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Here's the latest news from The Long Island Pre-K Initiative, your source for
expert training and useful resources:
www.nassauboces.org/pre-k
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"Tear Down Your Behavior Chart" -- ASCD suggests an alternative path to classroom management
With 113,000 members, ASCD is an influential voice in education. (It was originally the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.) So it's worth noting that this organization published an article in
Educational Leadership magazine urging elementary teachers and
administrators to throw away charts that "do an excellent job of teaching children they will be punished if they don't comply with directions or rules." In fact, say authors Lee Ann Jung and Dominque Smith*, "behavior charts are a way to excuse ourselves from the hard work of meeting a student's self-regulation and behavior needs."
Their comprehensive article runs down three reasons why behavior charts and similar classroom management systems don't work. More importantly, it includes suggestions for more effective ways to help children learn that their behaviors have an impact on others. One strategy: "Keep it Off-Stage." Instead of publicly shaming a child in front of classmates, have a one-on-one conversation, "staying calm but firm." What's more, they remind us that there's always a reason students are acting the way they are, and it's well worth exploring what that reason is.
Read more.
*Lee Ann Jung is a professor at San Diego State; Dominque Smith is Chief of Educational Services and Teacher Support at Health Sciences University High and Middle College in San Diego, CA.
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YOUR CLASSROOM
Don't know how to talk to colleagues about getting rid of rewards, charts or tokens? Let Kristi Mraz do it
Teacher and author Kristi Mraz makes no bones about the fact that she used to use compliment jars, stickers, tokens and other classroom management systems in her Kindergarten classroom. But, she says, she's learned that such approaches have unintended consequences, and she explains them in a
For one thing, they might not be encouraging the result that you really want. "Behavior does not equal thinking," is how Mraz explains it. In other words, kids are learning to act a certain way only to get rewards, and some kids can even become praise junkies."
For another, such classroom management tools may give students fixed ideas about themselves and others--that is, that there are "bad" kids and "good" kids.
And then there's the role of bias. "We all want to believe that we're treating every child equally, but we're not. Chances are we have biases that affect who is named student of the month and who gets a time out."
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BOOKSHELF
"Movement is not misbehavior" -- here's a guidebook for learning while active
Moving actually helps children learn; the mind-body connection is vital to development. This idea is underscored in the latest book from early childhood expert Rae Pica. (You may remember her as the keynote speaker at our November 2018
conference.) The title: Acting Out: Avoid Behavior Challenges with Active Learning Games and Activities. And it includes 200 ready-to-use movement activities that can be easily implemented into your Pre-K or Kindergarten day.
We asked Rae why she wrote her new book, and here's what she told us: "My focus, over 40 years in the early childhood field, has been active learning--not behavior challenges. But in recent years, so many early childhood education professionals have been struggling with challenging behaviors that I began to wonder what had changed. That's when I realized that active learning was missing...and the children are acting out as a result! This book offers my solutions."
Click here for more information about
Acting Out, from Redleaf Press.
Click here to check out Rae's popular blog. The most recent entry: "It's Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read. Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead."
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Just announced! Training in Pyramid Model
Teachers, teacher assistants, administrators and directors are invited to take
part in a full-day training in the Pyramid Model, New York State's preferred approach
for building social-emotional competency in early childhood. The training will provide a framework of research-based practices for creating supportive environments and for preventing and addressing challenging behaviors.
This all-day, in-depth workshop will offer you practical, hands-on strategies for immediate implementation in the classroom. Presenter Colleen Farrell, from the Child Care Council of Suffolk, Inc., is an experienced "Master Cadre Trainer" for the Pyramid Model.
This program is being partially underwritten by the Regional Technical Assistance Center.
Date: Saturday, February 29, 2020
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Place: Child Care Council of Suffolk, Inc., 60 Calvert Ave., Commack
Credits: 7 hours
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HELP WANTED
This week's job listings for early ed on Long Island
Full-Time UPK Teacher
Full-Time UPK Aide
Part-Time UPK Aide
Family Service League, Bay Shore
Apply online at www.fsl-li.org or fax cover letter and resume to 631-969-8678
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Here's how to add your school's staffing needs to this list:
In the body of the e-mail, include the following information:
For our records:
- Your name
- Your position
- Your e-mail and phone number
For the listing in our e-newsletter
- 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")
It's important to understand that:
We will not include information about salary. We will not include any descriptions of your school or program, although we can include a link to your school's web site.
We will publish your information a single time. If you still have openings, you can e-mail us again with the details and we will run the information again.
Our e-newsletter is typically sent out on Wednesday mornings. However, it may be mailed on a different day, depending on content or technical considerations.
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative reserves the right to edit information; space in the e-newsletter is very limited.
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About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a collaborating partner in the state-funded Regional Technical Assistance Center, which supports Pre-K and early childhood education on Long Island. The other collaborating partners are the three Long Island BOCES, the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., the Child Care Council of Suffolk, Inc. and the Family Leadership Network.
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NASSAU BOCES
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220 Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org
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