Passion for Education!

This week I chose to learn more about Lyndon B Johnson, the founder president of Head Start and Jean Marc Gaspard Itard who was said to be considered the founder of special education.  I was able to find a quote from Johnson, but as there weren't any quotes from Itard, I selected a passage from his book "An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man" which is a book about Victor who sparked his interest in this field to begin with. 

Below are two very powerful quotes from Lyndon B. Johnson in regards to education.  I agree with a lot of his ideas, it was extremely hard settling on only two quotes.  We have to be better as a whole, find out how kids learn and continue to enhance the education system so that it can benefit everyone.

"Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance"
-Lyndon B. Johnson

"But more classrooms and more teachers are not enough. We must seek an educational system which grows in excellence as it grows in size. This means better training for our teachers. It means preparing youth to enjoy their hours of leisure as well as their hours of labor. It means exploring new techniques of teaching, to find new ways to stimulate the love of learning and the capacity for creation."

-Lyndon B. Johnson


Below is an exerpt from Jean Marc Gaspard Itard's book "An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man" which is a book about what drew him to Victor, a naked 12 year old deemed idiotic found wandering naked in the woods, and what kept him trying to help Victor as opposed to dismiss him as everyone else had done.

“I did not assent to this unfavorable opinion; and, in spite of the truth of the picture, and the justness of the representations, I conceived some hopes, which were grounded on the two- fold consideration of the cause, and the possibility of curing this apparent idiot-ism. I could not proceed Without stopping an instant to dwell upon these two considerations. They still bear on the present moment; they result from a series of facts which I am going to relate, and in which I shall be obliged to mix frequently my own reflections”.

- Jean Marc Gaspard Itard

Both of the above tie in with how I try to teach and continue learning how to teach.  You have to want to learn how each individual child learns.  Teaching isn't a 9-5 job that you drop at the door, late nights and early mornings researching different ways to get messages across to children who may not grasp it is the only way to be efficient.  When the problem is deeper than simply not being able to understand something you need to be willing to find out the next steps necessary to help the child.  That's what drives my passion for education and the people I chose to learn more about!

Late childhood web

I posted my web last night and I just realized it never published, sorry guys! I tried blogging from my phone and learned my lesson!

:)

PERSONAL CHILDHOOD WEB

My personal childhood web consists of four people. My parents, my aunt Jennifer, and my brother. All equally important to my growth and all who have influenced me and helped me to be the person I am today. 

My brother Zane

My parents, happily married for a million years. 

My parents and my moms youngest sister, my aunt Jennifer. 

  

My parents are my biggest influences. They both came to New York from the West Indies full of dreams. They taught me to always strive for better. They both pushed me to finish school. Inspired me to try everything from piano to every type of dance. All while supporting me in everything, whether I succeeded or wanted to quit they were always in my front row cheering me on.  We've had our ups and downs and typical arguments, but I've never felt more loved and supported by anyone in life. 

  Growing up my brother was my least favorite person on Earth.  Being a child actor and a easy straight A student I felt as if I was always in competition with him.  Which inadvertently inspired me to strive to be a better student and try to impress my parents with my grades and extra curricular activities. 

My brother taught me to have fun. He gained attention from his agent by embracing his love of entertaining people through performance. He would pretend to be Michael Jackson and perform for anybody that would listen to him. He inspired me to be myself and embrace the moment. My wears whatever he wants to, does whatever he want to, and spent our entire childhood dancing and singing for anyone who would listen. 

My aunt Jennifer is my rock. She came from the West Indies when I was a baby specifically to take care of me and hasn't left my side for the past 26 years. It's almost like having a second mother. Sometimes I even call her before calling my own mother. She keeps me grounded, teaches me lessons I may not want to hear or learn. Through unconditional love and understanding she has helped me to be a better person. 

My family is my web and I love them all dearly. My ultimate goal in life is to become so rich that my parents, aunt (altogether I have 26 aunts and uncles whom I love so much, but am not as close to), and brother won't have to work. Thankful to have such a strong support system. 

