Blog 3

Blog 3

Observing and Interacting With Program Director(s) and Other Administrative Staff in Your Setting

       I have completed my observation in a Head Start setting. All of the children were ages 3-5 years old.

During my observations I worked with the program director  Janice R. and the family support staff Shonda  .  We discussed how we all can be advocates when it comes to dealing with children who have been exposed to some sort of violence.   The family support worker told me that she had close contact with the children  and their families.   She showed me some pamphlets that she had in the office for the parents such as , Helping Children Learn Self Control, which shows children how to deal with problems they may be experiencing in the classroom and working with other children without conflict. Another pamphlet was called  , Love and Learn by Dr. Alice Honig- a brochure by NAEYC. This one is about helping children to cope with their feelings and express themselves  and being able to ensure positive interactions between children and adults.  This flyer  give the parents ideas on how to work with their children at home on developing coping skills.  Parents are always asking staff  what kinds of things they can do to help with behavior, emotional, and developmental issues.  Shonda stated that she sees  and hears lots of information from the parent upon enrollment. With the different questionnaires and information needed when they enroll a child, a staff member can truly assess situations that may be a concern about  children.

     The director explained that she have witnessed some problems with a few children and she had to intervene. She asked me about if I had seen any signs, in the years that I have been teaching that may have been  indicators of any type of abuse or neglect in a child.  I told her that there were times when I actually had to report things that I saw and heard by the child.  “The staff at schools are the children’s first line of defense when it comes to the safety and welfare of the children”, says the director.  She also said that , this is the reason why we conduct trainings and seminars about abuse so that the staff is fully informed and they know when to take action about any certain situation. Janice tells me that she has equipped the teachers with different types of tasks to add into their curriculum to help decrease violence in young children such as, conflict resolution, parallel play, expressing their feelings and learning how to deal with their feelings. These things help decrease outbursts and inappropriate behavior in the classroom.

     While talking with these two individuals, I have learned how to share positive information with the parents and to show parents as well as the children how to problem solve.  There is a very large amount of information about abuse and neglect that is available to anyone who is in need. Also, there are community resources that help parents deal with day to day stresses and help keep them on the right track before any kind of abuse can happen  to out children.