Inclusive Summer Camp Culture

Magen's Bay Beach, U.S Virgin Islands

Inclusive Summer Camp Culture

This summer I had the opportunity to work with a local summer camp done through a local church on Magen's Bay beach on the island of St. Thomas. Your probably wondering isn't this normal as a teacher for me to work at a summer camp or with a likewise program; your probably correct as I normally do, but this one was different. This camp was completely inclusive of children regardless of their developmental delays, disabilities, or economic status; simply put it was amazing!

As a mother and teacher I have not seen any programs that encourage and incorporate inclusiveness for all at this level in any setting. All students were given equal opportunities and activities with the option of opting out for an alternate socially motivated activity. The environment was like a utopia rather than a summer camp. Teasing, bullying, and impatience were practically nonexistent ( as most of us know there's always that one or those few that have to ruin a good thing). The most exhilarating thing for me as a teacher and parent was that even in those rare moments when  a moment may arise the youths, adolescents came to the rescue and aid of their peers recognizing that they are all in camp as one group of all of God's children.

Every time I witnessed these glorious acts that made my heart smile I wondered why was it so hard for all children to understand and empathize as these children had and come to a consensus? Why was the world at large so behind, not mention the little ole island of St. Thomas? I came to one conclusion, our culture.

Culture is derived through the experiences of norms and values held within a society and in the Virgin Islands, we have the 'solid as a rock' mentality. We condition our children to be "hard" and tough inadvertently making them unsympathetic and unable to empathize with others.  As adults and parents we are guilty of the same mistakes accusing parents of not "training" their children and that they need "blows" (corporal punishment) when truthfully we just don't believe that everyone and child is different and most of them can't help their actions.

My fellow Virgin Islands, parents, professionals; by brothers and sisters please let us change this part of our culture and recognize the need for empathy in this world for those who need it and the rest that sincerely deserve it. Children and adults with special needs did not make the choice to do things differently; they actually had no choice.


The views expressed within this blog are solely those of Ms. Child Advocate and does not reflect on any of her affiliations. For more on the youths of the U. S Virgin Islands visit https://www.usviearlychildhoodlearning.blogspot.com . For more on the U.S Virgin Islands youths read Curriculum Choices, Learning Environment & Strategies, My Beliefs on Language Acquisition,  Respect Goes Both Ways: Teacher and Student, V. I Character, and Extra Curricula Activities since IrmaMaria.

Virgin Islands Character; What Once Was

Virgin Islands Character; What Once Was

As a child growing up  in the Virgin Islands I was afforded opportunities to observe the inner workings  social or extra curricula activities within the territory and their benefits. I recognized that all pageants, leagues and institutional organizations all had one thing in common;  they facilitated opportunities for adolescents to obtain and build character building skills which can help them with personal growth. Basketball and baseball leagues valued character. All students had to be in good standing within their various school communities This also provided opportunities f or children without privilege to learn and develop character building traits necessary to become productive members of society. To build habits like punctuality, dressing formal, taking pride in their appearance and work ( school or work whatever that maybe).

Young men once had ample opportunities to build character and integrity, learning the many other ways to earn respect but most importantly they learned respect for themselves. Young girls were too given ample opportunities to learn how to become ladies, and shine equally amongst their adolescent peers through various sports and organizations regardless of gender. Their opportunities facilitated hope for other young girls within the territory as well as illustrated to member of our society the importance of such organizations. But the lack of consideration for many of these character building traits leaves adolescents and parents with a lack of appreciation for these traits and our schools with the ethical dilemmas of how to proceed. Do they bother to solve it at all? How can teachers and administrators within the institution of education help foster skills that should have been introduced and reinforced at home first?

