Head Start

Talk about a stark contrast.  I went from a North Shore suburb into Chinatown in the city!  From a very serene, tranquil site while visiting Montessori into the hectic environment of the Head Start program!  The Head Start program is in Bridgeport and has 5 classrooms with children ages 3-5.  Each classroom has three teachers, one lead and at least is bilingual.  The children are 85% Asian and speak three different languages.  The first thing I noticed was the outstanding documentation of the children's learning!  And I also noticed how parent friendly the school was and that EVERYTHING was translated, including hand washing directions!

 This is a copy of the classroom newsletter and its translation, but literally everything posted on the walls was translated.  The school does two home visits and has three conferences with the parents, the parent support staff and the teachers.  There is a lot of communication and support going on.  One of the parent support staff was a male and has been making an effort to get male role models involved in the school.  What a great idea

The other thing I noticed through the documentation on the walls, was that there was emphasis on nutrition and there were several recipes indicating that their cooking revolved around their culture.  One of the classrooms was also looking at two different cultures and their foods.

My conversations with the Parent Support staff indicated that they do a lot of support for the parents working their way through the system.  Many of their families are new to the country and many do not speak English.  There were a great deal of parent workshops and activities scheduled throughout the year.  In their initial needs assessment, they are asked if they require referrals and the school has a list of possibilities for them.   

This center has also moved to Creative Curriculum because of the way it is aligned with Head Start, NAEYC and Illinois Early Learning Standards.  It allows them to keep assessments of the children online.  This is only the second year they've used the system so they are still working out the kinks.  A demonstration revealed how it also serves as a resource for curriculum ideas and serves as a planning tool for the classroom. 

In each classroom, in each center of the room, there was documentation describing what was happening there!  One of the classroom had questions in each area so that all the teachers would be asking children the same questions.  I liked that idea a lot. 

The Center, as most Head Start programs do, has several funding streams which always makes my head spin!  This was my second urban visit visit with rooftop play areas!  Although there is little nature available to the children - in both instances the children seem to really enjoy playing and running in the spaces.

I'm on my way this weekend to visit a Multiple Intelligence school in Vancouver, Washington.  I'm anxious to see a school that focuses on this curriculum.  I can't believe my sabbatical is half over!!  It's been so wonderful to really be able to delve into these curricula!  

Montessori

I visited a Montessori School this morning!  What an awesome experience!  I have to admit that before I started by sabbatical, I was not a fan of the Montessori curriculum.  So imagine my surprise as I began reading "Montessori: the science behind the genius" by Angeline Stoll Lillard and found that I totally agree with the majority of the principles of the curriculum!! 

I began reading about how they felt that our current public schools are set up on a factory model.  Students are put through an assembly line with information being "poured" into children at each grade.  I couldn't agree more!!  We divide them by age and by ability while the Montessori classroom has children grouped by three years of age!  Younger children learn by being mentored by older students while older students learn empathy about working with others who are not at their level.  They feel confident in their knowledge and it reinforces their own learning about the topic.  During my visit, I saw many, many examples of students working with each other.  Collaboration is encouraged at the elementary level where children become very social. 

I previously believed that student were moved along as they completed one job onto the next.  I learned that children are allowed to make choices immediately upon entering the room!  This is a skill that our young people are desperately in need of learning!  How do you manage your time, follow your interests, conduct research, collaborate with other people and reach your goals?  Students in this school are learning all of these skills!

No grades???? What?  These students are focused and motivated to learn because they are interested in things?  I'm a life long learner and was never motivated by grades, but I know many of my students are more interested in their grade than what they're learning.  Not surprising when our education system has taught them to work for the grade and to test well.  

When I arrived at the school there were three boys working on this long string in the entrance hallway.  They were quietly working together to complete this line together.  All were focused, motivated and collaborating to get this task completed.  All of the materials are concrete examples for children to understand the concepts!  Hands on all the way up to 8th grade!

Montessori believed that students learned best when they would move around and so her classrooms are set up that way!  Public schools require students to sit for long periods.  Montessori doesn't believe in recess?  What??  It's not required because students are constantly moving in their classrooms, and students can take breaks whenever they wish at the school I observed at.  The amazing thing was that she believed that students could be totally absorbed on a topic for up to three hours and that they should not be interrupted during that time.  Again, I read it and thought it made sense but three hours?  I couldn't believe when I walked into a classroom filled with 3 to 6 year olds.  It was SILENT and children were totally absorbed and remained that way throughout my visit.  Think about it.  When I was a child, I remember spending the entire day playing with my cousin.  I was very focused because I was interested.  These children were interested in what they were doing!

The materials that Maria Montessori created were so well researched! She understood child development and had such a brilliant mind that the materials are inviting and motivating and carefully designed for a progression of learning.  I have always shown my students the pink tower, but when it was shown to me today I was amazed at the variety of information the child could glean from playing with the materials in a certain way.  These materials are all self correcting so children don't need a teacher after they have been introduced to them.  Again the teacher is freed up to observe the children which is a large part of this curriculum.

I'm returning tomorrow to spend the morning in a classroom so I will share more later.  I'm going to a Head Start program in Chinatown next week!  I have to hurry and read my book!