So said Walter Gilliam at yesterday's sold-out conference, "Best Practices for Teaching Pre-K & K." (photo right). The Yale researcher shared results of various studies with a full house of more than 525 early childhood educators, coming from as far west as Williamsburg, Brooklyn and as far east as the Hamptons. And he challenged the audience members to examine their own unconscious biases--"There are three B's when it comes to children who are more likely to be expelled: Big, Black, Boy."

Attendees checked out products from exhibitors including Community Playthings, Kaplan Early Learning and Lakeshore Learning. And they chose from a dozen break-out sessions that covered topics from using movement in early childhood classrooms to family engagement to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics). Tweeted Scholastic's Elizabeth Oakes-Lani: "The passion of these Long Island colleagues to support early learning is exhilarating."

Another participant reflected on a particular workshop she attended: "The Out-of-Sync Child session validated the behaviors I often see in my classroom, and now I have some great strategies to try out with my most challenging children."

Mark your calendars now: next year's conference will take place on Tuesday, 

November 3, 2020. (And remember: this year all seats were taken by the end of September, so don't wait to register next time!)

The global observance of Outdoor Classroom Day is today: Thursday, November 7. But its purpose is to encourage teachers at all levels to make outdoor learning and play part of every day. To that end, organizers have collected a library of free, downloadable lessons. Options for younger children include "Texture Walk," "Make Your Own Map" and "Hungry Birds." Eastern Long Islanders might want to try "Minibeasts, Habitats and Soil", a lesson plan for students who are visiting a local orchard. They're encouraged to observe how the trees are planted, talk about the role insects play (and hunt for them!) and consider what feeds the soil.

Children hear a lot about our environment and climate change, and some of them are getting very worried. NPR's education correspondent Anya Kamenetz* runs down six tips for talking with young children about what she calls a "slow-motion emergency." 

The first tip: talk about it. Many adults avoid the topic all together, because of their own fears or fear of alarming children. (In an NPR poll earlier this year, less than half of parents and teachers said they had talked to kids about climate change.)

Another suggestion is to get outdoors. One parent describes spending time with her 6-year-old exploring everything from "old growth forests to vegetable gardens." Says Kamenetz: "She's raising her daughter to understand the web of relationships in nature rather than dwelling on ecological damage."

For the other four tips, read NPR's online article, which is adapted from a recent "Life Kit" podcast.

* Anya Kamenetz is the author of several books, most recently T he Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real LIfe.

That's the question explored in a study reported last week by Michigan State University (MSU). Researchers observed teachers and also interviewed them about their beliefs about writing instruction.

"The most widely observed activities reflected a focus on handwriting," says a professor from MSU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, "such as teachers reminding children to write their names on artwork, writing letters for children to copy, describing the procedure for creating a letter, signing in or tracing their names."

At the same time, teachers agreed that children enjoy writing, even though they provided relatively few opportunities for meaningful writing, such as making a book (even if the "writing" students can produce is only scribbles, drawing or "letter-like" formations.)

"All children have ideas," the researchers believe. And they hope teachers are not putting children at a disadvantage by focusing too much on handwriting over composition.  Read more.

The Pyramid Model Framework is designed to promote children's social, emotional and behavioral competence. To help implement and sustain this model in New York State, workshops are being offered in Spring and Summer 2020 to create a "Master Cadre" of trainers. Specifically, 10 days of training, broken into 4 sessions, will be held in Latham, NY, and successful applicants will be required to participate in all of the scheduled workshops. Another requirement: The ability to provide state-funded Pyramid Model module trainings at no cost to participants.

Click here to view complete application information.

For the Long Island Head Start positions listed below

Email resume to humanresources@liheadstart.org or fax 631-758-2953

Full-Time Teacher Assistant

Full-Time Teacher Aide

Full-Time Teacher

Full-Time Teacher I (Infant/Toddler)

Full-Time Family Educator/Home Visitor--Bilingual

Food Transporter

Long Island Head Start, various locations

Full-Time Family Advocate

Long Island Head Start, Bellport

Speech Consultant

EHS-CCP Disabilities Services Consultant (Birth to 2)

Long Island Head Start, Central Administration, Patchogue

• Your name
• Your position
• Your e-mail and phone number

• The name of your school and the town it's located in. You can include your web address, if you have one.
• A very brief description of the position or positions you want to fill. (For example: "Part-time Teacher Assistant" or "Full-time Pre-K Teacher."
• Information about how potential applicants should contact your for details or to apply. (For example: "Call Jane Smith at 631-xxx-xxxx" or "Send e-mail to jane.smith@schoolname.org")