I am happy to see schools in Hawaii supporting early intervention. I'm a skills trainer at a local middle school and try to support other children to be very respective. I always try to make my clients see that different isn't bad, different is unique and special. If we're all the same then we would be boring and have not close relationships with each other.
Another topic I would like to acknowledge is integrating different languages. In Hawaii, we have a wide diversity of ethic backgrounds. The book Rethinking Early Childhood Education also explains how integrating indigenous languages may have challenges but it's for improvement of the community.
From my experience when I used to work at a preschool, we had children with different ethnic backgrounds. Our class would support different languages by teaching numbers and different foods. We also encourage parents or family members to visit the class to teach us about their ethnic background.
Overall, I hope these positive actions help our community and country to be in a positive environment. I want every generation to have to ambition to want to be confident with themselves and respect others. Being different is not bad, being different is a gift and we should love these qualities about us.
Hi Bree-
ReplyDeleteWhen I read you note on Nyla, I could not help but think how important role models teachers are to children. Children will often follow more what you do than what you say. Children seem to pick up on things, that is why it is so important that we treat each child respectively and encourage others to be respectful to their friends. We teach our children that God made each one special, we all look different on the outside but we all are same on the inside.....we all have feelings. Treat others as you would like to be treated. How else to you encourage children to be respectful?
Aloha Bree,
ReplyDeleteI liked the way the Head Start teacher made herself overcome her fears and began to bond with Nyla. By her actions, she encouraged the other children to bond with Nyla as well. My question is, are there trainings available for Preschool staff who desire to work with children with disabilities? I've never personally worked with a child with a disability like Nyla's, but it would be helpful to have resources or trainings available for Preschool staff in general. This would be highly beneficial since a lot of Preschools have inclusion classrooms.
You mentioned about encouraging parents and family members to come in to your program to share about their culture. My question is, what did your program do to encourage them to become involved? Was there an incentive or were they just willing to come and help? I really like the idea of having parents or family members come into the classroom to share about their culture and language. It brings a new experience for the children in the program, especially since Hawaii is such a diverse state with so many different ethnic backgrounds.
Hi Bree,
ReplyDeleteYour question offers all of us something to think about -- Why were we raised to think different is bad? Consider our teaching practices -- many elementary classrooms are structured to follow a set of standards or "norms" -- positioning students as same. Why is this? It goes with your question -- why do educators/parents/society think it not okay to stray from the norms? What are federal, state, and school policies often based on norms? Are there ways teachers can create schools or influence policies that might value difference?
Jeanne