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What I Have Learned or Re-Learned

May 13th, 2012
by jmholland.
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A few notes on what I have learned or re-learned recently.

Don’t wear ties to school, the kids like to yank on them. At least not this year, when I had my class from the beginning of the year I could teach them but, since I came in half way through, I have to choose my battles. (Besides I don’t like ties that much.)

Finger paint is an effective projectile, if you have enough of it.

Sorry doesn’t mean anything to kids, unless it is accompanied by a consequence first.

One weekend full of abusive language in one child’s life can effectively disrupt the the lives of 17 kids and 2 teachers for approximately 2 weeks. I learned this when one of my more challenging students came to school and dropped some not so choice words. She was angry and the words were completely out of context. Since that day I have decided that one layer of teaching this class is providing a safe place for students who live in difficult situations to let go of their anger. Its kind of like primal scream therapy some days.

Parents care what teachers think of them and they listen. I did a home visit and changed the nature of the connection between myself, a parent, and a child tin an almost palpable way.

When trying to convey a story to a difficult class of active young children it can be helpful to cross-over storyteller to performance artist and become the story.

If a child displays ADD or ADHD type behaviors but, with proper support is able to change those behaviors, the behaviors may be learned instead of a chemical imbalance. Either way, accommodating those behaviors, without trying to encourage small steps of improvement, is a disservice to the child.

Sit in the pocket and you can see the whole thing. This last one I just learned. Thursday I had a really rough day. I took offense to something an adult said earlier in the day and it sent me into a spiral. The kids could sense I was not in the zone and kept making it worse. The only moment that I felt learning was actually happening was during a music and movement time. The class had just finished singing the Tooty Ta by Dr. Jean and they all yelled and clapped “Woohoo!” During the truly uninspired performance by my kids I pulled back from the moment and realized that I had allowed my frustration from earlier to color my vision of the moment. I had only seen two children actually sing and perform the song.  I said, “Wait a minute. You guys were not that good. If you want to try it again and really sing, then we can clap and shout.” I turned on the music and they launched into the performance. Every child sang. Every child participated. Every child gave their best effort and there it was, a real teaching moment of beauty. As I sang and did the performance with the class I encouraged them, “That’s it. That’s my class!” When they finished we all yelled and cheered. While we were doing the song I kept remembering my own daughter performing the song on stage 7 years ago with her friend. I realized I had pulled back from the situation so much that I felt like I was sitting in a pocket of time. I felt like I imagine a great quarterback feels when the chaos swirls all around, time slows down, and that perfect pass becomes apparent because they are able to wait for it. (I only imagine this, I have never been a quarterback). That was the best two minutes of the whole day.

On Friday, I was determined to take that experience and expand it. It worked. I was more patient, the kids were more connected to myself and their peers, and there was much more learning.

Beginning Well: Set a Steady Drum Beat

Aug 31st, 2011
by jmholland.
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I recently wrote an article for EdWeek Teacher magazine. In it I suggest the teacher must be like the jazz drummer, able to set the beat for experimentation by little ones. Here is a summary below from Smart Brief Accomplished Teacher.

National Board Certified Teacher John M. Holland recommends that early-childhood teachers provide structure and routines to help manage their classrooms. He suggests establishing an attention-getter to address students during transitions, such as “look and listen.” Holland also recommends teachers model the behavior they expect from students, help students know when they should pay attention to the teacher, refer to themselves in the third person and establish a routine while also encouraging them to leave their comfort zones. Education Week Teacher (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)

No Child Left Inside

Oct 7th, 2008
by jmholland.
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Kids_klubhouse1 In the maelstrom of our current economic crisis, a radical new education bill has made it out of the House and is headed to the Senate. The bill titled No Child Left Inside is making tiny little waves in the sea of education reform. It is a bill that essentially requires environmental education in schools with the goal of developing citizens’ feelings of stewardship.

As a pre-k teacher I am ecstatic to have a federal mandate to take my students outside. It is like your parents telling you that you “Have to have ice cream!” after dinner. If the government wants me take kids outside, I am all for it.
From Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi’s website:

On September 18, the House passed the No Child Left Inside Act, H.R. 3036. One of the greatest challenges facing current and future generations is to build a more sustainable, energy-efficient world. By teaching students about the role of the environment as an important
national resource, we can prepare them to take on critical issues – energy conservation, air pollution, climate change, wildlife protection – and become better stewards of the earth.

NCLI gets at what is wrong with education today without pointing fingers or directly challenging that other “No Child Left” bill that has narrowed curriculum to the point that schools had stopped teaching some subjects because they weren’t tested. This bill fundementally transforms the role of schools from places to create a viable work force to schools as places to create a viable people.

The No Child Left Inside Act would address this by igniting students’ interest in the outdoors and spurring them to take part in outside activities. And learning to explore the natural world and their personal connection to it inevitably triggers an interest in spending more time in it.