Sincerely, I don’t think they can without meaningful parental involvement and collaboration between families and the school. Calling and texting a teacher is a form of informal communication that can be very beneficial in many areas but it is not enough. Waiting until report cards are issued to buckle down on studies does not work, more importantly my fellow parents making excuses for you child does not work (even if you’re the excuse!). It is time to reteach to our children through role modeling everyday how to be responsible and take responsibility for their actions. Admit that it is your fault and work to find ways to rectify it through collaborating with teachers or the administration; extra credit, or community service does attribute to their academic standing as well as character traits.

Rather than illustrating the ignorance that has become synonymous with our citizens in recent generations. Solidarity and integrity have always been vital components of our culture;  Virgin Islanders lets make it a priority to embrace our own traditions rather than reforming to those of our national neighbors.

The views expressed within the blog are solely those of Ms. Child Advocate and does not reflect on any of her affiliations. For more on the U.S Virgin Islands youths read Curriculum Choices, Learning Environment & Strategies, My Beliefs on Language Acquisition,  Respect Goes Both Ways: Teacher and Student

How I Feel About Language Acquisition

My Beliefs Regarding Language Acquisition

I am almost certain that my beliefs about language acquisition are distorted by my own personal experiences, but I am also pretty sure that I am not the only one. During my tenure at Ashford I was afforded many opportunities in the form of resources. These resources have aiding my professional development as well as my personal development with regards to my family. Starting with the pragmatics of language, language attributes to the different theoretical perspectives on language acquisition and the effects of environmental influences on such, the knowledge I've learned as have had the pleasure to apply in my assistive positions have made me an ideal facilitator and advocate of early learning and language development. I have learned from my many afforded literature resources that opinions on this matter come a dime a dozen so I seek to offer a different theoretical perspective, one based on my personal experiences and observations; every child is different and learn or develop in different ways. Oddly it seems simple enough and I am sure I have heard it somewhere before, but it isn't often enough applied. Sure we can say that the child with a speech impairment will grow out of it and doesn't need professional help/ coaching, while another does because of their 'impoverished environment'. During the history of man stereotyping has never gotten us anywhere so why continually apply it to those too young and are incapable of defending themselves? 

What we know for certain is that children are born with the innate capacity to learn language and that the main requirement for doing so is exposure to language and opportunities to use it; we also know that although they are able to overcome physical and environmental challenges to learn language, there appears to be a critical period during which language learning is optimal (Piper,2012). It is certainly time we apply this mantra to every learner and recognize that speech and language disorders will continue to exist regardless of cultural disparities or environmental influences.

References

Piper, T. (2012). Making meaning, making sense: Children’s early language learning. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Quick & Simple Classroom Management Tips

I'm sure we've all heard of the old saying 'you live and you learn'; well I've certainly learned a lot in the past six months and I thought it wise to pay it forward as I know I still have much more learning to do. I would also like to quickly touch on a topic that I think is usually taken for granted and that is mentoring. While I think it pertinent to find ways to incorporate mentoring and apprenticeships within our educational institutions, I also think that there is an important aspect being ignored which is the mentorship of new teachers. Having mentors ensure that we are continually able to pass our cultural traditions on through educational lessons as well as bridge the old with the new. While there are many new practices in early childhood and education in a whole over the last few decades they have all come with a great deal of good and they were all also build on the backs of the previous generation. Encourage others you know to mentor new professionals entering their field. It does not mean that they have 'vouched' for them but rather taken time out to share some of the experiences they have learned within the classroom. For new professionals adopt a mentor, tell them how much you value their professionalism and would like to learn more about their journey through professional development in a hopes to find peace within your own niche.  

Now that we've gotten through how I got my idea for this blog post let's actually get to the post. Within the last six months I've had the opportunity to work with some amazing individuals, all with a vast variety of techniques and methods for classroom management. Being the inquisitive individual I am I decided to try a few of these classroom management tips or 'diffusers' and I found five to be effective hands down with different age groups. As I mentioned before I decided to share them in the hopes of continually 'paying it forward' and I hope that others will too share their ideas and experiences as well. So without further adieu, these are my quick simple classroom management tips! 

