Documentation of Core Classes

Documentation of Core Classes

     “All you can do is what you can manage to do, secure in the knowledge that you're making it easier for other people - now and in the future – to see and do what they can do.” (p.152, Johnson, 2006) This quote from Allan G. Johnson's text, Privilege, Power, and Difference, is the essence of what I brought with me from my experience in my core class Social and Political Contexts of Human Development. This class helped me see that my responsibility doesn't stop at being there for the children I work with, while I'm actually at work, but all the time. If you've ever read Dr. Seuss's classic, Horton Hears A Who, you know the line “a person's a person, no matter how small”, and while reading Johnson's text this quote popped in my head so very often. In Horton Hears A Who, Horton is the only one to stand up for the people in the spec of dust on the clover, and many he met along the way thought he was crazy for doing it, because they didn't believe in it. That never stopped Horton from doing what is right, and Johnson reminds us, often, to “take risks” and that when we openly change how we participate and behave then we can change the way the system works. He also reminds us that what we start today may not end while we are around to see it, but it will never change if someone doesn't take that first step.

     We were asked to create a social action project as part of the class, Social and Political Contexts of Human Development and I decided that I wanted to tackle the way the local teachers and schools “other” children labeled with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Herbert Kohl reminds us in his book, I Won't Learn From You and Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment, that “to identify children as'at risk' is to pick them out for special treatment not for what they have done bur for what they might do.”(p.152, 1994) This is something that, I feel, happens too often in our local schools. I havewitnessed early childhood educators roll their eyes and grumble about how they are not trained to deal with “those sort of children”, and most of “those children” do not act any different than any other child in the classroom except for the fact that the teacher does not want to interact with them, leaving them with little choice but to try and figure things out on their own, which often leads to getting into trouble for something they would not have attempted if the classroom teacher was giving them any attention. Seeing this scenario time and time again, I decided that this was what I wanted to change, the interaction between a teacher and a child labeled with ASD.

     I began to talk to some of the preschool teachers I knew and asked them questions about what their school had in place for children labeled with ASD or children who may show challenging behaviors. I also asked if their schools offered training to work with atypical children or if they were interested in getting training. My plan began as one to create training for preschool teachers to become more comfortable with atypical children (children labeled with ASD or any special needs child), and to show them that it doesn't have to be overwhelming or a daily battle in the classroom. I began consulting Behavior Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapists about advice for preschool teachers, and for tips and ideas. Basically I was asking them how they would go about educating an early education professional about working with atypically developing children, things they would recommend parents to do with children in their homes to reinforce ideas and activities they would see in typical therapy sessions. The therapists were all excited about the idea of giving tips and suggestions to teachers to use in the classroom, but the teachers were not as eager.

     I found that teachers, while wanting to help, were more afraid of the expectations that would be placed on their shoulders and the lack of support they would get from the rest of the schools they work in. Kohl tells us “that one power way for educators to creatively maladjust is to repudiate all categories and assume responsibility for changing their practice until it works for the children they have previously been unable to serve.” (p.152, 1994) I know that I cannot force teachers to change or to become brave, because I do not have to walk in their shoes on a daily basis, but I can offer them support. In the class, Reflective Teaching, we talked about the importance of support as early childhood educators. “Claim your responsibility to live fully and teach well.” (p.203, 2008) is what Deb Curtis and Margie Carter tell us in the text, Learning Together with Young Children. I decided that creating a support group for early childhood educators would be the best way for me to fulfill this message. I talked about it, and thought about it, and even created a group for it on Facebook, but I have been too chicken to actually take the plunge. What if nobody wants to be supported?! I know that my classmates are interested in a forum for teachers (and students) to vent, to question, to soapbox, to offer and to learn together so I decided to put a survey together for others. The thought is to create an online group, that will service, both, novices and masters to the world of early childhood education. A place that will allow students and professionals ask questions, get ideas, learn and share without being worried about not being welcome or blocked out. A lot of the local teachers aren't interested in growing as an educator, because they aren't passionate about the career, but there are so many more who are and don't have the support from fellow staff to do it. I did not get a lot of feedback from my survey, but enough to take the plunge and open a group for teachers, both locally and everywhere. We can learn so much from each other, and it's our responsibility to do it.

 References

Carter, M &Curtis, D (2008). Learning Together with Young Children.

St. Paul, MN. Redleaf Press

Johnson, Allan G (2006). Privilege, Power, and Difference.

New York, NY. McGraw Hill

Kohl, Herbert (1994). I Won't Learn From You and Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment.

New York, NY. The New Press