4a: I was both disappointed and concerned when I first stepped into the Boys and Girls Club this summer.  My role was to provide support to a client attending, but it was difficult to ignore the chaos and the impact it was having on the kids.  Knowing what I now know about the importance of supportive and educational environments for young children, it was challenging to witness the punitive measures taken to "control" the chaos created by poor organizational choices.  I found myself providing support to many more kids than I was there for, because I could not ignore the child crying in the corner, when all she really wanted was for someone to know she had a "difficult morning."   Another boy hugged me so hard I fell over, because I took the time to walk with him and listen.

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4b: There is no strategy more important to early childhood education than understanding how to "see" the individual and then connect that individual to their role within community.  Creativity and dynamic thinking follow, as educating young minds involves being free thinking, with a willingness to learn and explore alongside each child, because through their perspective the world returns to a state of brilliance and light.  Education should be multi-directional and fluid, but its true purpose, that of forming young minds into brilliant thinkers and fulfilled humans, often gets lost in the transmission of information.  For months now, I have been incorporating technology into my daily practice, not as an accessory, but as a core component of my therapy and assessment.  The outcomes for clients have been phenomenal, inspiring even more sophisticated and creative uses.

4c: Guiding behavior, especially challenging behavior requires a very broad repertoire of learning approaches and strategies.  Children are brilliant at communicating through behavior and even more brilliant at finding ways to get what they want.  With proper and creative guidance, their endless energy in the pursuit of desire can be shaped towards socially positive strategies, or they can descend quickly into destructive chaos.  The brilliant teacher must be quick witted, creative, and always thinking.  I work with challenging behaviors as a direct function of my job as a behavioral interventionist, and I have discovered that one of the most important tools in behavioral management, is structuring the environment and organizing lesson (or therapy) plans in a way that reduces negative behavioral responses by eliminating empty transitions and idle time, and predicting challenging activities, while also subtly building confidence in the child by scaffolding instructional support and creating routines that are felt, not seen. 

4d: In reflecting on my own practice it is important to reflect on the stories that make me who I am, especially the plurality of my experience and how that has shaped my perspective and identity.  It is easy to become consumed by simplistic, single stories, especially when evaluating and responding to children.  However, understanding the complexities of families, especially those in crisis, informs our ability to connect and provide protective support where it is most needed.  It is easy to fall into the human trap of judgment, but that doesn't help the child in front of us, nor should it inform our practice.  For every child in our care, there are a plurality of stories and getting to know each one helps us understand the whole child and informs how we educate and support.

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