"Service is the rent we pay to be living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time."
Marian Wright Edelman
"Don't feel entitled to anything you didn't sweat and struggle for."
Marian Wright Edelman
"My hope is that the early childhood field will begin to recognize and challenge the cultural standards of leadership that silence many of our most creative and dedicated colleagues."
Marcy Whitebook.
"Inadequate pay fuels high rates of job turnover among early care and education workers, forcing many of our most experienced and skillful practitioners to seek jobs outside the classroom or home, and even the field."
Marcy Whitebook.
"When you follow your passion, you are not only rewarded, you are creative, you are fulfilled." Paraphrased from Louise Derman-Sparks
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
PERSONAL CHILDHOOD WEB
"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression."
Dr. Haim Ginott.
My childhood was fun, filled with passion, memorable, peaceful and full of love. Thanks to my father, mother, grand mother and my two loving sisters.
My father represents the ideal father, firm yet caring, highly principled but sincerely compassionate, always busy as a police officer but he will always have time for us a family. We are the centre of his life as he will always say and we are so important to him. My father developed in me the strong personality, the resoluteness and commitment that make for success in life. I can still hear the voice of my father as he told me about 30 years ago that " what limit men and women in life is not the circumstances of their births or color of their skins, men and women are limited by the size of their hope and scope of their vision." Dad gave me hope, dad made me dream, dad gave me vision of a better tomorrow.
My mother is my jewel of inestimable value. She is a strong woman, hard working and industrious. Though I was not as close to my mum as with my dad, I took a lot from her, her life dispositions gave me the needed foundations for motherhood. We lived in an environment then where women don't work, they are full time housewives, my mother was different, she combined full time work with her role both as a mother and wife, and she made a great success of it. She is a kind of enigma, a trail blazer. Mother made me to value hard work, she made me to be self-independent. I developed the 'I can do spirit' through her.
Because mother was working, I spent most days of my childhood with grand mother. Grand ma always makes me feel special, loved and unique. I developed self confidence and pride in myself because grand ma showed me I am greatly valued. I still remember her home baked cake and what we called jollof rice-- so so yummy because she delicately prepared them for me. Every night grand ma would tell me a story- stories that made you laugh, stories that got you thinking and asking probing questions, I am sure I developed my knack for knowledge and inquiry mind that time. Those stories shaped me kind of as there is always a moral lesson in them.
And yes my sisters. They were so wonderful, full of life, fun to be with. Because I am their big sister, they depended on me for many things then. In view of the responsibility this placed on me, I developed some attributes which are helping me in my career now: Attributes such as being compassionate, being willing and ready to help, having a listening ear and most especially the skill of story telling since I have to tell them stories every night. Even when I have to retell some of the stories, I have to make those stories fresh by adding new information and ideas.
Dr. Haim Ginott.
My childhood was fun, filled with passion, memorable, peaceful and full of love. Thanks to my father, mother, grand mother and my two loving sisters.
My father represents the ideal father, firm yet caring, highly principled but sincerely compassionate, always busy as a police officer but he will always have time for us a family. We are the centre of his life as he will always say and we are so important to him. My father developed in me the strong personality, the resoluteness and commitment that make for success in life. I can still hear the voice of my father as he told me about 30 years ago that " what limit men and women in life is not the circumstances of their births or color of their skins, men and women are limited by the size of their hope and scope of their vision." Dad gave me hope, dad made me dream, dad gave me vision of a better tomorrow.
My mother is my jewel of inestimable value. She is a strong woman, hard working and industrious. Though I was not as close to my mum as with my dad, I took a lot from her, her life dispositions gave me the needed foundations for motherhood. We lived in an environment then where women don't work, they are full time housewives, my mother was different, she combined full time work with her role both as a mother and wife, and she made a great success of it. She is a kind of enigma, a trail blazer. Mother made me to value hard work, she made me to be self-independent. I developed the 'I can do spirit' through her.
Because mother was working, I spent most days of my childhood with grand mother. Grand ma always makes me feel special, loved and unique. I developed self confidence and pride in myself because grand ma showed me I am greatly valued. I still remember her home baked cake and what we called jollof rice-- so so yummy because she delicately prepared them for me. Every night grand ma would tell me a story- stories that made you laugh, stories that got you thinking and asking probing questions, I am sure I developed my knack for knowledge and inquiry mind that time. Those stories shaped me kind of as there is always a moral lesson in them.
And yes my sisters. They were so wonderful, full of life, fun to be with. Because I am their big sister, they depended on me for many things then. In view of the responsibility this placed on me, I developed some attributes which are helping me in my career now: Attributes such as being compassionate, being willing and ready to help, having a listening ear and most especially the skill of story telling since I have to tell them stories every night. Even when I have to retell some of the stories, I have to make those stories fresh by adding new information and ideas.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A SHORT STORY
A TEACHER'S LOVE, PASSION AND COMMITMENT
I was thinking of how best to present the above topic to a group of students in my after-school activity class next week when a story I read sometimes ago crossed my mind. It is a story that best describes the love, passion and commitment of a professional teacher. A story that can be the bench mark for any aspiring preschool educator.
The Story:
An old and feeble Chinese man, above 70 years had to walk more than 966 km to visit his son in prison. He embarked on the journey out of his love for this wayward child, the journey that could have taken the man about 24 hours on train actually took him more than 70 days. He had planned to take the train but had all his savings stolen shortly after leaving home. Undeterred he made the journey on feet, using his walking stick as a support, having to beg for food on the way, sometimes eating rotten food from bins to survive. All this done out of love, and wait for this : the son, Xie Fe revealed later that this man is actually his adoptive father, as his real father died when he was 10. What manner of love?
We Are This Old Chinese Man
This story best describes who a preschool educator should be. A preschool educator should love all children under his or her care unconditionally and equally. A preschool educator should be prepared to surmount all obstacles to reach all children under his/her care. A preschool educator should be ready to go extra miles in showing and giving love to the students.
FAVOURITE QUOTE
"WE WORRY ABOUT WHAT A CHILD WILL BECOME TOMORROW, YET WE FORGET THAT HE IS SOMEONE TODAY."
Stacia Touscher
Stacia Touscher
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