Early Childhood

Early Childhood Education

Ethics in early childhood classrooms: A framework for educators

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:43:51 Comments Off

We welcome back Dr. Kym Vanderbilt of Lehman College, this time joined by her former students, Kelsey Nova and Cyndhia Silvero. We discuss how Dr. Vanderbilt’s graduate students create case studies based on ethical challenges they themselves have faced. Ms. Nova and Ms. Silvero share their own case studies. We also discuss the ongoing struggle for fair compensation for early childhood educators, especially assistant teachers and education directors.

Play-In: Early childhood education needs more play

Jon Moscow 00:46:43 Comments Off

Jon talks with Dr. Beverly Falk of the High Quality Learning Project, Lauren Monaco, New York City pre-K teacher, and experienced educators Gil Schmerler and Renee Dinnerstein. They discuss the centrality of play to children’s development as confirmed by recent research on how the brain works. A “play-in” in Manhattan calls for greater emphasis on play in early childhood classes.

School Choice: Who Does the Choosing?

Jon Moscow 00:34:01 Comments Off

We welcome back Dr. Ujju Aggarwal, assistant professor at The New School, to speak about her book, Unsettling Choice: Race, Rights, and the Partitioning of Public Education. In Unsettling Choice, Dr. Aggarwal focuses on the intersection of public education and gentrification. The book is based on her work with mothers at a Head Start center in NYC. We discuss the race and class discrimination the parents faced and whether exclusion is inherent in school choice programs.

Global Conversations: Nature, Place, and Education, Salon #2

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:51:46 Comments Off

We share brief presentations from the second of the “Saturday Salons” that Ethical Schools is sponsoring with three international partners. Sherry Johnson, Tribal Education Director of the Sisseton-Wahpeton-Oyate (South Dakota), Deepak Ramola, Founder of Project FUEL (India), and Charlotte Hankin of Coconut Thinking and the Green School (Bali) talk about the importance of stories in reshaping how we think about our relationship to the natural world.

Learn more and register for the third salon on February 21 at globalconversations.net

The pioneers: Democracy front and center (Part Two)

Jon Moscow 00:46:16 Comments Off

We speak with Deborah Meier and Jane Andrias, pioneers in the democratic small-school movement. Debbie founded the Central Park East Schools. Jane Andrias was an art teacher and principal at Central Park East I. Debbie and Jane discuss these ground-breaking schools, their ethical foundations, the “habits of mind” they worked to instill, and the challenges they faced.

*This is Part Two of a two part episode. Go back one episode to listen to the first part.

The pioneers: Democracy front and center (Part One)

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:31:51 Comments Off

Teachers as Interpreters: Listening to Every Student

Jon Moscow 00:40:31 Comments Off

We speak with Dr. Cynthia Ballenger about her recent book, “Teaching Is Inquiry: Observation and Reflection as the Heart of Practice,” a series of stories from the classroom. We discuss the often overlooked, “life-changing” value of ethnographic approaches for teachers. Dr. Ballenger shares her work with the children she calls “puzzling” and the importance of “stopping time” for reflection.

Hip Hop in the classroom: Reaching students where they are

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:38:26 Comments Off

We speak with Dr. Dawn Hicks Tafari, Professor of Education and Coordinator of Elementary Education at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Dawn is author of “The Journey of Kamau Miller: Hip Hop Composite Counter Stories for Black Men Teachers.” She uses hip hop as a way to communicate with students and composite counter stories to communicate beyond the academy.

Early childhood classes: Crucial (and endangered) developmental support

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:19:45 Comments Off

We talk with Lesley Koplow of the Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice at Bank Street College and Allison Demas, an instructional coordinator in the NYC Dept. of Education about the recent struggle in NYC to save social worker and IC positions and why these roles are so important for children’s emotional and academic development.

