Sunday, October 27, 2013
Specific Blog Assignment 8- Practice with Stories
Becky uses management skills that focus on deadlines, checklists, and curriculum planning. This meeting-the-deadline type of approach follows rules and regulations that may be set by higher personnel.
Yolanda enjoys the interactions and impact the teachers have with their children. By having such meaningful interactions, the classroom has a more rich environment, yet reflecting on how activities can be strengthened by individuals.
What goals do Becky and Yolanda seem to have for their programs?
Becky's goals seem to be more paper driven; to meet deadlines, to enhance curriculum as far as what is on paper, documentation of individual planning, and assessments.
Yolanda sets goals that will allow her teachers to think of activities that are meaningful and engaging while also meeting individual needs.
What strategies and approaches are they each using to reach their goals?
Becky is being a manager that uses authority. She debriefs with more focus of what Juanita is not doing
and telling her what she should do instead of assisting her with her struggles and reconfirming support.
Yolanda's strategy is being a coach where she supports, encourages, provides insight, and offers questions that promotes higher level thinking for teachers to be more meaningful, and effective.
How do Becky and Yolanda's approaches encourage or undermine reflective practice and teacher dispositions needed for a caring, learning community?
Becky's approach undermines Juanita's abilities and does not support her challenges. Her authoritative style simply provides instruction without meaning, it needs to be done like this and by this date.
Yolanda's approach encourages her team to think, reflect, and apply. This coach/mentor style promotes a positive relationship that improves classroom instruction yet respects the role of teacher and director.
The textbook stated, "When you are working with caregivers to enhance their understanding and nurture certain dispositions and skills, you will be most effective if you take off your manager's hat. If you invest in cultivating mentoring skills, you set the stage for staff members to become more autonomous, self-initiated learners." As a coach for many youth sports, I operate more from the coaching-and-mentoring side of the triangle, but as I continue to learn, this may change to become a balance of all sides of the triangle. What type of director do you see yourself as?
"What counts is not the number of hours you put in, but how much you put into those hours." ~unknown
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Hi Anjoleen,
ReplyDeleteLove the ending quote because it places the focus on what we do and not on how much time we have. Some of us are time driven that we forget to focus on what we do, so your quote befits this. The insight you have as being a coach brings a deeper understanding of what you would need to address concerns and how to better approach the situation. The experience I get is second hand because my husband is the coach/mentor, he does it well and I can see the benefits. So to hear that coaching sports helps with being a director confirms that personal experiences contribute to our learning and growth. How are you similar to Yolanda? What contributions would you bring into your program from a coaching/mentoring position?
Hi! Your thoughts on both directors is also similar to mine. I liked how you stated the quote from the book as well as your quote at the end. Just like children, being told what to do doesn't have a meaning, but if you do that plus mentor by giving meaningful feedback with assistance, we become true learners. That in time will help us become meaningful teachers. We need to have good reason as to why we tell children what to do and then they later become their own problem solvers. This relates just to us teachers and we need to be open in considering the similarities. Just like your quote, it's the quality that matters and not the quantity. How can we practice this? What else do we need to consider when cultivating mentoring skills?
ReplyDeleteHi Anjoleen,
ReplyDeleteCan one side of the triangle be larger at certain times and in certain situations? Does the triangle then re-balance itself as the certain time passes? How might a director work to re-balance her triangle? Does re-balance happen through reflection, revisitng of routines, or rethinking policy and practice? Or maybe something else?
What characteristics must a director hold in order to be aware of the balance of the triangle? Are there other necessary characteristics that contribute to the re-balancing of the triangle?
Jeanne
Hi Anjo,
ReplyDeleteThat quote you used to end your post was a nice way to wrap up your post. Both directors have goals in minds, but their approaches are definitely different? How might Becky still be able to get the same outcome as Yolanda and without having to change her ways completely?
Hey Anjo!
ReplyDeleteI love that last quote you put in your response- very powerful! Anyhoo, it sounds like Becky is a director from "h*ll". Yoland on the other hand seems to be very supportive and encouraging to her staff. Do you feel that Becky's approach and directing methods are productive? Could there be a balance between Yolanda's and Becky's methods which equal to a "super" director? What type of background (school, family, work experiences, etc.) do you think these directors came from, and do you think it affected their ways of directing?
Hello Anjoleen,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a clear understanding of how you would be as a director. Teachers are like the students with different personalities and ways of learning, how would director's like Becky and Yolanda handle each individual case? Another difficulty these directors may face is a staff member not changing after many attempts to suggest or assist. How do you think that should be handled? Yolanda is a very supportive but how would she reel the staff back to the tasks at hand if they were to go off on a tangent? Becky and Yolanda seem to represent a Authoritarian and Authoritative styles. Is the style they use due to their environment or personality? Do you think that if Becky and Yolanda switched preschools that they would adapt to the environment or stick to their current styles?