struggling with many issues related to early childhood education and what quality centers look like:
- How do we assess quality?
- Why does quality matter?
- Should quality change price of care?
- How can middle-class families afford quality care? (Low-income families benefit from child care assistance and/or Head Start when eligible)
- How do programs afford to pay programming costs and equitable teacher wages?
- There is a lack of early childhood teachers who hold degrees directly in early childhood
- How do centers meet national expectations for teacher certifications if they can't find those certified?
- Should the government take more of a role in funding early childhood educational efforts in addition to Head Start Programs?
Below is a picture taken from Qualistar's 2013 Signature Report showing the child care costs in Colorado. As Colorado has urban, rural, and resort areas prevalent to study, the differences in costs can easily be seen. It's astounding to think that finding quality care can be so expensive, and this is after locating it at all (The report states that licensed facilities are only at capacity to serve 23% of Colorado's children). If you read the rest of the report, you will learn more astounding information about Child Care in Colorado, which is similar to many other states around our country.
- How do we assess quality?
- Why does quality matter?
- Should quality change price of care?
- How can middle-class families afford quality care? (Low-income families benefit from child care assistance and/or Head Start when eligible)
- How do programs afford to pay programming costs and equitable teacher wages?
- There is a lack of early childhood teachers who hold degrees directly in early childhood
- How do centers meet national expectations for teacher certifications if they can't find those certified?
- Should the government take more of a role in funding early childhood educational efforts in addition to Head Start Programs?
Below is a picture taken from Qualistar's 2013 Signature Report showing the child care costs in Colorado. As Colorado has urban, rural, and resort areas prevalent to study, the differences in costs can easily be seen. It's astounding to think that finding quality care can be so expensive, and this is after locating it at all (The report states that licensed facilities are only at capacity to serve 23% of Colorado's children). If you read the rest of the report, you will learn more astounding information about Child Care in Colorado, which is similar to many other states around our country.
The rest of the report can be downloaded from Qualistar's website: http://www.qualistar.org/early-learning-research-data.html
Constantly Telling My Colleagues….
I would love to make this into a poster and hang it in my classroom. Next time a teacher bitches because about infants and toddlers not being busy, or needing new toys, I can just point to the sign. It's not always about toys, it's about being there: talking, playing, mimicking, laughing, modeling and just being present. Maybe children will even gain knowledge about ways to play or how to engage themselves in things that interest them after being guided by an adult.
What About Nature?
I found these great image talking about children's disconnect from nature. In our current society we are so concerned with 'go go, do do' that we rarely take time to just go outside and play and enjoy our natural surroundings. Children are affected by lack of exposure to nature more than most people would ever think.
From the Ground Up
My First Experience Starting from Scratch
In 2009 I was given an amazing opportunity. It payed $11/hour, 30 hours a week without benefits, and I was told that if I was successful with creating the program than I could possibly see a full-time benefited position in my future. Possibly. Of course I jumped right in. What grabbed me was the school: A private, independent day school from preschool through eighth grade with an emphasis on integrated learning and using inspirations from philosophies such as Reggio and Montessori. My Job was to pilot a brand-new toddler program which included both part-day and full-day spots, and also a play group for younger toddlers and infants.
I was shown my new classroom after the interviews and accepting the position. It was in the basement- excuse me- "garden level" of the school naturally. It was graced with three windows that were at outside tar level, yet five feet from our classroom floor (I guess we won't be wasting time looking outside), and the room with concrete floors was trashed. In fact, it had been a storage space for the other classrooms and a catch-all for the crap that no one wanted yet couldn't bear to part with. Just cleaning the space out was a task in itself!
I worked on a minimal budget trying to find second-hand items, going through the preschool closets, and talking with other EC professionals I knew to obtain high-quality materials for a program that was hoping to thrive in Maine. Yes Maine, where "doing business" was ranked 51st- last even after Puerto Rico. What the hell was I thinking? I was thinking about children, families, an amazing school, and the opportunity to create a program based on Reggio Emilia philosophies that I had fallen in love with. I was thinking from the passion side of the brain, and the part that creates happiness and makes your serotonin levels soar. I was 24 years old and not thinking about money, the struggles associated with dealing with wealthy parents at private schools, or the thought that I could fail miserably. Maybe that's what made me so successful that year: the lack of fear and the desire to be everything that I wanted to be. Maybe those moments were the most free I will ever feel in this field, as five years later working at various schools, seeing the bureaucracy that surrounds education (both public and private) and the struggles that we as educators face everyday I've lost some of that dreamy happiness and desire to do it all. I now step into a classroom thinking "How far can I get with the restrictions that I am presented with? This is the best that I can do, although I know that more can be done." It's the sad reality of the world that we are in. A feeling of not being able to keep growing and showing your passion, as rules, regulations, lack of support and especially the lack of well-educated and experienced colleagues presents itself. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer here, but I struggle with this daily, and I am sure that if you are an infant toddler teacher you know exactly where I stand emotionally.
Anyways- back to my original blog story. The most challenging task that ended up presenting itself wasn't space and materials, rather it was finding a co-teacher. We interviewed numerous people. No Experience or no education related to early education. What did we expect to find anyways with a position offering only 24 hours a week to start and a lower hourly rate than me? I mean come on, who can survive on that? Needless to say, we hired someone, it didn't work out after a horrible first day, and luckily, we found an amazing new teacher who I grew to love greatly and learned so much from (you, Andrea!) after another week or so. Of course, this poor girl was also subbing elsewhere after her morning shift with me because she needed more work than just part-time, big surprise. We ended up having an amazing first year. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of struggles and challenges, but when you have a co-teacher that you can actually openly communicate with and share similar ideas and create plans with, challenges are just another part of the job and don't seem so over-bearing. It's when you are all alone in the classroom that these issues wear on you more than they should.