Math literacy: Every student’s right (Part 2)

Jon Moscow 00:28:44 Comments Off

We continue our conversation with Dr. Terri Bucci of the Mathematics Literacy Initiative at OSU’s Mansfield campus. Dr. Bucci observes that we rarely ask children how they learn best. MLI’s implementation of the Algebra Project changes the classroom culture, giving agency to even the youngest students. “We have to get rid of ‘sharecropper education.'” Dr. Bucci talks about the constitutional amendment that Bob Moses envisioned, guaranteeing a quality education to every child.

Math literacy: Every student’s right

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:41:48 Comments Off

We speak with Dr. Terri Bucci of the Mathematics Literacy Initiative at Ohio State University, Mansfield. Beginning in kindergarten, the MLI builds on Bob Moses’s Algebra Project. Like reading and writing literacies, students need to understand the language of math to succeed in today’s world. Through shared experiences and reflections, the MLI makes math accessible and fun. This is Part One of a two-part interview.

Early childhood education: It is play, but it is not “babysitting”

Jon Moscow 00:29:00 Comments Off

We speak with Michele Washington, longtime early childhood lecturer at Lehman College, about expertise at the preschool level. Head Start, pre-K, and 3-K teachers can support children and families in myriad ways once parents or guardians trust them. Cultural humility is essential; teachers need to understand and respect their children’s families and communities.

Grief and loss: Supporting students, families, and teachers in a pandemic

Jon Moscow 00:29:30 Comments Off

Cynthia Trapanese, a teacher who spent 17 years as a pediatric chaplain, observes that we are all grieving right now, and that adults need to be aware of their own feelings of loss in order to help children and families effectively. During this period of isolation, children miss not only extended family, especially grandparents, but also their friends, classrooms, and the details of their school days. The impact of prolonged separation from school will be long-lasting. Cynthia is holding webinars for teachers and parents, and shares tips and resources with us.

Parent-school relationships in early childhood programs: Family engagement is driven by families

Jon Moscow 00:39:31 Comments Off

Yasmin Morales-Alexander of Lehman College dispels the myth that Latinx parents don’t engage in their children’s education. Genuine parent-school engagement is based on schools’ recognition of families’ cultural values and traditions. “Family engagement is a cultural practice.”

Emotionally Responsive Education: “inviting and containing”

Jon Moscow 01:03:00 Comments Off

Margaret Blachly of Bank Street’s Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice describes how to fit materials, curriculum, and relationships together to create an emotionally safe classroom. Emphasizing the importance of a deep understanding of child development, she tells how important it is to know each child’s “story.” Margaret shares what she’s learned as a dual-language and special ed teacher and gives advice to new kindergarten teachers. Reflecting on Dewey’s Education and Experience, she talks about the ethical dimensions of teaching and the connections between the classroom and the larger society.

Paula Rogovin: Creating a social justice early childhood classroom

Amy Halpern-Laff 00:43:32 Comments Off

We speak with Paula Rogovin, who taught kindergarten and first grade in NYC public schools for 44 years. Paula empowered the youngest students to become researchers and activists. She encourages students to ask questions (“anything goes”) and research is interdisciplinary, comprising literature, social studies, art, music, and science. Cultural relevance evolves organically from the research. When students discover injustices, Paula encourages them to channel their anger to become agents of change. Paula’s advice for new teachers, “Teach what you are required to teach, and stretch it.”

Kym Vanderbilt on ethical early childhood teacher preparation

Jon Moscow 00:38:00 Comments Off

We interview Kym Vanderbilt, Lecturer and Professional Development Liaison in the Early Childhood/Childhood Department at CUNY/Lehman College. Kym describes her students’ concerns about meeting the needs of teacher assistants and parents as well as children. She talks about the test-heavy teacher certification process, which is both intimidating and expensive for aspiring teachers of limited means, and how she tries to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for her students, staying in touch with them long after they become teachers themselves. To give us context, Kym gives us a fascinating overview of the complicated history of early childhood education.

Deborah Meier on Public Education and Democracy: What makes an ethical school

Jon Moscow 00:19:31 Comments Off

We talk with MacArthur “genius” award winner Deborah Meier, a founder of the small schools movement, about what makes a good school. She talks about how to build and maintain trust and mutual respect among students, teachers, and families.

Early Childhood

Early Childhood Education

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