"Soy sauce"

SR is a sweetheart! He told me that his name was soy sauce,  which is a nickname his mom calls him. He loves the color orange, laughing, and learning new things.  He is full of surprises, he can name every single one of Thomas the tank engine's friends, count & name colors in Spanish, tell you how many sides any shape has, and will always ask how your day is going.  The other day he asked me if he could keep me forever.

    One day he was having a hard time dealing with being in class and he started crying and asked me for a hug. Seemed simple enough. I gave him a hug, he cried for a little while longer on my shoulder then looked at me and said "thank you Ms. Sherria I needed that".  It took everything in my to not start bawling. 

    Recently he's been into making cards for his classmates where he practices writing their names and drawing in colors he knows they love. I caught a snapshot of this picture last week because I haven't seen him draw something for himself in quite some time. The fact that he attempted to use his sounds to spell the word "house" was the icing on the cake.

My passion for teaching is fueled by kids like SR.  Which, lucky for me has been all of my kids in the last two years.  They're all human they have their moments, life can be stressful whether you're 3 or 100.  Each day I'm given the opportunity to work with children and can save a story or two like the one above keeps me going. 

overheard conversation at the snack table 3/5/2014

LS- KS, why are you brown and I'm white?

KS- (flips hand over to show off palm) Look, I'm kinda white too LS, so we're still the same.

LS- Oooo okay (smiles), well what's your favorite train to ride?

***I am going to cry my eyes out in June when they graduate, sweetest kids ever.. Everyone is the same***

- The above was a status I posted quoting two kids from my class. My aunt was a preschool teacher for over 15 years and is now writing a book compiled of everything from hilarious memories to quotes from children she has saved over the years, and after listening to some of her stories I began to keep a log as well.  As of right now, I am not planning on trying to get a book published, but reminiscing on conversations such as the above gives me a reason to smile and keep going regardless of what obstacles I am facing.  I try to write down a funny story or cute quote every day. 

This is me.

Fun fact, I've worn big glasses since I was 2 years old... Made school a tad difficult in my younger years as some children can be mean, but I love them!!!! My class gets a hoot when they aren't able to sleep during rest and I show them my baby pictures :)

Favorite quote:

"If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn"

-Michael J. Fox

This is my favorite quote, I've had it saved on my phone for quite sometime. One of my biggest struggles in dealing with looping a class and having students that I had last year is trying to disregard what I know about how my kids learn and adapting to my new co-teachers teaching styles, which doesn't always agree with what I know works with certain children.  Their ideas are amazing and will prepare our class more for the beginning kindergarten with new teachers that aren't familiar with their skill set or personalities as of yet, so I agree that breaking them out of their comfort sometimes is necessary.... But... Well let me give an example-

I know one teacher does not like the way I read stories. I am well aware that stopping (asking questions) to make sure that they are paying attention and learning is important, but for some reason when you stop they lose focus even more. One or two might understand a question, but the next three might panic after being asked a question and say something random or that they don't know.  When I know that they know the answer!  Or the class loses focus as a whole, one comment can set them off into a fit of giggles (with me especially) and then the purpose of the book gets forgotten. So I prefer to read with as much energy and pizazz as I would if I was reading to my three year old godson in my living room, and then discuss it afterwards.  Which is not warmly received by another teacher, a teacher also equipped with a reading certificate who I respect because she is always on the ball and she knows her stuff.  Her discussing not liking the way I read to the class confuses me and leaves me torn and discourages me from wanting to read with them (this is also the first complaint I've ever received), even though I know the kids enjoy it and take more from it...  

     I love my class, they zone out & get nervous very easily, but last year half of them couldn't even sit through a story without crying or needing to hold a train. I know getting into character helps them remain focused. 

Hello all!  My name is Sherria and this blog is dedicated to keeping the world updated on my joruney through early childhood education via my graduate school studies at Walden University and my preschool classroom where I co-teach with two other wonderful teachers.  While I have tampered with blogging before, I've never been apart of an online learning community & between you and me reblogging pictures I like on tumblr was a cake walk compared to trying to set up and give out my correct information on here.  Now that I have finally gotten this page set up correctly I cannot wait to begin sharing my experiences with you.  Be prepared to be bombarded with artwork and funny classroom stories, in addition to our guided discussions of course.  Happy studies classmates & friends, best of luck!

-Sherria :)