Inspired...Thoughts of others

Well, when you stop and really make an effort to understand the thoughts and words of another, you find that you have more in common regardless of who you are and where you come from.  I wanted to share the following quotes -  the first three quotes ground me in the sense I too feel I have a purpose in what I am doing in my work with children; I feel connected to these three educators and they make me want to be better at what I do with the childrearing in my program.

"The preschool years are critical, they are the first most fundamental period when children are in fact noticing who they are, and are noticing the attitudes, and the stereotypes and the discomforts or the positive message about their skin color, their racial identity their ethnic identity."

--Louise Derman-Sparks

  

"A childhood that leaves you ready for optimum life experiences,  a childhood and an education contexts experience throughout your life cycle that opens up the world, to you gives the tools you need to ask question s and investigate things, those are the things I want for all children."

--Renatta M. Cooper

"I’m not here to save the world, I’m here just to  make a difference in the community I am working…. making a difference may sometimes  mean helping one child be able to be successful in the classroom…one little sparkle will make a difference for me throughout the whole day."

--Raymond Hernandez, MS Ed

The below quotes speak to me more in terms of the civil rights of children and truth be told, although we have come along way in advocating for children's education and well being, we still have a long way to go.  You would  think that educating children and providing access to services to all children would be a no brainier, but unfortunately not everyone sees the true benefits.   

"Children don't come in pieces.  They come in families and they live in communities, our communities."

"The state of the world's children today represents both a colossal triumph and a failure for humankind."

--Marion Wright Edelman, Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund

"Head Start now has so many friends that elected officials appear to be trying to distinguish themselves as the program's best friend by proposing to do more and more for it."

--Edward Zigler, Yale University psychologist and founder of Head Start

Personal Childhood Web

This particular blog seemed particularly difficult for me; had you asked me who in my adult life had a significant impact I would not be so pressed to respond.  I have been somewhat worried because I have been struggling to come up with 5 influential people in my childhood; perhaps because I cannot come up with 5. After some thought, my list includes, my mom, my dad, my brother, my cousin, and my second grade math teacher, Mrs. Stribling. 

Recalling Mrs. Stribling brings up thoughts of fear; she was a bit scary when viewed with 6 year old eyes.  She was an older woman and had a love of mathematics; I did not, and I still don’t.  What I remember most of all was her patience with me when doing math.  She never got upset with me when I didn’t understand, and she always took the time to present concepts slowly.  When Mrs. Stribling taught math, she really took the time to make feel as if I was the only one in the room; for me this was particularly important because I felt smart and capable of learning math.   Her method of teaching me and spending time with me gave me hope that I really could be a good student.  Thinking about her now gives me a new found perspective of those children who don’t like a particular subject or don’t want to participate in a particular project; maybe they need the Mrs. Strilbing approach, patience and time to feel empowered.

Describing my parents is a bit easier, especially since I now days where their words spill out of my mouth when I talk to my own children.  My parents were immigrants in this country, and my brother and I are first generation Americans.  My mom and dad spoke no English and immigrated to this country for the hope of something better; that hope of something better especially when it came to my brother and I was education.  Education was the key that would unlock all doors for us.  From an early age, I understood that we may not have had the best clothes, or the best toys, but we were given a private school education; that was the gift my mom and dad gave us.  My mom, more so than my dad pushed education on us; it was all we heard, and to be honest, I never felt resentment or anger, I always felt pride and I felt that I should do my best to give back to my mom and dad-- a small gift for the huge sacrifice they were making each day.  Both my parents struggled in the restaurant business, working early hours to be successful, and they were.  I wish I could say that this love of education my parents had was helpful when it came time to do homework, but it wasn’t.  My parents were never able to help us with homework, they did not understand the language, but we managed and were able to figure things out.  Both my brother and I were good students and went on to become college graduates.

My dad, although just as passionate, always had a different take on things.  My dad had the most wonderful sense of humor; life for him was difficult, but he found the humor in everything.  As much as my dad wanted us to be fluent in English, he wanted to maintain our Greek language and heritage more!  When we were at home he forbid us to speak English, we had to speak Greek.  Ironic, don’t you think?

At this particular juncture, I should introduce my brother’s influence on my growing up; he was my partner in crime, and simply put he had to take care of me because like it or not, I was his little sister.  The two of us would sneak around the house speaking English to each other; boy how we thought we were fooling our old man!  It was great, we had this pact that no one could break, and it felt like we were involved in this big conspiracy.  Looking back now I think this may have been my dad’s plan all along—how else could he keep his kids close?  Silly as it may sound, we had and still have a silent bond between the us—even when we disagree, and we do often, we will both come together for the sake of our family—no words just actions. 

Last but certainly not least is my cousin who is also named Georgia.  She is my younger cousin by 5 years and when she moved to this country with her family, they lived with us.  Now, we were both raised in the same manner—her dad was my dad’s younger brother (they both were cut from the same cloth).  I had to take care of her, and for years, up until she graduated high school, I had to help her with her school work.  Let me tell you, I hated every minute of it, and felt it was such an inconvenience, but the love I felt for her and still do cannot be described in words—again I think it too was part of some grand scheme our parents cooked up.  Going through the experience I felt inadequate as her tutor, but our families believed in me, and she looked up to me and respected me, so she applied herself and did well.  Not a day goes by that we don’t connect in some way—some days it is just thoughts and other days it’s long conversations about our kids, husbands, lives.  We really do share everything.  We are there for each other thick and thin—she was there for my horrible divorce and she stood right next to me when I re-married. 

So why all these people, and how have they shaped me, my thoughts, and my views?  They all gave me a feeling, a feeling of belief and strength.  They all taught me perseverance and respect for things bigger than myself—the thing bigger than me is education, and I still seek it.  They taught me to love myself and to love my family, which I now share with my own children.  And I laugh, boy do I laugh!  Life is funny, people are funny, I am funny—at least that is what my dad taught me.  As sad as I was when my dad passed, I also laughed, because that is what he would have wanted—plus he hated funeral flowers.  

A small quote....

The following is a quote that I especially love; it speaks to what drives me to show up to work every day.  Each day I strive to create a loving environment where children can be who they are in all that they do, not to be who we as teacher expect them to be. "We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." by Stacia Tauscher

So..here I am..

The above picture is of my husband and myself while we were on vacation in Cephalonia, Greece.  The picture was taken in a small port town called Fiscardo.  I visit here every time I am in Greece; not only is it a beautiful port, but there is a small jewelery shop there that makes the most beautiful hand made byzantine jewelry.

My favorite book

"The Giving Tree", by Shel Silverstein is my favorite book.  When my children were little, we would read this book together every night, and this was one of a few books we would read over and over again.  It touched my heart when I first read it and as a matter of fact, I cried as I read it.  To this day, I still can't read it without tears running down my face.  For me, this book defined me as a mom and the purpose I truly have; the overwhelming capacity to love and give so freely without the expectation of getting anything in return.  Now as I teach young children, I find that I have that same capacity to give all of me, even when I feel drained and unaccomplished, the sound of a young voice or the touch of a little hand helps me dig deeper and and give a little bit more.

Big Picture: Just getting started

Big Picture: Just getting started: "This is all very new to me--although I consider myself creative and thoughtful, I don't think I would have done a blog unless it was a cours..."

Just getting started

This is all very new to me--although I consider myself creative and thoughtful, I don't think I would have done a blog unless it was a course requirement.  I hope to get the hang of this soon....meet some new friends and share some ideas about learning, children and how we can all make a difference.