Health, Safety, and Nutrition: A Best Practices Observation
Childcare centers always strive to provide the best care for the children in their charge. With better training in schools teachers are learning the best practices to implement in their classrooms. While every teacher strives to always use the best practices, the hectic classroom often is distracting and frustrating, which can lead to corners being cut and the standard of care slipping. Most teachers do not purposely lower their standards of care, but everyone can get tired and mistakes can happen. A good, well-trained teacher is the backbone to any safe, smooth running classroom. The teachers in the preschool room at All God’s Children Learning Center were a vital part of their center. They were always present with their children – physically, emotionally, and socially.
Being there physically for all of your students does not just mean showing up for the day. There is a lot more that a teacher needs to worry about and focus on as they are going about their day. The first most important thing in a classroom or out on the playground is safety. Teachers always need to be aware of where their children are, performing head counts every thirty minutes and before and after every transition. The preschool teachers at AGCLC made sure that all their children were always accounted for. They had a list that they wrote on every time a child was taken to the restroom or out of the classroom for any reason. In the areas of health and hygiene teachers always need to be extra mindful. Hand washing rules need to be not only followed by all the staff but also taught to the children so they can learn to keep themselves clean and free from germs and communicable diseases. The teachers at AGCLC were educated about the DAP standards and knew that their children were old enough to be taught hand washing. They made sure that before any meal, after using the restroom, and after any transition from playing with any other age group the children washed their hands. They supervised the children but over all did not need to help any of the children with it.
Small student-teacher ratios are key to a successfully run classroom. State licensing mandates that preschool classrooms are kept at a 10-1 ratio, but the director at AGCLC knows that sometimes it’s hard to watch ten children. In a classroom of 15 students (full capacity) there are four full-time rotating teachers with three always being in the classroom. Whether inside or outside the classroom teachers always need to be mindful about things like keeping their backs to the walls so as to see all the children in their care. Teachers at AGCLC always sit or stand against a wall because they know children only need a few seconds of not being watched to get into something that can hurt them. In this same vein, the teachers at AGCLC avoid clustering together. Their classroom is very large and there are lots of nooks and crannies for children to hide in. The teachers spread out to cover all of the area.
While physical interaction with the children in your care is extremely important, one cannot overlook the importance of emotional interaction. Teachers need to be able to interact with their children without using physical punishment or psychological abuse. This means that teachers are not only not allowed to inflict corporal punishment (includes, but is not limited to, rough handling, shoving, hair pulling ear pulling, shaking, slapping, kicking, biting, pinching, hitting, or spanking), but also they are prohibited under state guidelines from subjecting children to emotional abuse. Emotional abuse “includes, but is not limited to name calling, ostracism, shaming, making derogatory remarks about the child or the child’s family, and using language that threatens, humiliates, or frightens the child” (MN Rule 3 Guidelines, 9503.0055 subp. 2B). Teachers are also not allowed to withhold food, light, warmth, clothing, or medical care as a punishment for unacceptable behavior. The teachers at AGCLC are acutely aware of these regulations and go through a training which teaches them the acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Not only do teachers need to be mindful about the way they punish the children, they also need to understand that the way they talk to the children can make a huge impact on their psyche. The teachers at AGCLC make sure that they are speaking appropriately to their children and ask open-ended questions to encourage interaction. They ask things like “Why is Anna crying?” and “Is Anna sad?” This opens up a pipeline between child and teacher and helps the child be more able to express their feelings and thoughts. If the children constantly had to adjust to a new teacher every week or two they would not be able to feel comfortable in their class. The director at AGCLC makes sure that the same teachers stay in the same classrooms. By eliminating “floaters” the center helps the children adjust to a daily schedule and routine and allows them to grow and mature emotionally.
Social interaction with and between children is another key aspect of their development. Teachers at AGCLC talk and interact with the children and encourage their use of language to inform their strengths, interests, and needs. The teachers also encourage and provide children with a variety of social experiences by allowing them time to spend with children of other ages and developmental levels. A key part of social interactions is the inclusion of multi-cultural materials in the lesson plans and environment. These materials promote the appreciation of diversity and teach the children to be respectful of the different cultural traditions, values, and beliefs of other families. AGCLC has an entire wall devoted to their “sister city” in Tanzania that shows photographs of the children there and information about the country for the children to learn.
My observations have given me insight into the best practices for an early childhood center and the intricate role of an early childhood educator. A teacher needs to be there physically, emotionally, and socially for all of the children in their care. I believe that All God’s Children Learning Center has a solid foundation on best practices and has trained its teachers and staff to know and understand the complex needs of the children. These teachers show a level of quality and caring that amazed me. While no one center is ever going to be perfect, all a parent can ask is a place for their child where they are loved, cared for, and educated as much as possible.
References
The National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC observation tool. September 2006.
Rule 3, MN Rules ch. 9503, § 0055 (2007).
