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: