What happens
if a director goes against the norms?
Roberto inspired me to be a stronger
leader and feel self – empowerment by showing me that we don’t have to follow
the norms. Directors are pushed to get so much paperwork done and keep the
staff, board members, and families happy. Roberto did what her thought was best
for the school and the children. He went against the board and pushed his
vision forward. He saw what needed to be changed to instill his vision. He
worked on his professional development as well as his staff and families to get
everyone on board. When becoming the director he stood up for what he believed
in to improve his school and bring forth his vision.
I would adopt a few of his
practices. His practices are different, but they work. I would form work teams
for different accreditation focus areas and also curriculum areas. I would use
un – timing the curriculum.
My next steps would be to put these
practices into play. I have used the un – timing the curriculum practice with my
children before. I have a daily routine but many times I’m flexible with the
times because I go by the feel of the children. If they are engaged indoors
then we’ll stay in longer. If they are restless and full of energy I would take
them out sooner. Many times I gauge my daily routine by the children’s
behaviors. I would like to form work teams. My site is a larger site and I feel
that I would be able to get other staff involved with this and see where it
goes from there.
Hi Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteNot following the norms -- such a powerful position, especially in early childhood. In some of my observations, pushing against the norms in early childhood does not seem to be the norm! School seems to always run the same way, director with most power, teachers not trusted, scripted curriculum, assessment over listening and responding to children. How might early childhood education change if directors all broke the expected "rules", rethinking their roles as a way to empower teachers, children, and families? What might be your role in breaking the rules and leading early childhood towards something new?
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteThe directors do hold the power. Every school that I worked at that's how its been. Why can't directors think like those in the text? If the directors and teachers felt as equals I feel that more would get done. We both are in it for the children. By empowering teachers I feel that they would be more willing to work and empower their students and families. At my site I work as an extended day teacher and at times I feel that we don't hold as much power as the day staff. We alternate between classrooms monthly but we don't really have our own space or even our own computer. We have to wait until a computer is available which is usually when the teachers leave in the afternoon. When things aren't done a certain way we usually get the blame. I'm new at my site but feel that things need to be more equal and will be working with my co - workers and EC to see if some changes could be made.
Hey Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how Roberto had a vision of how he would run the school and he put it into reality. Sometimes, we all have visions and dreams but we are too scared to step out and achieve them. How was Roberto able to do this? How was he strong enough to make his vision reality? Strong meaning mentally and emotionally. I too would adopt the same practices as you mentioned. I have yet to try un-timed curriculum, but I would try it when I become a teacher.
Hey Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteI was inspired too, by the tactics that Roberto used to make changes in his school. Something I notice that many of us are mentioning in our posts this week, is "doing what's best for the children." As educated professionals, how can we advocate on behalf of children, and be able to inform parents and the community about why it is "the best" choice? I agree that paperwork seems to overtake the responsibilities. How can we manage paperwork and standards, and use these to our advantage to assess and document quality care? I think the same way that you are thinking, we do need to go against the norm, and also with what Jeanne said about most people not wanting to go against it. How can we use these tools and strategies to be equipped to challenge the norm when we become a director one day?
Hi Jasmine, it seems that Roberto was an inspiration to many of us in this course, but it also appeared that his staff had a positive disposition to his efforts to reform the program and was supportive of his changes. Do you think those changes would have been possible if his staff was unwilling to make improvements? Sometimes, "seasoned" teacher's get into their routine and teach the same way and do the same things continuously from year to year. This makes me reflect on an interview that I had conducted with a director of a 4yr old preschool program because of an assignment I had for one of my ECE classes. I remember her telling me that, after years of focusing their program on Literacy, the program made a change to focus on social/emotional development. Some teacher's weren't supportive of the change, and after many years in the company, decided to leave. How can a new director approach his staff to make change without making them feel as if they were uneducated in their practices of teaching preschool-aged children? What side of the triangle is used in getting teacher's to "get on board" with the director? What can teacher's do to support the changes that a new director is making?
ReplyDelete