This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday we were blessed to be able to take many of our staff to the North Carolina Association of Educators of Young Children annual conference which was held in Raleigh. We always gain so much when we are able to attend this event. We have the opportunity to choose from over two hundred different workshops, and to hear nationally recognized speakers. With approximately 1,000 educators attending, we get to meet and talk with many people from all over North Carolina who work with and care about young children, just as we do. As well as hearing new ideas, it is also affirming to speak with people who share our beliefs about the best ways to help children learn. Although the days are long, we come back energized and excited to put what we have learned into practice.
The price tag for this great experience is pretty steep. In order to get the "early bird" registration fee, we had to register in July, and in July some of our classes weren't filled, so we weren't sure how many of our staff we could afford to take. The conference offers a reduction in price for participants who are willing to donate three hours of their time as volunteers. We had three staff members who on their own initiative signed up as volunteers in order to save our program part of the cost for them to attend the conference. What a strong statement that makes about how much these staff members value the opportunity to continue learning, and how much they care about Front Street Playschool! This just reinforces my belief that we have the very best staff to be found anywhere.
You may also be interested to know that Marna Winter and I were presenters at the conference. Our topic was inquiry-based learning. Last school year we gave a workshop to our staff on this topic and later in the school year, worked with Ellen Boyles, a young lady from Elon University, to incorporate this type of learning into the curriculum in some of our classrooms. As part of our conference presentation, we were able to share what we learned from that experience with the participants in our workshop.
Someone once told me that the best way to influence children is to be what you want them to be. One of our goals for children is for them to be lifelong learners, so how appropriate it is that we model that by continuing to be learners ourselves!
Miss Barbara
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Posted by Barbara Long on September 25, 2011 | Printer-Friendly
 Race to Nowhere Many of you may have heard of a film that is gaining national recognition called, "Race to Nowhere". We are fortunate that it will be shown locally, at The Elon School, this Tuesday, April 26th at 7 pm. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Visit www.racetonowhere.com to order advance tickets and to learn more.
The film-maker is a mother who has become concerned about in her words, "the high-stakes, high pressure culture that has invaded our schools and our children's lives". The film has encouraged a groundswell of grassroots advocacy across the country.
The promotional flyer I received offers a sad, but I am afraid, fairly accurate portrayal of many current school practices:
- High-stakes testing has replaced meaningful teaching and learning.
- Cheating is commonplace.
- Stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant.
- Many young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.
Our local administrators feel they must respond to the pressure they receive to meet testing standards. To keep their jobs, teachers must teach in the way that they are required to do by the administration. The only way things will change is if pressure is brought to bear on state and national legislators by concerned citizens.
Please see this film so that you will be an informed advocate for our children. I encourage you to make your friends aware as well.
I think it should be well worth the $10!
Miss Barbara
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Posted by Fred Black on April 25, 2011 | Printer-Friendly
I recently visited a friend of mine whose son and his family are relocating to this area. The son, his wife and two very young daughters are staying with his parents while they sell their house and get re-established. Another of my friends accompanied me on this visit; and as any good early education folks would do, we took along a few goodies for the children. One of the things I took was a large cardboard box. I admit that I wasn't sure of the reception I would receive from the adults, bringing in a very large, empty cardboard box, but I was sure the children would love it, and they did. The nearly one year old immediately took up residence inside and didn't want to come out. Even more gratifying was the reaction of the mom, who immediately said, "Did you know that Wired Magazine names a box as one of the 5 best toys for children?"
Well, I didn't know that, but I couldn't have agreed more. The mom went on to comment on how interesting it was for that particular magazine, which deals primarily with technology, to favor such a low-tech approach. I was intrigued, and went home and looked it up. (This low-tech grandmother does appreciate that computers have their uses.)
What I found was an article by Geek Dad (who else?), listing the five best toys for children as:
- Stick
- Box
- String
- Cardboard tube
- Dirt
I would also add water to his list of basically free playthings. I am providing a link below so that you can read this delightful, entertaining article for yourself.
