Bianca Agozzino

Bianca Agozzino October 4, 2008 ED11 Observation 1

Human beings deserve to be in a healthy environment where their feelings and thoughts are respected. When I observed a three year old classroom at P** *** ***** in Lindenhurst on Friday, September 28th, I felt the warmth love and a sense of understanding from Mrs. D****, the teacher, and Mrs. B******, the assistant.

I arrived at P** *** ***** at 8:45, which was the beginning of arrival time and ended at 9:00 a.m. I sat at Mrs. D****’s desk and I carefully observed the children come in. All together, thirteen children arrived. They were all full of smiles, and three girls gave Mrs. D**** a good morning hug. All the children were well behaved and played very nicely. There was a great deal of sharing and interaction between the children, and also between the teacher and children. This daycare definitely makes me think it is a safe and healthy environment for humans. The teachers give so much love and comfort to the children. There was one girl six months younger than everyone else who needed extra comfort; she received all the affection she needed by both teachers.

At about 9:15, it was circle time. They started by singing the “Good Morning to Everyone” song. After singing the song, Mrs. D**** went through all the children’s names, including the assistant and myself, and greeted them good morning. I thought the best part was that Mrs. D**** also mentioned the names of all the children that were not present, allowing the children to remember who was absent. This is an example of a life-long lesson because it allows the children to become aware of who is not present and teaches them to keep others in mind and to still care for them. Growing up, the children can use this lesson to help them adapt to different situations, including death, moving, or traveling.

Another very positive aspect of P** *** ***** is that the teachers do not humiliate or embarrass the children if they do not obey. This school does not use the “time out” punishment. For example, when I was there for three hours, I kept hearing the name V******, but not in a negative and forceful voice. Instead, Mrs. B****** worked closely with this child. When it was circle time, story time, or snack time, and V****** was not ready to get involved, he often walked away and did other things on his own. Mrs. D**** continued teaching the group, and let V****** do his own thing for a short time, under the supervision of the assistant. Once he got to do what he wanted, Mrs. B****** then tried to get him involved with what the others were doing. I think that it helped him a lot, because he needed a few extra minutes then the rest of the children to move on to the next thing. The teachers allowed V****** to be himself and did not force him to do things he did not want to do. They welcomed him back to the group when he was ready. The children learned not to isolate others for acting differently.

A third positive “life lesson” that caught my attention was that the teachers and school accepted the diversity of children. For example, 11:45 was lunch time, and all the children washed their hands and sat down in their chairs before eating. When the teacher opened up everyone’s lunch, there was one strong smell that came out of a child’s lunch box. This girl, P******, was Polish and did not really understand English. All the children asked what the smell was. Even though both teachers did not know what food P****** was eating, they explained to the other children that everyone has something different to eat. They took the time to explain that not everyone likes the same smell or taste, and that it is okay to eat something different from everyone else. This is very important to the children, because they got exposed to something that they recognized as different, and they learned from it.

I strongly believe that the “hidden curriculum” is essential to a child at a very young age because certain moments are unforgettable and cannot possibly be taught in a traditional lesson plan. Some of these essential lessons that I was able to observe were remembering to care for those who were absent, allowing a child to be himself while respecting his individuality and not humiliating him, and promoting diversity and the acceptance of a different culture. The teachers always answered the children’s questions in a way they could understand. They used every opportunity to teach a “life lesson.” P** *** ***** is definitely a healthy environment for children to be in, and if this was the only influence they had, the children would grow up to be responsible, respectful and caring people.