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People
who know me well understand that having to write and deliver a
speech is up there with getting a dental implant, however I have
to say that standing in front of this audience feels exceptionally
wonderful. Dr. Lupini, Dr. Fischer-Mueller, members of the Brookline
Education Foundation, colleagues, class parents, friends and family,
I am deeply touched and honored to be a recipient of the Ernest
R. Caverly Award. This award carries extra special meaning because
I am the first Brookline Early Education Program (B.E.E.P.) teacher
to receive this honor. I share it with my extraordinary colleagues
in the early childhood department, the interdisciplinary team,
who teach and inspire me daily -- Vicki Milstein, Pat Vonnegut,
Susan Manaras, Kathleen Lamb, Merrill Forman, Andrea Schuettler,
Gail Barry, Dr. Regina Watts, Dr. Barbara DeVito, my co-teachers
- Katie Anderson, Rachel Sulis and Sarah Elinson, and all the
B.E.E.P. teachers. I also want to acknowledge my father and sister
who came from New York to share in this auspicious day with me.
I love you both. I know my mother and my friend Donna, who are
no longer with us, are smiling broadly down on me today.
Working with talented and dedicated colleagues and wonderful
families and children has made my professional journey in early
childhood education extremely fulfilling and rewarding. Since
the age of three I knew I wanted to be a teacher of young children.
I’ve always been fascinated and delighted by the magic and
wonder of the preschool years. The importance of this critical
period of development has been well documented. From an early
intervention perspective, especially for those children considered
“at risk”, quality preschool can make a critical positive
difference in their lives. This is my 30th year in the field and
I have to say that my passion for it remains as strong as ever.
I’d like to share a little history with you. Prior to coming
to Brookline, I earned my master’s degree in Leadership
in Early Childhood Education and was the director of a preschool.
I thought my teaching days were over. It goes to show that you
never know because here I am approaching my 20th year teaching
in Brookline. My first classroom was at the old upper Lincoln
School, in what used to be the nurse’s office. At the time
there were three Transition to Kindergarten classes and I was
hired to start the first preschool classroom, for three to five
year olds, called L.E.E.P. (The Lincoln Early Education Program).
In my early days at the Upper Lincoln School, I was referred to
as the “play lady”. This didn’t bother me because
I have the ultimate respect for play, however it was a distinctly
different title than “teacher”. For the past ten years
I have taught at the Child Study Center which also serves as a
lab site for Brookline High School students. The high school students
are a joy to teach and they keep me on my toes with their astute
observations and questions regarding classroom practice. Madeleine
Corcoran has been my collaborator with the early childhood program
and my lifeline to B.H.S.. Thank you Madeleine.
When we first started L.E.E.P. we bused our youngest students
with special needs to our Collaborative in Newton where they received
services. We recognized that this Collaborative model was not
the best we could do for our children. As a result, my classroom
became the site of a three year research project called Project
Impact that was sponsored by the Department of Education. Our
research focused on factors that contribute to quality inclusive
classrooms. As a result of this research, all four B.E.E.P. classrooms
became special education inclusive with services provided in the
classrooms. Currently all 19 B.E.E.P classes are based upon this
inclusion research as well as the original B.E.E.P. research conducted
in the 1970’s.
I believe that inclusion is not just about special education.
Inclusion is a philosophical stance that embraces diversity and
meeting children where they are at - individualizing and adapting
curriculum to support each child’s learning style, needs
and interests. But, it goes beyond the individual to looking at
the group as a learning community whereby children and adults
learn with and from each other. Respect for and appreciation of
diversity and different points of view along with teamwork and
cooperation are hallmarks of an inclusive setting. Everyone has
something important to contribute. Inclusion also means working
as an interdisciplinary team to support every child’s school
success. The team -- the early childhood coordinator, social worker,
speech and language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical
therapist, psychologist, teachers and parents share ownership
of this process. The collective energy, the perspective sharing
and the gifts that everyone contributes in their own way to the
course of daily life in the classroom create a teaching -learning
dynamic that is transformative for me, and I believe for the children
as well.
Now, I’d like to take you on a brief storytelling journey
to highlight some of the joys, rewards and insights gained working
in an inclusive preschool classroom. One of my first B.E.E.P.
memories is of Danny, now 23, whose college graduation I recently
attended. From the get go, Danny found a special place in my heart.
Danny was diagnosed with a visual seizure disorder. He would get
flashes of light before his eyes disrupting whatever he was doing.
These flashes were very frightening to him. One day Danny arrived
at school wearing a Dracula costume. His mother who has an incredible
sense of humor approached me and haltingly joked about the fangs
and the cape and then seriously asked about the appropriateness
of Dan wearing this costume to school. I thought it was a brilliant
idea. Rather than being frightened by the flashes, Danny could
be more in control by being the frightening monster. His mom breathed
a sigh of relief. The costume was worn for decreasing amounts
of time helping Danny cope with the frightening sensations he
was experiencing. When the other children inquired about why Danny
got to wear a costume to school, given a simple explanation, they
were very supportive of his coping strategy. This story reinforced
my belief that in a classroom, fair does not mean equal or the
same, fair means differentiated responsiveness and instruction.
In a classroom community context, even preschoolers can get this
concept as they learn that we work together to support one another.
During the course of our research on inclusion we learned that
we were doing a good job helping the children understand and respect
differences, but we weren’t doing as good a job helping
parents understand an inclusive setting. Some parents of children
with special needs expressed the desire to have a forum whereby
they could educate others about their child’s challenges.
