Inspirational Quotes

This week I have added some quotes from experts in the early childhood field- quotes that inspire me and motivate me to keep working, no matter how challenging things may get. I hope they are as inspirational and motivating to you as they are to me.

"I think the biggest thing a parent can give a child today is resilience- helping them see they have the inner resources to overcome whatever they have to."
                                                                                   - T. Berry Brazelton

"As professionals in early childhood we have the opportunity to shape a child's life for the better."

                                                                                   - Sandy Escobido

"I'm not here to save the world. I'm just here to make a difference in the community that I'm working."
                                                                                   - Raymond Hernandez

"Take your ego out of it and think about what's best for this child."
                                                                                  - Renatta M. Cooper

"You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes."
                                                                                  - T. Berry Brazelton

"They key to success is to engage the parents. If you haven't engaged the parents, if you don't get the parents into the program, you've failed. Our argument is to start with the parents, focus on the parents, and empower the parents with resources..."
                                                                                  - Art Rolnick

Personal Childhood Web

This week in class we have been talking about young children and how they develop in an environment of relationships. We have discussed how strongly positive relationships affect a child's life. This space in my blog is dedicated to the people who I feel nurtured and cared about me as a child, and helped me develop into the strong, determined woman I am today. While this list is certainly not exhaustive, it's a good start.


One person who strongly influenced me as a child and continues to influence me today is my mother. My mother is a strong, determined person who does not let the trials and tribulations of life get in the way of her goals. She always had time for me, and even took me to work with her when necessary. I had a special spot to play in her office. She helped me develop my love of reading by taking me to story time at the library every week and helping me pick out books to check out. She patiently read and reread them to me, as often as I asked her to. While we certainly had our differences of opinion, especially during my teenage years, because of the strong bond we forged while I was a young child, I consider her not only my mother, but a friend today. I am also told that I am a lot like her, and I think it’s great because she is also one of the warmest, caring people I know.

Another strong influence on my childhood was my late grandmother, Mimi. Although she passed away when I was a mere 5 years old, some of my earliest and fondest memories are of the time I spent with her. She, along with my mother, was one of the strongest influences in fostering my love of reading. Mimi would spend hours reading to me. I remember asking her to read and reread books constantly, and she would just laugh and keep reading! It is because of her that I am an avid reader with a diverse taste in reading material. Although our time together was short, I think about her every day and hope to instill the same love of reading in my children and later my grandchildren as she did in me.

A third strong influence on me as a child is my Aunt Meta. Although she is not blood related, I have known her my entire life, and spent at least half of my childhood at her house. She is like a second mom to me, and is known as Oma (German for Grandma) to my son. She is the one who taught me everything I know about animals, as well as how to sew. She even had to learn a whole new vocabulary because of me. I asked so many questions about the animals on the farm, she had to learn the proper terminology for things so that she could teach me the right names for everything. She had the patience to answer my incessant questions about every animal and aspect of raising them. She also was someone I could go to when I had a problem and needed someone to talk to. With her I always felt loved and cared for. She is still important to me today because she is still someone I can go to with a problem. She still helps me with sewing. I truly value every minute I get to spend with her.

A child I will never forget....

Earlier in my blog I posted about one of my favorite children's books, Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper; and the student who led me to read it. Now I will share more about the child who taught me that no matter what challenges you face, where there's a will, there's always a way.