Our first year, starting with only 4 enrolled children for part-day programming on day one, turned out great. By the end of the year we were fully enrolled, and the next school years roster even had a waiting list! I loved the feeling of success and the pride I took in being the one to create such a desirable program. I loved creating child portfolios and watching parents smile and laugh as they shared in the joys of what their child was learning at school. I loved using my FlipCam to send short clips of kiddos to their families, who told me how meaningful it was to see their baby in action at school.
Year two I had a new teacher, which I was sad about because I loved my old co-teacher dearly, but it ended up being okay. The first full week of school we both cried everyday after the children left, as having 8 toddlers share their first experiences in a school setting is not easy in one bit and extremely emotionally draining! We got through this though, and created a good team. It's challenging as a teacher when you are in a room and expected to reach high expectations, yet are also trying to teach a new teacher everything (as she had no previous experience in an early childhood setting). But I managed, as you really have no other choice. Hopefully I made an impact on her, and sometimes she may think of me and things that I taught her in those early days in the classroom. I left after year two, as I couldn't see staying at a salaried job where I was in the classroom more hours than I was salaried for (this doesn't include planning, prepping, documenting, etc. that I also used my own time to do, as all teachers do), at a low pay, and without room for growth. It was a tough decision as I love this school dearly, but I knew it was time to move on and ultimately made the decision to go for my masters degree, which requires less time at work and more time writing papers and researching.
Things I learned these two years:
- School climates can vary based on income levels of families
- Because some people have money, they feel that they can pay to have what they want
- A basement can make a beautiful classroom
- Creating child portfolios that are meaningful are like gold to parents
- A strong teaching team makes all the difference in a classroom
- Creating strong, positive relationships with parents is essential to the best classrooms
- Whole school meetings are essential to positive school climates and educational systems
- A school is a community. This needs to be supported and recognized!
Environment pictures through the two years:
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Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! This blog has no rhyme or reason other than to share in the qualms of daily work with infants and toddlers. I may share some stories from my classroom, pictures of environments, or funny things I find from the line.
I decided to make this blog because, as an infant toddler teacher I am CONSTANTLY asked "are you going to teach real kids someday?" Hmm… "real" seems an interesting way to put it, but in that case, yes, I do teach REAL children. I teach them empathy, how to share, how to care for others, how to care for themselves, independence, a love for reading, a love for the outdoors, and most importantly I give them the freedom to be children and to feel like they can play and explore as they please, because we all know that play is how the youngest of children do learn, right? And we are also aware that the most brain synapses, i.e. learning, takes place in the FIRST FIVE YEARS, right? Of course :)
A little about me: I am an early childhood teacher who has worked directly with children from birth through five for over ten years now. Most of my experience is with toddlers, as I find this age to be full of wonder and excitement, and you can literally see children learning new things all the time. I have a high interest in infant brain development, and have enjoyed exploring studies by John Bowlby about attachment during infancy. I also love the works of Jonathan Kozol who explores young children and their families in poverty, and the horrific qualms of our educational system right here in our very own country. Things are not as amazing as some may think they are… I received my masters of science degree in education with a specialization in early childhood education in 8/13, and if you ask what I "want to be" I will give you the same response I give everyone: I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I know I want to make a difference.
What does an infant toddler teacher have to deal with?
Parents!
Policies
Research-Based Practices
Expectations (state, national)
Un-educated staff
Low Pay (Luckily not me!)
Lack of guidance and support from supervisors uneducated in infant brain development
High staff turnover in the field
Physically demanding challenges everyday
Documentation/Portfolios (Lack of time given to teachers to accomplish high quality reports)
Hmm… Almost sounds like teaching to me, just less pay, more physically demanding, less planning time, and the notion from society that you are not in a 'real job' and 'not really teaching'. I will vent on many of these issues and concerns through time. Enjoy :)
I decided to make this blog because, as an infant toddler teacher I am CONSTANTLY asked "are you going to teach real kids someday?" Hmm… "real" seems an interesting way to put it, but in that case, yes, I do teach REAL children. I teach them empathy, how to share, how to care for others, how to care for themselves, independence, a love for reading, a love for the outdoors, and most importantly I give them the freedom to be children and to feel like they can play and explore as they please, because we all know that play is how the youngest of children do learn, right? And we are also aware that the most brain synapses, i.e. learning, takes place in the FIRST FIVE YEARS, right? Of course :)
A little about me: I am an early childhood teacher who has worked directly with children from birth through five for over ten years now. Most of my experience is with toddlers, as I find this age to be full of wonder and excitement, and you can literally see children learning new things all the time. I have a high interest in infant brain development, and have enjoyed exploring studies by John Bowlby about attachment during infancy. I also love the works of Jonathan Kozol who explores young children and their families in poverty, and the horrific qualms of our educational system right here in our very own country. Things are not as amazing as some may think they are… I received my masters of science degree in education with a specialization in early childhood education in 8/13, and if you ask what I "want to be" I will give you the same response I give everyone: I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I know I want to make a difference.
What does an infant toddler teacher have to deal with?
Parents!
Policies
Research-Based Practices
Expectations (state, national)
Un-educated staff
Low Pay (Luckily not me!)
Lack of guidance and support from supervisors uneducated in infant brain development
High staff turnover in the field
Physically demanding challenges everyday
Documentation/Portfolios (Lack of time given to teachers to accomplish high quality reports)
Hmm… Almost sounds like teaching to me, just less pay, more physically demanding, less planning time, and the notion from society that you are not in a 'real job' and 'not really teaching'. I will vent on many of these issues and concerns through time. Enjoy :)
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