Journal Entry #3

Interview an EC education or care provider - what are this person's beliefs about early childhood care and education?  What curriculum or curricular scope/sequence do they follow?  What modifications do you make in your curriculum to meet the needs of all children?  Summarize your interview.

I interviewed a 1st grade teacher that I very much respect.  His control of the classroom makes his students feel autonomy, empowered and safe to make mistakes, learn at their own pace, explore freely within the structure he provides for a calm, inclusive and collaborative learning atmosphere.

His beliefs include keeping a balance between home and child care settings--parents should continue and attempt to provide intimate interactions that a child might not possibly be able to receive outside the home.  Socialization and the idea of being a student are especially important during this stage of education and believes that his role as an education is to create an environment early on that fosters the love of learning.

Teaching at a private school, he has the flexibility to follows his own curriculum (that is decided together with the school).  For reading and writing, they are influenced by Teacher College's reading and writing workshop.  Math follows Singapore math and finally, a "World Course" curriculum that is similar to social studies, but encompasses all subject areas.

Regarding modifications, they allow for differentiation daily in every subject matter.  They use a leveled reading system and guiding reading groups to support readers at every level.  There are also leveled groups in writing and math.  Depending on the ability of the student in a particular task, they will scaffold the subject matter to provide the best learning environment for that student.

Journal Entry #2

What aspects of the philosophy statement resonates with you?  Which aspects align with your own philosophy and teaching in early childhood education? 

Does the philosophy of the school align with Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)?  Is there a mention, or are there references to DAP in the philosophy statement?

Does the philosophy of the school address diversity?  Is there a mention, or are there references to Anti-Bias Education in the philosophy statement?

If you could revise or rewrite the philosophy statement, what would you change?

Fort Lee School #2's philosophy statement starts with their commit to a "'children first' student-centered approach".  This is something that I believe in and am commited to in my future classroom.  I am also inspired by john Dewey and Vygotsky and they reference, in their math and science programs, a program that "includes an exploration for knowledge...and utiliz[ing] a constructivist approach to learning that enables students to experience concepts through a hands-on approach to learning."

Unfortunately, there is no reference to DAP or Anti-Bias education, but they do express the value of "cross-curricular learning opportunities [to] enhance daily practice by providing experiences that make connections to real life applications" and their offering of "art, music, physical education and technology [which] enrich and reinforce workplace readiness skills and personal wellness techniques."  Fort Lee is a very diverse community and in School #2's philosophy statement, they do list different ways they celebrate diversity which "enables [them] to cultivate an appreciate for individual differences and develop comfort in [their] commonalities as [they] network in their daily activities."

In my opinion, there could have been a greater emphasis put on social/emotional development.  Also, I didn't like that the first paragraph covered data, statistics and state testing heavily.  As a future parent, for my child's first introduction into education, I would not want such a huge emphasis on numbers.  Perhaps it's because it's a public school and it is necessary to acknowledge it, but I wouldn't open with it.  There was also no mention of play, granted, this is serves PreK-6, but I think they would've benefited from dividing their philosophy by age group rather than content area.  Finally, there were several typos that left me feeling like they perhaps did not put much thought into this philosophy.