Children Are Puzzles
June 03, 2009
It is Parent/Teacher Conference time again at the preschool. Having already completed one round of conferences in the early fall, our parents are becoming seasoned at the "give and take" of reviewing Developmental Checklists and discussing their child's progress through out the year.
What they don't know is that as a director, this is the time I closely monitor my teacher's feedback, looking for a very particular skill. I am looking for the teachers who see the children as puzzles with missing pieces, the ones who can look at the child and see what is missing from their foundation. These teachers are better able to develop lessons to support the children's foundation. Sometimes the piece missing is within the child's capacity to find, sometimes it is the parent who needs to find it, and sometimes it is not within the capacity of the program to find the missing piece.
This is a particularly difficult skill for preschool teachers to acquire because they spend a large percentage of their time in the nurturing role, just like parents. It is very difficult to look at a child objectively when they have developed such a close bond with the child. Some teacher's are gifted at sensing what is missing and intuitively help the child find it, some are very analytical about the children in their class and have a process to uncover hidden weaknesses, and some teacher's need their administrator's guidance to look at the puzzle critically.
The ability to see children as incomplete puzzles with missing puzzles requires an understanding of child development and the sequence of skill acquisition. One must know how the skill begins and advances as well as the combination of skills required to successfully complete a complex task. Unfortunately, this is not a skill taught in many of the Education Departments of colleges. Piaget, Erikson, Maslow, and all the other major players in educational philosophies are reviewed and tested, but the "how" and "why" of applying this knowledge is not.
Good teachers are an evolving process. They too, are puzzles with pieces missing. As an administrator, one must understand what their base line knowledge is and what skills they must acquire to advance in their field.
In the field of education you never stop learning; when you do, you cease to be effective. At some point, the acquisition of new knowledge becomes secondary to being able to apply what you know.
Conference time is a learning time for everyone.
Peace & Light,
Grace
______________________________
Grace Geller is responsible for the development, administration, and implementation of early, primary and secondary programs As former Director of Operations, for Charter Schools USA, she played a pivotal role in the development of Charter Schools USA's first schools and was involved in the daily supervision of facilities, procurement, and school operations.
Grace has over 25 years of experience in educational administration. Her expertise in education includes curriculum development and program design. She has facilitated Personal Education Plans, Portfolio Assessment procedures and has developed standards enabling teachers to perform with a quantifiable increase in student standardized test scores of 1-2 years for both mainstream and special needs students. Ms. Geller has been the Early Childhood Director of a nationally recognized pre-school, which was featured in N.A.E.Y.C's film, "What To Look For In Quality Child Care". After achieving success as an Early Childhood Director, Ms. Geller served as Principal of The Vista School, an accredited private institution. As Principal, she designed and implemented an elementary and middle school that received national attention for its innovative programming and client satisfaction.
She holds a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education, and an Advanced Level Director's Credential. Ms. Geller has been a validator for NAEYC and A.I.S.F. as well as a DCF trainer for Nova Southeastern University. She has authored articles on childcare, parenting and curriculum featured in: "Our City Weston", "City Magazine", "Today's Parent" and "Broward Family".
Read more from Grace Geller on her blog, Preschooltimes.net
What they don't know is that as a director, this is the time I closely monitor my teacher's feedback, looking for a very particular skill. I am looking for the teachers who see the children as puzzles with missing pieces, the ones who can look at the child and see what is missing from their foundation. These teachers are better able to develop lessons to support the children's foundation. Sometimes the piece missing is within the child's capacity to find, sometimes it is the parent who needs to find it, and sometimes it is not within the capacity of the program to find the missing piece.
This is a particularly difficult skill for preschool teachers to acquire because they spend a large percentage of their time in the nurturing role, just like parents. It is very difficult to look at a child objectively when they have developed such a close bond with the child. Some teacher's are gifted at sensing what is missing and intuitively help the child find it, some are very analytical about the children in their class and have a process to uncover hidden weaknesses, and some teacher's need their administrator's guidance to look at the puzzle critically.
The ability to see children as incomplete puzzles with missing puzzles requires an understanding of child development and the sequence of skill acquisition. One must know how the skill begins and advances as well as the combination of skills required to successfully complete a complex task. Unfortunately, this is not a skill taught in many of the Education Departments of colleges. Piaget, Erikson, Maslow, and all the other major players in educational philosophies are reviewed and tested, but the "how" and "why" of applying this knowledge is not.
Good teachers are an evolving process. They too, are puzzles with pieces missing. As an administrator, one must understand what their base line knowledge is and what skills they must acquire to advance in their field.
In the field of education you never stop learning; when you do, you cease to be effective. At some point, the acquisition of new knowledge becomes secondary to being able to apply what you know.
Conference time is a learning time for everyone.
Peace & Light,
Grace
______________________________
Grace Geller is responsible for the development, administration, and implementation of early, primary and secondary programs As former Director of Operations, for Charter Schools USA, she played a pivotal role in the development of Charter Schools USA's first schools and was involved in the daily supervision of facilities, procurement, and school operations.
Grace has over 25 years of experience in educational administration. Her expertise in education includes curriculum development and program design. She has facilitated Personal Education Plans, Portfolio Assessment procedures and has developed standards enabling teachers to perform with a quantifiable increase in student standardized test scores of 1-2 years for both mainstream and special needs students. Ms. Geller has been the Early Childhood Director of a nationally recognized pre-school, which was featured in N.A.E.Y.C's film, "What To Look For In Quality Child Care". After achieving success as an Early Childhood Director, Ms. Geller served as Principal of The Vista School, an accredited private institution. As Principal, she designed and implemented an elementary and middle school that received national attention for its innovative programming and client satisfaction.
She holds a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education, and an Advanced Level Director's Credential. Ms. Geller has been a validator for NAEYC and A.I.S.F. as well as a DCF trainer for Nova Southeastern University. She has authored articles on childcare, parenting and curriculum featured in: "Our City Weston", "City Magazine", "Today's Parent" and "Broward Family".
Read more from Grace Geller on her blog, Preschooltimes.net