  

Quick & Simple Classroom Management Tips 

1. Give clear and concise directions 

• Post classroom rules and expectations within eye level and sight range. Use teachable moments to reinforce the need for rules and consequences if necessary 

2. Engaging work alternatives for students who finish earlier 

• Use learning areas/ stations with engaging manipulatives as resources to aid in lessons 

3. Engaging energetic activities 

• Play student oriented music during transitions and encourage them to dance and re-energize themselves. I've personally become partial to the Jammin Minute videos that are engaging ways to exercise while having fun. As school across the nation participate there are many video to different songs that can be found via YouTube and incorporated into any routine; you can even add your own! 

4. Rearranging furniture  

• Redecorating can have powerful positive effects on the environment and may possibly changing the tone in your classroom; restructuring/ rotating learning areas and tools or even student partners can also attribute to a positive environment for learning 

5. Humor 

• Reading age appropriate comic strips or even using spontaneous moments to encourage laughter in the classroom. The classroom should be viewed as neutral place where they can have fun and learn, usually giving students the opportunity to laugh at the teacher is usually ideal and always calls for response. 

  

Regardless of your teaching style, culture, or the environment in which you live I'm sure you can agree that an engaging activity can usually set a positive tone within the atmosphere. With that being said I believe the greatest tool to classroom management is to model and display a mutual sense of respect within reasonable bounds. It is understandable that a line must be drawn between teacher and student to many great reasons but role modeling a mutual sense of respect for all regardless of everything is a lesson that students can take with them throughout their lives and one in this day and age that many would say they need.  

  

The views expressed within the blog are solely those of Ms. Child Advocate and does not reflect on any of her affiliations. For more on the U.S Virgin Islands youths read PTA, Parent Committee, & Volunteering: Get Involved , Too Much Violence: USVI Shootings Near Preschools, USVI Shootings Near Preschool's 2, and Respect Goes Both Ways: Teacher and Student 

PTA, Parent Committee, & Volunteering: Get Involved

PTA, Parent Committee, & Volunteering: Get Involved 

 

As we all settle back into our school routines and many of us create new ones, we begin to look ahead at what the school year will have to offer and wonder. Rather than wondering parents and guardians should get involved through various programs many schools have to offer. Regardless of the age of the child parents should take this opportunity to collaborate with teachers and other parents, role modeling the interest they would like their children to take with school activities as well as setting a culture of learning and collaborating with others. The purpose of these positions themselves are to increase parent involvement and assist administrators in the generating of activities that are relevant to the developmental needs and culture of our students.  

Volunteering is an easy way to get involved in school activities without making too much commitment to future activities or taking away from other personal and professional endeavors. Leading the monthly playground garbage clean up is a great way to collaborate with other parents and teachers with regards to current and future school activities as well as academic concerns; as a matter of fact it may actually be the ideal situation for addressing an academic concern where there are more administrators and key personnel present to address and answer any inquiries. Presenting ideas and concerns in such manner can prove to lighten the situational mood and may serve as an avenue for a parent to receive more support on an idea or concern from other parents (it can also go completely left and have the majority reject your idea/opinion).The overall purpose of the Parent Teacher Association, or PTA is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. While not all PTA's require participants to become members in an official capacity, all opinions rendered and concerns/ inquiries made are addressed the same. PTAs and Parent Committee's work directly with administrative and school personnel, as well as other parents to ensure the needs of all children are met through appropriate developmental practices that will best suit the development of the each individual child wholly. There are usually four positions available in any PTA or parent committee; president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The National PTA's website has a listing of resources for PTA's including descriptions of positions available as well as sample of recording technique and documents.   

We do live in a modern world today that leaves many of us very busy, running around trying to fit 12 hours into 8, but our children are important, their education is important and how can we really expect them to love learning if we don't? How can we expect them to celebrate their success as well as get up when they fall to try again if we don't set that example? We can't. We can't teach our children to become productive members of society by sitting idling by, get involved; show your children that you are interested and they will show their interest too!