Set Back Once Again

This week brought yet another set back in observation. I had been planing on observing once again at Aldo however due to fog I was unable to find any other time for me to go and observe before Spring Break. However, due to my work and other opportunities I believe I have enough experience to complete this project.

In regards to the project our team is working very well together and I look forward to the final result. We are all very interested in our topic and incorporating everything we have observed in our different situations. As a team we have all been working together very well and everyone has been doing their part. I am very pleased with how are team is actually embodying the ideals of cooperative learning.

Outdoor Play Observation

Direction? Calling?

The role of play in early childhood education has always been an area of not only interest but also passion for me. Previously I was unaware of the research behind it, the studies done, or the implications of it. I relied solely on my own experience and what I have observed of children around me. While writing my weekly reflections I have found myself becoming increasingly passionate and at points agitated about what I had read and then filled with a desire to spread and share my knowledge to help others. It has been these experiences that have made me stop and think about my future.

Recently my mind has been filled with questions about what exactly I am called to do with my life and where I want to see my journey to take me. I have no question that the field of education is where I am meant to be. I have an incredible passion for teaching, children, and finding out and then promoting what is best for them. I have never once questioned whether or not this is the field for me. However, recently I have begun to explore the options that lie within the field of education more. Previously I viewed a career in education as solely a one track road which lead directly to becoming a classroom teacher and although this is an incredibly noble, wonderful, and vital role am beginning to see that the field of education is much more varied than I had ever previously thought. I am in no way ruling out the possibility of becoming a classroom teacher, in fact I am pretty certain that that is where I will end up however, I am beginning to play around with the ideas of what else I could do to help in the education field. Do my skills lie in research, being a formal advocate for a certain area of education, writing and publishing works, ect. Although I honestly don’t really know how to approach these, what they would require, or even if it’s something that I was be good at the idea that there are multiple opportunities out there is both empowering and terrifying at the same time.

Video Reflection

Today's video was very interesting and beneficial. I was particularly interested in the comparisons between city kids, country kids, and suburb kids and how their environments and lifestyles affect not only what they play but how much play they actually participate in. I was surprised to learn just how much of a disadvantage children in the "suburbs" are. However, my one critique of the movie was that they seem to ignore the small town environment, that many kids, like myself grew up in which in my opinion is a good mixture of the suburb, city, and country. Failure to acknowledge this paints a broad generalization of a large population of the country.

The other issue I do not believe that the video dealt with but that is a major issue in child rearing is the competitive atmosphere that parents in this country in particular fall prey. It is the mindset that "my child must be better than all others" that often leads parents to over plan and structure children's lives. It is also this drive that ever increasing phenomenon of "preparing kids for college" at an early and early age. However, this competive nature is so ingrained into the American phsyce that only by fully embracing the Einstein quote "We can't solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" can Americans get past this and finally start doing what is apprioate for thier kids.

Aldo Observation

Preschool Observation

Tech. Kids

Well first of all I would just like to say that I LOVE the Pico Crickets. They are such a good way for kids to learn problem solving, cause and effect, along with a lot of other skills in a fun, creative, challenging way. While working them it was such a trill to try and figure out different ways of doing stuff and when we finally got it to work I was left with a sense of accomplishment and pride. I can only image how a kid would feel after seeing their creation come alive of they own accord. The more I think about them the more different content areas I think they could fit in. They are a perfect way to tap into the technology based childhood that now defines the generations. No clear example of this is found than in the discussion I witnessed at the Preschool.

The topic of the week was transportation and besides the general planes, trains, and automobiles, discussion the topic of how we transport messages was brought up. Now even in my childhood this conversation would have involved phones, mail and talking to the person. But just in the few years that separate my childhood from theirs many new forms of communication have spurted up. There brainstorm listed included cell phones, texting, and email among others. When Miss Bonnie took her phone out one of the little girls shouted out "hey that's a Blackberry I have one of those." Now granted her's was proaubly a toy one but the fact remains these kids and those to come are growing up in a world far different then even the one I grew up in. A world in which technology in not just this cool new toy or gadget but a way of life. So it only makes senese to use technology like the Pico Crickets in their play. Just as the world has changed since my generation why shouldn't are teaching methods also change?

Small Set Back

I was planning on going to Aldo this past Tues. but the teacher had too many people coming in so now I am in the process of looking for another date to go in. However, in the mean time I will be paying closer attention to the students at the childcare center and preschool here at St. Norbert College. I hope to see how their use of play compares to what I have read in the assigned readings and my own personal prior experience.

TEST- This is only a test