How can we help to improve Early Childhood Education in
Hawaii?
While
reading the afterword there are many “projects” that were created to help Early
Childhood Education. How can we help ECE in Hawaii? The main concept that I
learned from this book is balance. To balance the three sides of the triangle
will take time and practice. This will be something that I will work on
throughout my career as an early childhood educator. I’m inspired by this text
to make my visions a reality and make the needed changes in myself and my
classroom. I thought to myself how can I make a difference? I bet most of you
choose this job to make a difference in children’s lives. These children that we are teaching are our
future. I can make a difference by standing up for what I believe is best for
my children just as the directors in this text did. They didn’t conform to the
norms, they made their vision a reality and I hope to create my own vision one
day.
Hi Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteHow might you define balance in terms of early childhood in Hawaii? I often find the same people making decisions about early childhood policies in Hawaii, leaving out the voices of children, families, and teachers. Mandates seem to populate early childhood -- teachers must be evaluated through CLASS, testing of 4-year-olds in the name of building a data system, Quality Ratings systems become the judging mechanisms of a program. How can a vision help to disrupt federal mandates and dispel the fears of saying no to each of the mandates? Have teachers and directors become complacent and obedient in times of accountability, forgetting how they could better serve children when trusted and respected as professionals?
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteI feel that directors and teachers have become complacent in times of accountability. I haven't worked in this field for very long but I see educators restructuring their lessons and activities to meet certain standards. Many times they are so worried about meeting standards they forget to have fun with the children and enjoy the little moments and make connections with children. I asked my question specifically targeting Hawaii because the references in the afterword was all in the mainland. I wondered what are we doing to help Hawaii? In Hawaii teachers are currently on strike and the government is taking away money from education. Why? Isn't education important anymore? There are so many questions that have come to my mind when reading this text and taking this class. I had a great semester see you next year. Happy Holidays!
Hi Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteIt was great reading your thoughts through out the semester. I know that I am a director who is torn about all these standards and accountability. There are pros and cons to everthing that we do, but who are we benefiting? Hawaii has to stop and look at who we are asking for help with early education; the local government and look at what they have done with the public school systems. Is that what we really want or do we go knocking on some elses door?
Hey Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteI too, learned that balance is an important thing, especially in early childhood education. There is so much that we can take from this book. The professionals in this book taught me so much and the one thing that stood out to me the most is to never give up on my dream. These directors and teachers came into or changed their center's life for the better. Change maybe a good thing. Change can also be a positive thing. But it is up to us to adapt to change for the better. We need to support our directors so they can strive to better our centers. And if any of us become directors, find your balance within the triangle, it will definitely help you achieve your dream.