Words of Inspiration and Motivation

"The responsibility for educating a young person is not the student's responsibility alone, nor is it the job of the teacher alone, nor is it the obligation of the parents alone. It is a responsibility that belongs to all of us. Because we all reap the benefits when our citizens are well educated."

Opening Session Remarks by Dr. Jill Biden | july 2009

"The true direction of the development of thinking is not from the individual to the social, but from the social to the individual".

Lev S. Vygotsky

"What a child can do today with assistance, she will be able to do by herself tomorrow".

Lev S. Vygotsky

"Take your ego out of and think about what is best for each child".

Renata M. Cooper

My Childhood Web

I was born into a very large family.  Although in my house it was just the 4 of us my parents, my sister and myself.  Our extended family is just an important part of my childhood as my parents. Both my paternal family and my maternal spent significant time with me nurturing my dreams and encouraging me to be whomever I want to be.

My Mother Marjorie is my biggest influence.  She comes from meager beginnings and worked and struggled to educate herself.  She always encouraged us to try our best in everything I do.  She supported our ambitions and was instrumental in helping me to be the woman I am.  We used to play this game called UpWords.  It is sort of like scrabble but you have to build the words on top of another.  She would beat us everytime showing no mercy.  We would get frustrated but she never allowed us to give up.  "Play Me Again!" She would say sternly.  Don't get mad, get better.  And we did.  We would read everything building an arsenal of words to combat the champion.  And she would still beat us.  Play Me AGAIN...  And we did. We played her until we beat her.  Eventually we beat her and beat her again.  In playing this game my mother taught me perseverance.  Don't give up on something you want.  Nothing is going to come to me easy.  I have to work for it and if it is what I desire, I will want to work for it.  I attribute this lesson to my success in my adult career.  I do not give up on myself or my students.  When things do not align how I would like, I do not get mad I get better.  Thanks MOM

My Maternal Grandma Frances.  We call her Memaw.
From the time I was a 6 month old baby, I spent my summers in North Carolina with my Memaw.  For as far as I can remember, my summer days were spent in her school.  She had founded alongside some members of her church family a private christian academy.  She was the Principle, the secretary, the cook and the kindergarten teacher.  I remember that we would arrive early in the morning to open the building and prepare breakfast and we were the last to leave the building and lock up.  She introduced me the need of exceptional and challenging education for young children.  The Academy enrolled children from 2 years old to 8th grade.  The kids learned everything from Bible to Latin and all in between.  She taught me about dedication.  Honoring our commitments.  She was always there to explain things from a biblical aspect.  She helped mold my moral integrity.  I utilize my integrity and moral aptitude daily.




My Paternal Aunt Mildred,  I affectionately call her my Auntie Twin

She is a retired school teacher.  I spent many weekends with her helping her organize her papers and prepare for projects.  I was something like her guinea pig.  She tried out new methods on me and asked if I like this or how I would feel about that.  She was always interested in my studies and often asked me about my future, what I wanted to be or what college I wanted to attend.  Her influenced allowed me to see myself in the future and focus on what I wanted to be.  I believed what she told me and it came true.  Now she is a major presence in my life.




My Paternal Grandma Queenie
I was her favorite.  That is a fact.  I reminded her of her mother the most.  SO I was a clear favorite of all of my cousins.  What I remember of my Grandma Queenie is that she loved me unconditionally.  She loved me just the way I was.  When my mother thought I was to big she said I was perfect.  When I was in trouble she was stern but loving and encouraged me to look beyond my faults.  She was the glue to our family.  She loved her family and taught me lessons about taking care of others.  Being available to help when needed.  Her lessons of love and family carry me throughout life.  I can remember her enlisting help from us to prepare meals for large family gatherings.  We all were a part of the committee.  Everyone had a job. And to her each job was important.  She made it okay to have original thoughts and reassured me that I was going to be great at whatever I wanted to do.







Recently my family lost my eldest cousin and the first born grandchild to my Paternal grandparents.  Shawn.  My cousin was filled with life.  He loved to laugh and was ready to crack a joke to lighten a mood.  My cousin was the protector.  If anyone had a problem we all ran to Shawn and he was already in protector mode.  He was always wise and prepared to give advice from how to tie my shoes to maneuvering our parents when they were upset.  Its funny that now that he is no longer with us, we all felt like we were the closest to him.  That is what he did.  He made us each feel special and that he is looking out for us.  My cousin taught me how to stand up for myself.  He taught me to protect others and when to stand up for someone else.  I learned about how to live life looking for the silver lining in every dark cloud.  That is what he did.  I cannot remember a time that he wasn't saying something funny and making the entire room feel light.  In my adult life he applauded my stance on education and what I do for the children I serve.  He said that my influence gave him the confidence to go back to school himself.  3 months before he died, he finished his degree in IT.  I can say that he has greatly impacted how I view life.  It's gonna be hard to imagine life without his wisdom.  But I am grateful for the gems he left with me.  