I met Jasmine* on the first day of school in 2011. I was to be her special education aide, the person assigned to accompany her everywhere throughout the school. I was terrified to work with a student who I was told couldn’t walk, talk, or communicate through any conventional means. She was unable to control her arms or legs, and used a wheelchair for mobility. What I learned over the next year and a half was that she, much like Melody, was brilliant. Through trial and error we (her teachers and therapists), found ways to communicate with her, to teach her, and for her to teach us. We also learned ways for her classmates to do the same. We learned that we could post pictures, and later words, on a communication board and how to follow her gaze (one of the few muscles she had good control of) so that she could express her wants and needs. This translated to academics by allowing us to have her answer multiple choice questions by providing up to four answer choices, reading her a question, and following her gaze to her chosen answer. We learned to allow her time to read her choices before and after giving the question, and that she would hold her gaze on her chosen answer for a period of time to let us know the answer she chose. Later we were given access to one of the most amazing pieces of technology available today, an eye gaze computer called a Tobii. She learned, over a period of months, and continues to learn, to use this computer for both general communication (it talks!) and academic pursuits. Over time, she developed friendships with her classmates, as they began to learn that she was just like them. She may look different on the outside, but on the inside, was the same as any third grader! Over the year and a half that I had the honor and pleasure of working with her, I learned that she was truly a hard worker, an exceptional learner, and that she had a great sense of humor! Unfortunately, she changed schools midway through the school year, and while I have no idea where she is now or how she is doing, I truly hope she is doing as wonderfully or better now than she was while she was a student of mine. This is a student that showed me that anyone can learn, it’s just a matter of how things are presented, and how things are adapted, that truly make a difference. Thank you Jasmine, for making me a better teacher and a better person. I miss you every day and hope more people see you and other children with disabilities for who they are and help each and every one of them reach for the stars! (now I need a box of tissues! J)

 

*not her real name, name changed to protect privacy

Favorite Books

I have two children's books that have significance to my philosophy and feelings regarding children and education. 

The first children's book that I love is The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss.

I love this book because the sneetches learn that no matter what they look like on the outside, they are all the same on the inside. More people need to learn this lesson. If we all kept this in mind, the world would be a much better place.

The second children's book that I love is written for children slightly outside of the early childhood range, but after reading it, I felt that its message was very important. The title of the book is Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper. This book is a realistic fiction story, written from the perspective of Melody, a brilliant child living with the many challenges of cerebral palsy. I read this book as a way to help understand the perspective of a student I had the honor and pleasure of working with, a young lady who shared many of Melody's challenges. Both Melody and the young lady I worked with persevered through these challenges, making great social, emotional, and academic leaps once her classmates and teachers understood her. I recommend this book to anyone who is a teacher, or wants to become a teacher, students who share their classroom with other students with similar challenges, and anyone with a passion for education or special education. This story changed the way I viewed my student!

Introductions

A teacher that is always learning

            My name is Celeste Guinazu and I am from a small town in Connecticut. Professionally, I have been involved in Early Childhood Education since my sophomore year of college. I started working in the before and after school care program of a local preschool, and from then on I was hooked into preschool! I earned my bachelors degree in Child study from Saint Joseph College (West Hartford, CT; now known as the University of Saint Joseph) in 2002. I have taught preschool, infants, toddlers, and kindergarten. I have also been an assistant director and later a director of a child care center. I had the opportunity to teach the extended school year program for Special Education preschoolers in my school district twice, and there I found a true passion! I truly believe in UNICEF’s children’s bill of rights, and while I support all of the articles in the bill of rights, Article 23 is one that truly speaks to me:  “Children who have any kind of disability have the right to special care and support,…, so that they can live full and independent lives.”  Our mission as early childhood professionals is to provide that special care and support, beginning as early as possible, so that all children can enjoy a full and independent life. It has become my mission to educate all the children in my classroom, not just the “typical” ones, to develop the skills necessary to fulfill that goal. I believe that part of our job as educators is to teach ourselves how to get out of the mindset that just because a child has a disability, that he or she cannot learn everything typical children can learn. All children can learn, it is just the way they learn that may be different.  As a teacher, I pride myself in being a warm, caring teacher that students know they can come to with a problem, as well as patient and kind. However this does not mean that I am a pushover when it comes to handling difficult situations. Over the years I have learned to manage a classroom that emanates both caring and clear expectations. This was and still is a challenge for me, as every child is different and the dynamics of every class is different. It is something that is constantly a work in progress. As a result of constantly trying to become a better teacher, I am always on the lookout for additional lectures, workshops, and courses to further my professional development. I created this blog as part of my courses at Walden University. This is going to be a very exciting learning experience!