I just finished the Preschool Stories readings, including the two stories focused on Sarah's preschool experiences. I admire the teachers for taking time to create the stories which were authentic representations of a child's life. The stories were priceless!
I found the collage activity extremely valuable. It was disappointing that we could not see the father's collage; to gain his perspective of how he saw his daughter. It was interesting to see the various ways that each person saw Sarah - how they captured her characteristics in a visual way. I could see the serious thought that went into creating each collage.
The preschool stories reflected Sarah as the person. In reading the stories, I could see how intimate the relationships were between Sarah and her teacher. I was impressed to read how honest Dianne was in sharing her thoughts comparing report cards to the preschool stories. She felt that the stories were non-judgmental and more understanding of the whole child. She stated that "The teacher's really know your child". I believe this to be a true statement.
Many educational programs focus on numbers and results. The preschool stories captured the heart and soul of Sarah - the process of her life and characteristics that reflected who Sarah is as a person. Many times, preschool and elementary school focus on measuring the child's accomplishments regarding academic progress. The preschool stories are so much more meaningful for the child, family and teachers. It shows such a strong relationship between the teacher and child. If so much emphasis is placed on measuring academics, how can teachers build a meaningful relationship with children?
The reading presented the thought of rethinking how school is structured. In reflecting about the Head Start program, I feel that so much energy is placed on collecting data regarding child outcomes - How many letters can a child recognize? Can a child count up to ten? I cannot move away from this level of assessment and data collection as the federal funding for Head Start is contingent to meeting set outcomes established by the Office of Head Start. My challenge is to merge this information to become preschool stories.
Ideas that I would like to take and implement include the preschool stories, the parent collages - done separately by mother and father, and encouraging the teachers to also present a collage. I believe that teachers can capture stories through digital camera and by collecting data as they build relationships with the child. I like the idea of providing the stories to the child and family at the end of the program year.
I could see how Dianne sincerely appreciated the preschool stories of Sarah. She acknowledged that her voice was definitely embedded into the story. It was completely interesting to see the connection between the preschool stories and the person that Sarah is today. This confirms that the teachers definitely knew the person that Sarah was at the time she attended preschool.
The narratives were written with such rich detail. The preschool stories present a perfect blueprint to use as a model document as programs evaluate options of assessment. I will most definitely consider implementing preschool stories in my program. I see the value and the benefit to the child, the family, and the teachers.
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I also was very impressed with the preschool stories of Sarah, from both teachers. When I first read the stories I read them as a teacher. From this point of view I didn't see the assessments and data collecting. Instead I saw a lot of feeling from the teachers put into the stories. I was taught not to do that. I was told that each picture was an assessment and when used it needs to be documented and put into the right objective. When I read it from the point of view as a parent - my heart melts and I can see how much both teachers understood Sarah. Is there a middle ground?
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