Patty Smith Hill was born March 27, 1868. She is accredited for influencing the shape of early childhood education in the United States. Patty Hill stressed the importance of the creativity and natural instincts of children and created the philosophy of Kindergarten. Her childhood greatly influenced her views towards early childhood education. Patty Hill grew up in a family oriented household and her parents believed that children should have a happy and fulfilling childhood. Hill’s parents encouraged her and her five siblings to be independent thinkers and always made sure that they had plenty of opportunities to play and use their imaginations. Hill's father felt that "every girl should grow up with a profession so that she would not be compelled to marry for a home." This taught Patty Hill a great deal about independence influenced her beliefs of free play, creativity, and independent thinking.
Patty Hill spent most of her professional life at Columbia University as a professor, director of the Horace Mann School, and teacher educator. As an early childhood advocate, Patty established a pedagogical foundation upon which the modern U.S. Kindergarten is based. She originated large-muscle equipment and materials for climbing and construction and felt that children most needed to begin working to develop these skills at an early age. Patty Hill founded the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The NAEYC is a nonprofit association in the United States that represents early childhood education teachers, para-educators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families of young children, policy makers, and advocates. This organization’s main focus is on improving the well-being of young children,...
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...s intended to be used as a classroom greeting. It was first published in 1893 as "Good Morning To All." The lyrics were changed in 1924 to include beginning the widely used "Happy Birthday to You." In 1988 the rights of the song were sold to Warner Communications for around $25 million dollars. The “Happy Birthday Song” is among the three most popular songs in the English language. The song is expected to enter public domain upon expiration of copyright in 2030. Mildred and Patty Hill were inducted into The Songwriter's Hall of Fame in June of 1996.
Throughout her retirement years, Patty Hill continued her involvement at Teachers College through guest seminars and interests in international affairs. She labored for the education of young children all over the world for the remainder of her life and is one of the most respected advocates for children to this day.
The world has experienced many changes in past generations, to the present. One of the very most important changes in life had to be the changes of children. Historians have worked a great deal on children’s lives in the past. “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”- Author Unknown
Dr. Seuss wrote, “You’re off to great places. Today is your day, a day. Your mountain is waiting for you. So get on your way”. The role of the early childhood educator, while rewarding, can sometimes feel like you are climbing a mountain.
The youngest of five children, Barton learned much of her knowledge from her older siblings. At age 15, she started teaching at a school in Massachusetts. After spending some time at an advanced school for female teachers, Barton created the nation’s first free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey, which enrolled 600 students in its first year open. Unfortunately for Barton, a male principal was hired to her school and received double t...
Wells, Karen C.. "rescuing children and children's rights." Childhood in a global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009. 168-169. Print.
Ever do something stupid to impress someone? Throughout a person’s life they will do something very ignorant or say something very stupid hundreds of times. Most of the time it is because they are trying to impress somebody or change their ways to make someone or others accept them. The story “Haunting of Hill House” has great examples of people changing just to fit in. The author Shirley Jackson, who died in 1965, was one of the most brilliant writers of her time. She was widely acclaimed for her hair-raising stories and novels of the supernatural. Although the “Haunting of Hill House” fits this description perfectly with its eerie description of supernatural tales of the happenings of Hill House; there is a more to it than hauntings. The story starts out with three guests being invited to the house to monitor any out of the ordinary occurrences in Hill House. Throughout the story the guests experience some ghostly moments. However during this one of the guest named Eleanor changes her ways to fit in with the guests. Her actions show that society’s views on a person can lead that person to things they would never have thought of. One example would be when Eleanor told lies about herself and her past. Another example would be when Eleanor went around the house alone having no fear. Finally Eleanor became open and spoke out what was on her mind.
From there, the common school movement was taking off in the East and Midwest as well, spurred by fellow Massachusetts reformer Horace Mann. Amazingly, an estimated 40 percent of the commonwealth’s three-year olds attended a public school in 1839 (Fuller, 2008). Yet they ran into opposition by people stating that exposing children to education at an early age can be damaging to their development. It didn’t take long before people realized that early education was needed. In the 1980s, child care was back on the national agenda due to the education reform movement (Tejada, 2010). Tejada (2010) further disclosed that several states even launched pre-kindergarten programs for disadvantaged children.
"Investing In Children: An Early Learning Strategy for Washington State." Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. N.p., 2005. Web. 27 Jan 2012.
The Child Development Center of College of San Mateo provides early care and educational programs for children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. Children are divided into classrooms with a “master” teacher, a “regular” teacher, and two or three “associate” teachers. Klara attended Classroom, “A,” a stimulating and well-resourced classroom. Klara was observed for two hours on Monday from 9 am to 11 am and for two hours on Wednesday from 9 am to 11 am. During these two hours, classroom activities consisted of “free time,” “story time,” and an outside “play time.” A “master” teacher, a “regular” teacher, and two “associate” teachers were present during observations. Additionally, a total of eighteen children were in attendance during the observed days.
Early childhood education, although constantly evolving, was actually established and practiced as early on as the times of Ancient Greece and Rome. The foundation that early childhood education is based upon is to instill in children the skills needed to succeed later on in life, while making sure young children enjoy their time in schooling. Throughout chapter 3 in the textbook Who Am I in the Lives of Children, the reader is capable of evaluating just how greatly the methods for teaching today’s youth have evolved and changed for the better.
National Center for O*NET Development . (2010). Preschool and Childcare Director. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from O*NET Online: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9031.00
In the end, as early childhood educators we want to fight the constant layers of oppression our generation currently encourages and condones into what America is made up to be. By identifying our personal biases, understanding our many social identities, examining institutional advantages and disadvantages, understanding internalized privilege and oppression, and finally learning how to take action we can change the way kids socially identify themselves and create a wholesome environment where we are all equal. By respecting and coaching healthy ways of life, our children can only grow to help future generations and facilitate a growing America with positive results.
Morrison, G. S. (1976). Chapter 6: Early Childhood Programs APPLYING THEORIES TO PRACTICE. In Early childhood education today (10th ed., pp. 5-31). Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
The first national goal focuses directly on the early childhood years: "By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn." We believe that from the time of birth, all children are ready to learn. However, what we do or don't do as individuals, educators, and collectively as society can impede a child's success in learning. For example, if we do not provide adequate health care and nutrition for our youngsters, those children entering the public schools will already be behind their healthier, properly fed peers. The current educational practices of testing children for kindergarten entry and placement, raising the entrance age to kindergarten, adding an extra "transitional" year between kindergarten and first grade, and retaining children in preschool, kindergarten, or first grade are attempts to obtain an older, more capable cohort of children at each grade level. These educational strategies suggest that current curriculum expectations do not match the developmental level of the children for whom the grade is intended. In effect, these strategies blame the victims, the children, rather than confronting the real problem--an inappropriate curriculum.
Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2000). Exploring your role: A practitioner’s introduction to early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Early childhood education plays a key role in a child’s academic development because he or she learns soft skills, job skills, and develop positive traits. Preschool is not like kindergarten, but instead a stepping-stone that prepares young students for the years of schooling they will have later in life. As more schools began to open families wanted to be able to verify that programs would benefit and protect their children. In response, the National Association for the Education of Young Children was made to help families find the best care for their children, by providing the early childhood educators with training and ensuring the quality of children’s daily experiences. (“NAEYC”5).