Shall we use the knowledge and insights that we have learned throughout this semester from reading everyone's blog assignments as contributing factor for the success of the future Early Childhood Education file?

After reading the afterword chapter of this book, I feel a little bit overwhelmed because there are a lot of things that I still need to learn and gain from early childhood program in order to contribute and become a strong foundation for our children. Even though I have learned a lot from working with children for 4 years, but once I started taking classes, I learned there was so much more to working with children than what I had previously thought. There are so many behind the scene details that no one even thinks about but are such important parts of creating a quality program for our future generation. The projects that are talked about in the afterword section provide valuable information such as NAEYC accreditation, leadership development, director credential programs, & continuous training for teachers as well as leading efforts to ensure developmentally and culturally appropriate practices, and create quality rating systems tied to financing quality child care and improved compensation. This book has inspired me and given me some awesome ideas when working in the field of early childhood education, especially as a director's point of view as well as the relationship between teacher, children and family. At the end I would like to thank all of my classmates and our Professor who have spent time reading my blogs and posting all the incredible, inspiring and educational questions and information through out this semester. It was a pleasure to read and see things from everyone’s perspective. Thank you very much and have a great winter break everyone. ~Som~

How can a director incorporate the learning of nature to inspire teachers teaching in their center?

I grow up in a big city called Bangkok in Thailand. Unfortunately I barely see nature surround there as much as children who grew up in countryside did. Even though my school was surrounded by tall buildings and cars there are areas inside the classroom where small plants in milk cartons can be grown to decorate the classroom. Personally I do not think that incorporating nature in children's learning is only limited to parks, gardens, or courtyards. We can provide a small area in the classroom where children can grow a small plant in a small container like milk cartons or a small jar and see them grow. We can have the children experiment with bean sprouts because they are easy to grow and care for and only take small containers and a small area. What are other ways a director can inspire teachers to promote nature to their children in a limited space classroom? How can a director encourage teachers to think outside the box?

How do directors learn to lead with resources such as power, authority and influence?

I think it is great that he motivated and inspired in believing that we can do anything we set our mind to. Roberto did give some great ideas in thinking about what they really want the children to get out of the center. It gets people talking and sharing and explaining why they believe in what they believe in. This is something that I would like to one-day try in a center of my own. I also liked the fact that he tried to involve staff and parents in a lot of the planning of the changes he was hoping to make. I think he went about it in a good way, instead of just coming in as a new director and just changing whatever he didn’t like. He was careful about involving staff and parents so that they were included in a lot of the decisions and discussions. This way they could see why things were going to be changed and done a certain way, because they were apart of the conclusion that was come to in meetings and discussion times. As daunting as standards and regulations can be, Roberto seemed to set good examples for how to accomplish goals while keeping the focus on what is best for the children.

How do you implement each side of the triangle to get people on the same page and inspire others to reach a common goal?

Michelle has an open mind and is willing to make changes. Her disposition is intent on making improvements for her program and is trying new things to improve the center. Michelle did not focus on what may have been done wrong in the past. She focuses on what need to be done to improve now. By providing side-by-side mentoring appealed to work. I think it is such a great idea for teachers to know what they are doing from the start and learn the new procedures and how the school runs. Having new employees learn from regular staff can lead to relationship building and new things can be learned by both parties. Her idea of letting new teachers observe in the classrooms is great, as well as meeting one hour a week with staff members. How do we know if the changes we are making are the right and positive changes? How can directors communicate what needs to be changed and adjusted?  How can we learn from mistakes and move on for new and positive changes?

What will be the benefits if directors can master all sides of the triangle?

Lettie has been building relationships in the classroom, in the school, and in the community and that is one of the most important parts of being a teacher and a director. By having good relationship with the family it will help the child, the school, and the community and have opportunities to learn new things and develop other important skills. As we can see from the reading, Lettie has shown the process of using the triangle. On the “Management and Overseeing” side of the triangle, Lettie recognized that the recommendations and requirements for infant/toddler programs had the potential to lead her down the track of focusing on paperwork. She requested from her staff, especially her regular staff, to make sure they recorded diaper change, eating and sleeping times of their infants and toddlers using a simple chart. For the “Coaching & Mentoring” side of the triangle, Lettie integrated her leadership by involving the teachers in her idea to keep journals for each child by encouraging the teachers to add photos or write in each child’s journal a few times a week. The “Building and Supporting Community” side of the triangle, Lettie wanted to change and transform her early childhood center. She organized her leadership work by changing the way she introduced and welcomed people into the center by giving the initial first tours of the classroom, instead of single families she put a few families together, this way they would interact and get to know each other. How can new directors focus on the triangle and apply it effectively? How can we keep balancing each side of triangle just as Lettie did?

How can a director balance his or her role as a manager and a leader?

There are differences between directors who see themselves as leaders and directors who see themselves as managers. The directors who see themselves as leaders are very supportive as well as open to feedback on how they can improve as a leader. At the same time they value the opinions and perspectives of the staff. In contrast, the director who see themselves as managers have focus more on standards, regulations as well as heavy paperwork and documentation. As I learn about the importance of Managing and Overseeing from the reading I acknowledge that maintaing a balance between the two role is rather difficult. However, after a careful rethink of what will be the most effetive quality to run a program I have no doubt that without good management skills a director can appear to be incompetent and unable to run an early childhood center. So, as a director, how can you manage but also make your staff feel involved in the management process? I have to say that it is really important for directors to have a balanced role of both because both a leader and a manager come with very important attributes that, when balanced, will project one as a competent leader who know what he or she is doing. Respect will follow and order will be maintained. It is highly desirable if a director knows how to implement either roles when a situation calls for it.