week 1 cont. 2008

Don’t worry so much about the work load, we have all been through the program and most of us are still sane and alive. Ask questions, your co-ops are there to help you in becoming a better teacher. Have fun, do crazy things, make mistakes, (just don’t let anyone get hurt). Don’t worry about things that you can’t fix or that aren’t in your control. You will all do wonderfully, Enjoy the semester, and enjoy the experience

Communication is key-Always, always, always, communicate with your co-op. Keep the lines of communication as open as possible. If you communicate with your co-op about your questions or concerns, it will make things not only easier for her, but easier for you as well. Get a good night’s sleep the night before each day in placement. Nothing worse than being drained and tired, and having a bunch of hyper two year old’s going crazy in the classroom. Details, details, details- Pay close attention to detail. From the details of what your co-op enjoys doing, to the details of a child’s allergies. Attention to details is so important and necessary when working with young kids.

Take every struggle as a learning experience. I know this is easier said than done, but it will save you a lot of grief and tears; think of your struggles as stepping stones – each one will get you closer to your goal of becoming a successful teacher. Communicate everything that you plan on doing with your co op; provide her/him with a copy of notes, lesson plans, goals, etc. I think if I would have done this my investigation would have been more organized and my co op would have understood the reasoning for the things I did in the classroom. Take time for you; to vent, to pamper yourself. Do not let your health fail due to stresses caused by things you cannot control. Try to control the things that are within your reach, but those things/happenings/other people are uncontrollable. Just do what you can to improve you, to make you better and stronger to deal with those things you can not control. For me I had to tell myself to slow down and pray about things out of my hands. I prayed for strength to deal with uncontrollable things, as well as a better understanding of myself and others.

as you explore learning & development (yours & the kids’)—consider learning and development not linear, not progressive, but erratic, cyclical, with much going back and forth, explosive moments, false starts, and confusion—one step forward and two steps back, and sideways, and twists and turns you can never learn to deal with all possibilities, but you can build a base of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that supports you as you deal with each new surprise

Margaret Donaldson worked with Piaget, but came to doubt and eventually to reject many aspects of his developmental theory. her doubts began as she saw children in the preschool at her university doing things that Piaget claimed they were incapable of doing.

3 themes from Donaldson the need to consider the whole child when trying to discover what a child understands or is capable of the need to consider situations from the child’s point of view the necessity and difficulty of formal education, particularly for young children

Children’s Minds (preface, prologue, ch 1) no theory in science final does school go wrong for all kids? –for the whole population, school goes wrong for some kids –for some sub-populations, school goes wrong for many kids –schooling goes wrong for most kids at some time—some recover, some do not often it is not the kids who do not understand, but the adults

is schooling as good as we can make it schooling a new enterprise—we have much to learn about it to turn an existing state of affairs into a desired one requires understanding the existing one –what are kids actually like –who do we want them to become need to reconsider widely held beliefs about what kids are like

chapter 2 who is egocentric, and when? what is the difference between findings and claims (16) what does it mean that something "makes human sense"? (17) cold-blooded and warm blooded? "communicative strivings"? (23) how are being "highly sensitive to the listener's state" and being egocentric related? (24)