School Daze

I used to be annoyed when I saw this misspelling; now, I have come to realize that much of my school memories are something of a daze to me. A lot of the memories are positive, as I was a 'good' student and a low-key person who sought to be mostly invisible and to not draw any negative attention to myself. I think these qualities eased me through most of my early school experiences, with no teacher in elementary truly falling into the 'worst' category.

My school experience covers the usual elementary, junior high and high school years, as well as a two-year stint of college immediately after high school, a full year in a community college nursing program at age 21, a return to school in my mid-thirties to complete a paralegal program and many more undergrad requirements, then a BA completion program that led into a Masters in Humanities program about 10 years ago, and most recently a string of early childhood education classes that have helped me complete my Program Director permit application. That covers a breadth of teaching styles, events, materials learned, and memories. Those memories are often colored by what else was going on in my life at the time I took the class.

I could easily single out one or two excellent grade school teachers, and wrote about one last week on the discussion board. In what most people would call their junior high years, I was sent to a Catholic school, where I was in the 'upper grades', not 'junior high', after having spent seven years in public schools. I had one excellent teacher there, who was fun, passionate about subjects like science and history, and vastly entertaining, and a few nondescript ones. The same held true in high school. I honestly cannot remember much at all about the teachers I had in my first two years of college, and the nursing school instructors were pretty tyrannical, as fitted the style of instruction in that field back in the 1970s.

When I returned to school later, I had an excellent instructor for Economic Geography, who I have chosen to focus on for this essay. She was very well versed in her field, and also insisted that one of her missions had to be to improve the dismal state of geographic literacy in this country. College often does not allow for much in the way of field trips or experiential learning, so I think that one of the reasons that I still look back on her as an excellent educator was the passion she had for her subject. I was taking this course to fulfill a general education requirement, but had picked it because I am particularly interested in history and political science, and she tied the subject matter to both. The concepts were intellectually challenging and even reviewing the changing map of the world in order to pass weekly geography quizzes was interesting. I was taking this course remotely, by television, and still found her receptive to communicating when needed, and supportive of me as a student who was also a parent of young children... my oldest son spent 10 days in the hospital (and me, as a single mom, along with him), and she was accomodating and supportive of ways for me to continue to successfully complete the course. When I look back over this example, I have to add that my choosing her as one of my 'best' teachers has a lot to do with the 'good fit' between me as a student and her abilities to work with her students as a teacher, and even reflects upon where I was in my lifespan when I met her.

My 'worst' teacher was probably one of my high school gym teachers; she was an athlete and a dancer and had little tolerance for those students mandatorily assigned with little interest in either. My first year having her was one of the high school years when we had units on a wide variety of sports, and I drug myself dutifully through the course, knowing I would pass simply on attending and dressing every day, but that I would never shine in this area. The time was drudgery for me. My last year in high school, I had the same instructor for a modern dance class, and she rose from 'worst' in my opinion to merely mediocre, mainly because I liked the subject and therefore did better (I have always been an 'individual' athlete rather than a team one). She was not particularly creative (a fact I realized by taking other dance classes as an adult) and a very remote person, while other high school teachers were warmer, more engaging, and more approachable. Again, a lot had to do with personality and interest, two more criteria for 'goodness of fit'.

When I look back on my long school career, I can say that neither content or activities provide the strongest memories. Much more, I recall those teachers who were passionate about life and what they thought, who inspired and encouraged rather than berated, and who were warm human beings rather than projecting themselves as neutral or authoritarian figures.

Being Under Five

What are your feelings about preschool?

I personally prefer a child-directed preschool environment, and find the Reggio-Emilia method very appealing. I have had some experience with High/Scope, which is used in Headstart, and appreciated how much the environment can direct the child's learning, while the child is busy doing what she or he wants to do.

Did you go to preschool as a child?

No, I did not. There were far less opportunities back in the dark ages of the 1950s! My socialization and school readiness came from being in a big family (three siblings), growing up in a neighborhood of young families, which meant I had a lot of childhood playmates nearby, and having a creative mother who played piano for us and gave us lots of play time.

Have you worked in a preschool?

Yes, I have directed two preschool programs, one that served as full-day care and the other, where I currently work, that serves as enrichment three mornings a week, with parents required to be on the school grounds, even if not in the classroom, while children are in attendance.

Do your kids attend preschool?

Two of my three children lived in a very rural area during their preschool years, and there was no preschool program available. The oldest was the only one to attend preschool, while I lived in Sacramento.

What type of preschool do YOU believe is best for children?

As I stated above, I believe in a well-constructed environment that allows children to make choices as to type and timing of activity. While the teachers may be the ones bringing out materials each day, or deciding when to go outside as a group, I like to see children have the time and place to work in uninterrupted fashion on what interests them at the moment.

Any other thoughts on education for our under 5 population?

I believe our under 5 population needs and deserves the public support given to our elementary and secondary school systems. Only then will they have the quality and dedication of their teachers assured to them. Presently, there is high teacher turnover, and teachers constantly leaving and entering the field because of the low wages and difficulty assuring a livelihood. The quality varies greatly and many children do not have access to a high-quality preschool experience. Some of these children never get the chance to play in a developmentally supportive environment.