As a result, we began to implement parent inclusion meetings every
fall. We invite parents of children with special needs and returning
parents of typically developing children to speak about their
experiences in an inclusive classroom. Danny’s mother was
the first parent to speak at one of these meetings. I have endless
admiration and respect for her as she bravely shared information
about her son’s disability. She was genuine in her ability
to relate the joys and challenges she and her husband faced. As
a result of her brief talk, rather than being uncertain or uneasy
about behaviors they saw or passing judgment on them, every parent
in the class came to understand and respect Danny’s resiliency,
strengths and progress and cheered him and his family on every
step of the way.
I believe it is our job as classroom teachers to assure every
child’s and family’s successful participation in classroom
life. We must empower parents to be knowledgeable advocates for
their children. There needs to be a conscious effort to help children
understand that we all, including adults, have things we are good
at doing and things that are hard or difficult for us to do. Acceptance
and respect build trust. The emotional component of the teaching-learning
dynamic is critical and must always be given its due attention
both at the individual and group level.
Now imagine story time with 8 preschoolers sitting on a window
seat listening to The Tortoise and the Hare. As it came up in
the story, we discussed the meaning of the word perseverance.
As I was explaining that it means trying the best that you can
and not giving up when something is hard to do, out of the corner
of my eye I saw Matty scooting forward on the window seat. Matty
has cerebral palsy and was just learning how to walk with arm
brace supports. All of a sudden he inched his way to the very
edge of the window seat and with all his might, stood up. The
other children exclaimed, “Look at Matty, he stood up!”
and cheered him on wildly. Matty plopped back down beaming proudly.
My eyes filled with tears. Matty had never stood on his own before.
At pick up time, the children rushed over to his mom to share
their pride in Matty’s accomplishment. Her eyes searched
for mine looking for confirmation and when I nodded the tears
flowed. We were so excited for Matty but also overjoyed by the
supportive response of his peers.
This story is just one among many that has taught me just how
compassionate preschoolers can be in spite of the egocentric label
they are often given. As a community the children spontaneously
recognized and embraced Matty’s perseverance and his incredible
accomplishment.
Another example of preschoolers exhibiting empathy and compassion
involves Lucas who attended an afternoon family day care program
after my class. One day his provider overheard him talking to
an infant in her care who was born without arms and legs. He was
telling the baby not to worry because he would be able to go to
school one day and have lots of fun with friends. Lucas said he
had a friend in his class who used a wheelchair and couldn’t
move much and that she could play and have fun with her friends,
so the baby would be able to do the same one day. Lucas’
mother was so impressed that he could make this connection and
relate it in such a caring manner. When she told me this story,
I was thrilled that our classroom environment fostered his belief
that given a disability you can still have fun, participate and
have friends. I believe it’s important that our classrooms
reflect the real world so children learn how to work and get along
with each other, embracing differences.
I want to lighten it up a bit now with a final story that exemplifies
the concrete and often hilarious thinking of preschoolers. Those
of you who think that preschoolers mainly play with playdough
and finger paint may be surprised to learn that the state framework
headings are the same Pre-K through grade 12 and so we too work
on science and math. At our circle time one day we were having
a conversation about animals and what nocturnal means. After explaining
that nocturnal means animals who sleep all day and are awake all
night, I witnessed an “ah ha!” expression on the face
of a four year old. I could practically see the neurons firing.
He excitedly declared, “ Ellen, that means that Santa Claus
is nocturnal!”, to which another child declared, “So
is the Easter Bunny!”. After a brief pause another child
shouted, “So is the Tooth Fairy!”. Maybe it wasn’t
the response I quite expected, but a perfectly logical one, nonetheless,
from the perspective of a three or four year old. Preschoolers
never cease to amaze and amuse me.
What a gift it is to absolutely love the work that you do and
spend your days surrounded by a jubilant uproar of enthusiasm
and energy. I extend my utmost respect and love to all my students
and their families. Vicki Milstein, our early childhood coordinator,
your leadership has made B.E.E.P. visible throughout the school
system and on a personal note, you’ve inspired me as curriculum
specialist extraordinaire. Barbara Shea, thank you for embracing
L.E.E.P. and me and making us part of the Lincoln School community.
Susan Manaras, our social worker and SPED liaison, your unwavering
support, caring ways and talents have always been a beacon of
light for me. Thank you to the Brookline Public Schools for the
many enriching opportunities you have provided over the years
to be a lifelong learner. Most recently I am involved in Making
Learning Visible, part of Project Zero at Harvard University’s
Graduate School of Education with Mara Krechevsky and Steve Seidel.
Thank you Mara and Steve for challenging me to examine practice,
question assumptions and engage in an exceptional learning quest
with others. I’d also like to acknowledge and thank Barbara
Murphy, my dear friend and mentor of 25 years, who taught and
modeled for me just what excellence in early childhood education
is all about. I am so grateful for your wisdom and guidance.
In closing, it is my hope that we teach our children to dream
with eyes wide open, to recognize their potential and the potential
of others and to work collaboratively to make a positive difference
in this world. Going from “play lady” to Caverly Award
winner is not just a personal and professional achievement, it
speaks volumes as to the Brookline Public School’s commitment
to quality early childhood education and the wisdom it possesses
to know the fundamental difference it makes in the lives of our
youngest students and their families.
A heartfelt thank you.
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