Define your community?
Before I can build and support my community I first have to know who my community consists of.
Hmmmmmm...
Who do they consist of? Children, their families, the staff members kid the program,
but is that all? Is there a limit to what my community can consists of?
I consider my own family
and the family of my staff members as part of my community, I consider teachers and mentors who have taught me as part of my community, I consider my friends as part of my community, I consider friends and relatives of the center'a families as part of my community--anyone who possibly comes into contact with my program is who I consider as part of my community. Are there any rules as to who can be part of my community?
Is there an end or beginning as to who can come into and out of my community?
I hope that as years pass by I can maintain and grow my community. I feel that I have already began my community with my family. I grew my community as I go to school, adding teachers and classmates/friends that I acquire a relationship with; I grew my community as I work, adding co-workers into my community. Is there a limit to who can come in? Is there a rule to who gets taken out of my community? There may be people who move, there may be people that had life changes and may not pertain to my goals, or there may be people that me personally got into a conflict with that jeopardized our relationship and therefore removed themselves from my community.
Knowing what my community consists of, how do they affect me as a director?
Chapter 3 has many insights as to how the community affects our profession. They are the base of our program. The community is what makes our program possible; the community is what makes our program thrive. When we accommodate our program to the community's wants and needs, we would have a stronger foundation. We will actually have a PROGRAM. Without the community we wouldn't have anyone to serve.
How does the community contribute to the program?
The community may not be able to physically contribute to the program, but their personal attributes contribute to the programs design and sense of place. As we learn about our communities culture, beliefs, and ideas we can incorporate these attributes into our programs own belief, environment, and curriculum.
I believe that it is definitely important for us to learn about our community. We should know who are community consists of. We should try our hardest to accommodate and take into consideration the beliefs, culture, and ideas because the community is our professions foundation.
Hi Jadelynn,
ReplyDeleteYou position the community as a powerful place. In many early childhood programs, the directors chose to implement prescribed curriculum and assessments, leaving the connection to the community far behind. How might a director create e space where community drives curriculum and assessment development?
I immediately think of the current exhibit in the UHWO library -- the section, Dialogue with Places does just this. The teachers provoke the children by brining them to a new sapce in the city of Reggio Emilia where the children have a dialogue with the columns, a conversation with the stairway, and an experience with the shadows. Although the schools in Reggio Emilia do not have directors, rather the teachers take on the administrative practices, there is support to create and implement moments like this. How might you as a director make the relationship with the community paramount to how you collaborate with the teachers, children, families, and community?
Jeanne
Now that you mentioned the exhibit, luckily, those were the only displays I observed since they were in the front of the library. It's so interesting how you brought that up and connected to how the classroom included using the community within their curriculum. I hope that I can create a school that involves the community, it's so interesting how the display shows such rich examples of the children participating within the community as the community allows the children to participate in it. How do you involve the community in this way? I hope that I am surrounded by a community with such great support, I think that would be no problem living in Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteJadelynn,
ReplyDeleteWhat is needed to create a community besides people? Does community have to be physical or can it be a feeling too? What is it about bringing community into your program that is beneficial for children? What does it tell them about their world? The community can definitely have a physical contribution proven everyday by staff and families who are involved. When the educator learns about his/her community what does it share about the families they will be serving?
My community is an ever growing tree, like a family tree, but does our community only consist of people? Can our community include cultural events with hopes that the people in our community are diverse? Learning about and being able to identify our community will make it easier for us to apply it into the classroom for the benefit our "classroom" community.
ReplyDeleteI like how you started out your post with the question "Define your Community". I think we all what to understand and provide our students with the care that we understand them and where they come from. Now a days I think that it is harder for members of the community to help out whether it be funding or by providing a service to help improve the school and the community. I feel that a community that believes and supports the purpose of the school is help enough. I agree with you when you say that growing your personal community is indeed a way to help grow your overall community. I also think that people often limit the amount of people they allow into their personal communities forgetting that everyone will provide you with some form of knowledge that can be shared.
ReplyDelete