The reason these everyday, readily available objects have such value as toys is that they are so versatile and open-ended. A box can be a train engine, a time machine, a television or a treasure chest. A cardboard tube can be a sword, a magic wand, a trumpet or a telescope. The reason that they probably appeal to Geek Dad is that he understands that playing with this kind of toy builds brain connections, because they require that children think, plan, solve problems and use their imaginations. Those processes actually have a profound effect on brain growth! Many of them also encourage physical exercise and going outdoors, activities which are becoming less common in these increasingly screen dominated times.
There are a few "bought" toys that encourage the same kind of imaginative play; blocks and balls being the ones that come immediately to mind, but most commercial toys are designed to only be used in one way. They are limited to being one thing, which cannot easily become other things. Many of them actually operate themselves - walking, talking, etc., demanding little engagement from the child, who therefore soon loses interest.
Of course, we will all still continue to buy some of the popular toys that our children and grandchildren crave, and we will be grateful for them to occasionally plug into media when we need a few minutes of peace and quiet, but when they tire of their toys, or when they have been staring at a screen with that glazed-over- tractor-beam gaze for way too long, why not drag out a big box or a cardboard tube? If they seem uncertain how to begin, you might read them one of the books by Antoinette Portis that I discovered from Geek Dad, Not a Box and Not a Stick, for a little jumpstart; but I'm betting they will know exactly what to do, in which case you can just stand back and prepare to be amazed by the magic and the genius of authentic childhood play.
You can read the article by Geek Dad, Jonathan Liu, for yourself at:
www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/all/1.
Miss Barbara
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Posted by Barbara Long on February 26, 2011 | Printer-Friendly
We have a great opportunity in Burlington / Alamance County, North Carolina. Our school system is going to be hiring a new superintendent, and through the Superintendent Search Community Survey you can tell the Search Committee what kind of superintendent you want.
Just go to the school system website: http://abss.k12.nc.us/ and click on "Superintendent Search Community Survey". Then go to the "survey monkey" link.
The deadline for completing the survey is January 13. I encourage everyone in our community to let your voice be heard.
On much of the survey you have to choose your answers from selected responses, but if you go to section # 8 there is a space for comments. That is your opportunity to say whatever is on your mind.
My personal priorities for a superintendent include:
- Someone who will put the best interest of the children in Alamance County above all else, including his/her career advancement.
(In order to know what is truly in children's best interest this individual should have a genuine understanding of, or be willing to learn about all stages of child development, from preschool through adolescence.) - Someone who understands that the individual teacher is the factor with the greatest potential to influence children's educational success; and recognizing that, the superintendent demonstrates respect for teachers by listening to and valuing what they say, and then responds by doing everything possible to give each teacher the support he/she needs.
- Someone who is open to new ideas.
- Someone who takes a long-range view rather than looking for the quick fix, realizing that new initiatives take time to achieve real results.
- Someone who values social and emotional, as well as academic learning and is more committed to raising well-rounded students than to merely raising test scores.
- Someone whose understanding of the differing needs of students at different ages, rather than an inclination to follow what is trendy, guides curriculum decisions. As one example, such a person would be committed to providing up-to-date technology in all high schools while providing more hands-on experiences and relatively less screen time for our youngest students, because that is what is developmentally appropriate for each age.
- Someone who understands how schools can address drop-out prevention beginning in kindergarten, rather than waiting until high school.
Your priorities will no doubt be different from mine. Please take advantage of this opportunity to let them be heard today. Remember, the deadline is January 13!
I am providing email addresses for our school board members below, to make it easy for you to also contact them personally. They are elected to serve the citizens of Alamance County, and as with all public servants, they need to know what our wants and needs are in order to do their jobs. If we don't tell them what we want, we have no right to complain if we don't get it! Be an advocate for our children!