I was fortunate to have many influential people take time and invest in my development.  I cannot imagine who I would be or what I would be doing had I not been born into the large loving family that I was.  I appreciate and love them each individually.

A Little Piece of Me

My love and dedication to children is my driving force.  In my professional career it seems that I attract the families of children who learn differently or are extremely spirited.  My experience has been with children with special needs or developmental delays.  I remember a few years ago our contracted Speech Therapist spoke to me about accepting a young child that was asked to leave the current childcare facility and their mother was at her wits end.  I scheduled a new parent interview and met with the mother.  She and the therapist painted a picture of a child with extreme aggressive behaviors, violent tantrums, and a speech delay.  The therapist thought that my school would work because of the work that I had done with some of her other clients.  I accepted the family on a trial basis.  One thing about me is that I do not judge children and I allow our relationship to evolve naturally.  I only deal with the behaviors exhibited in my presence.  When the child arrived, they were timid and withdrawn.😢  I could tell that the narrative that had been given to me was illustrated to them.  I showed the child around and allowed them to meet their new classmates.  I observed the child and the child that showed up was not the child that the mother and therapist prepared me to meet.  This child was loving but cautious.  The tantrums were limited and there was only one incident where the child behaved aggressively.  This child was loving but territorial.  However, there was no reason to single them out.  Like with their classmates, they were modeled appropriate behavior, and given the tools to resolve conflict.  They made friends, and became very social and happy.  Eventually, the child began to speak.
Now that the child is older, the behaviors of yesteryear are a blip and something we had to address in the toddler years.  I have watched this child thrive and master many of their fundamental skills and achieve their set goals.  😀 Every morning this child searches the entire building looking for me to greet me with the biggest hug.  And we tell each other that today is going to be a wonderful day.  I am glad that when everyone else saw a problem I saw possibility.   That is my approach.  Let children know they are perfect the way God made them.  Encourage them when everyone else want to be dismissive.  I never give up on children and I will never let them give up on themselves.  Together we will persevere.

Which leads me to my favorite childrens book.

Ever since I can remember, I have always searched for effective ways to communicate with children.  I use stories, poems, and plays to help children understand many different topics.  It was my third year working as the lead teacher in the 3 and 4 year old classroom that I developed a love and appreciation for Dr. Suess books.   I enjoyed how he handled complex ideas in an inadvertent way.  These books tackle typically difficult subjects such as bigotry, tolerance, and positive self image.
The Dr. Suess book that is my favorite of them all is
"Oh The Places You'll Go"

This book is all about encouraging children to push through adversity even when times are dark or they get scared.  This is a book about determination and believing in your abilities.  This is a book about perseverance, facing fears, celebrating accomplishments and accepting defeat.  As educators we have to help children understand that things will not always go their way and in the even it does not, they will be just fine.  If you have not read this book.  Take some time and enjoy!

"But on you will go

though the weather be foul

On you will go

though your enemies prowl

On you will go

though the Hakken-Kraks howl

Onward up many

a frightening creek,

though your arms may get sore

and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike

and I know you'll hike far

and face up to your problems

whatever they are".

This quote by Benjamin Franklin speaks to my approach to teaching young children.  

We all can attest to having to repeat the same things to small children over and over and over again.  It can be extremely frustrating.  But lets think about what it is all about.  Who likes to be talked at?  I sure do not.  Often times adults talk at children and bark orders, or rules at them and expect them to remember.  Of course they don't, who could blame them?  I have learned that let's make them a part of the experience.  When they are an active part of the conversation or the creation of anything, they willing remember even the tiniest of details.  It can make a daunting task so much easier.  This quote speaks to the children being an active participant in their educational journey.  We can make it dreadful or exciting.  

"The most effective, successful professionals are constantly learning, they take the time to apply what they have learned, and they continually work to improve themselves.” 

- Joel Gardner

Walden University Blog post 1

Hello to my Walden University classmates.  I look forward to utilizing this platform to have meaningful and insightful connections with you all.