The bill orginated from the work of Richard Louv, who coined the term “Nature Deficit Disorder” in his book, Last Child in the Woods. Louv talks about how a nature deficit has contributed to behavioral disorders in children. His book has sparked a national movement to get kids back outside. In Richmond Virginia this Spring there will be a symposium exploring this important subject at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, in conjuction with its 25th anniversary.

If this bill passes in the Senate, you may hear the joyous cries of wild children and adults who are fed up with days spent inside, thier eyes glazed over with the flickering colors of video games. The sound of America waking from the fitful sleep of SecondLife to realize the potential that living in the presence of nature could have on our collective soul might just change education for the better. I know it will confirm what pre-k teachers all over the country already know: kids need to go outside.

Photo credit: http://playborhood.com/site/article/taking_over_your_front_yard_and_or_sidewalk/

Olympics 2.0 Pre-K-Style

Jul 28th, 2008
by jmholland.
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In my last post I mentioned interacting with Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps in the classroom using Skype. I haven’t gotten his address yet, although he does have email, but I did find this great resource for the Olympics. My beautiful wife tipped me off to this awesome website, Voices of the Olympic Games, that is hosting blogs by athletes from all over the world.
This is Margaux Isaksen, a 17-year-old from Arkansas.
Who knew you could and talk to and read about Olympic athletes in a preschool classroom?
I heard a story yesterday about the democratizing affects of the internet. Some think it only helps the loud and aggressive have a voice, I have to disagree. Helping a kid talk to an Olympic athlete could be a powerful experience especially for a 4-year-old who has never heard of the Olympics much less a pentathlete. What a cool way to teach the number five and Latin root words. Penta is five whether it is a shape or a competition.

Riding photo by Gerry Maceda from last week’s riding camp.

To a Mom who is not afraid of monsters – Still I Rise

Jun 6th, 2008
by jmholland.
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Our class will sing a version of the classic poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelo, a song performed by Ben Harper titled I’ll Rise, in Tuesday’s preschool “Moving On” ceremony. I love the poem and the song for so many reasons but mostly because it teaches what so many children’s songs don’t. Perseverance and belief in yourself in the face of adversity. Considering most of my students’ background, it is probably the most important thing I could ever teach them. These are also the same reasons each year my class learns “I Believe I Can Fly” by R Kelly and “You Can Make It If You Try” and “Everybody is Star” by Sly and the Family Stone. We learn “Dance to the Music” just because it is a blast to sing with the kids.

This year this song will have a special meaning. Our friend, L. will be joining us for our “Moving On” ceremony on Tuesday. I have written about L. before, she was diagnosed with acute leukemia in October. She has come back intermittently since February but, has come back for several days this week so that she can learn our song and dance and participate in the ceremony.

It is hard to do a ceremony like this and keep it in perspective especially for the parents as my friend Vanessa of the Inside Pre-K blog has talked about. I mean, these kids have mostly just made it through one year of school but for us, this one will mean a lot more. It will honor the spirit, the strength, and the struggle of L.’s and her family especially her mother Sharone who has cared for 4 kids while her youngest struggled with leukemia, her oldest with finding himself in high school, and a daughter with diabetes, even as she has ticked off classes towards her business degree.

This is for Sharone and for L. who have struggled with a monster so fierce… but I know they will rise.

its OK if I talk to myself

May 28th, 2008
by jmholland.
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Yes, a researcher has given me, well at least my preschool students, permission to talk to ourselves. This is great because I already talked to myself and of course my students already thought I was crazy. Now I can use this research to show them they are wrong! I actually know what I am doing when I make those noises.
 Adam Winsler a researcher at George Mason has conducted a study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly that finds that preschoolers are better able to perform motor tasks better when they talk to themselves.
He said:

“Young children often talk to themselves as they go about their daily activities, and parents and teachers shouldn’t think of this as weird or bad,” says Winsler. “On the contrary, they should listen to the private speech of kids. It’s a fantastic window into the minds of children.”

In the study “78 percent of the children performed either the same or better on the performance task when speaking to themselves than when they were silent.”

This practice, of talking while doing an activity, is also considered a “best practice” in reading instruction when teachers talk about what they are reading and how they are understanding it as they read aloud to students. It develops metacognition of reading strategies can increase reading comprehension. I remember a particular third grade teacher who I watched do this with astounding skill. She has since moved I will always remember her as one of the most effective teachers I have ever seen.

So, research has confirmed something else I already “knew” but couldn’t prove because I am a teacher, not a researcher. I say this as I continue my doctoral program to become a researcher so please don’t read this as overconfidence, just a desire to possibly look at research in a different light. Am I to going into research to confirm what I already know or am I trying to generate new knowledge?

What was this researcher doing?