Email addresses for School Board Members:
- Jackie Cole - parker@mebtel.net
- Steve Van Pelt - svanpelt@triad.rr.com
- Mary Erwin - merwin@triad.rr.com
- Patsy Simpson - ptsysm@aol.com
- Brad Evans - evansgra@bellsouth.net
- Tony Rose - TonyRoseNC@gmail.com
- Kris Moffitt - smoff91472@aol.com
While you are at it, drop a line to our legislators in Raleigh, telling them how important it is to minimize cuts to the education budget:
- Rick.Gunn@ncleg.net
- Alice.Bordsen@ncleg.net
- Dan.Ingle@ncleg.net
Miss Barbara.
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Posted by Barbara Long on January 8, 2011 | Printer-Friendly
Below is a copy of my most recent letter to the editor of our hometown paper. I am sharing it with you because I know that as parents, and as citizens, you have a vested interest in education reform. My original letter was shortened slightly when it appeared in the paper in order to meet their length requirements, and I have also added some additional comments.
Dear Editor,
Thank you for addressing education reform in your recent editorial. I agree that our country needs to take a hard look at our current system of education, which is failing many children; however, I am very disappointed in the direction that the conversation around education reform has taken. I believe that a number of important elements have been overlooked. Over and over again we are told that children in other countries are achieving at higher levels than our students, so therefore we should emulate those countries. To do that, we are told, our children must have a longer school year made up of longer days. Yet Finland, whose students are at the very top in various measures of academic knowledge, is nearer the bottom for time spent in school. Students in several high performing countries actually begin academic instruction a year or more later than ours. How do they do it? In Finland, children do not begin formal schooling until they are 7 years old; however all six year olds are offered the opportunity to participate in a preparatory year that emphasizes social and emotional learning (getting along with others, taking responsibility, learning to be a part of a group, developing self-control, being a good citizen) so that when they do begin academic studies they are prepared to learn very quickly. There are far too many adults, many of them in positions of power, who have never learned those self-regulatory skills, and we are suffering as a society because of that lack in many ways, from the high number of grandparents who find themselves raising their grandchildren because those children's parents are not socially responsible, to the lack of civility apparent in many political discussions.
Robert Fulghum was right; everything we really need to know could be learned in kindergarten. We have evidence from long-term studies following children from preschool age into adulthood which show that children who have the kinds of nurturing pre-school and early school experiences that emphasize social and emotional skills as well as developmentally appropriate academic preparation are more likely to be employed, are less likely to be involved in crime or use drugs, in essence are BETTER, MORE PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS, and isn't that our true goal?
Americans are not a patient people. We want immediate results, preferably within an election cycle. The results of what we do for our youngest children today will not be apparent for 15 to 20 years, but they will eventually be seen, and our society will have to live with those results. For that reason we need to take a long term approach to reform, based on what we know about how children learn best, rather than trying a new "quick fix" every few years, particularly those that are more about test scores than about providing true learning experiences.
More time in school may be beneficial in some instances, but the answer to making ours a great country with a great system of education is not more hours and days of doing the same things that aren't working now. At the Alamance Citizens for Education Summit last year the Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, Dr. William Harrison, noted that most kindergarteners come to school excited and eager to learn, but " the longer children are in school, the less they like us." As a preschool director I see that excitement and eagerness every day, and it breaks my heart to think that it may one day be squelched. For their sake and ours I sincerely hope that through the discussion surrounding education reform we will arrive at ways to help children experience the joy of lifelong learning.
Barbara Long
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Posted by Barbara Long on October 18, 2010 | Printer-Friendly
You may be familiar with a group in our community called Alamance Citizens for Education (ACE). They are a citizen's group that looks at the issue of community involvement in our public schools. They spearhead many programs and projects, including the Classroom Closet which provides supplies for classroom teachers.
I am on their email list and so receive their online newsletter. You may be on that list too and if so, you may have read the recent article entitled "Playing to Learn", but if not, I encourage you to click on the link below and read it. It does a great job of describing the kinds of classrooms that our children need: www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02engel.html?ref=opinion
For more information about ACE you can go their website: www.alamanceforeducation.org
Barbara
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Posted by Barbara Long on February 25, 2010 | Printer-Friendly
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