Inspirational Quotes

Though not a direct quote from the founder of Head Start, Lyndon B. Johnson, below is the mission statement directly from Head Start.

“The overall goal of Head Start is to bring about a greater degree of social competence in the young children of low-income families. It takes into account the interrelatedness of cognitive and intellectual development, physical and mental health, and nutritional needs”

Additionally, Dr. Marci Whitebrook stated,

“We cannot fail to remember the crisis in our field…we can develop a group of leaders who are willing to question the status quo and to take the necessary risks to make working with young children a career that people can afford to pursue and a career that is respected.

 

The Importance of Educating Our Future

I chose the name ‘educatingourfuture’ because we are either already in or putting ourselves in a position to do just that. Being in the field of Early Childhood Studies, it is important that we understand just how critical educating our future really is. We are responsible for guiding and directing the future leaders of our society and with that responsibility comes a tremendous expectation that we are just as passionate about ensuring their success, as much as our own success.

In my position at an elementary charter school, I am afforded many wonderful opportunities to interact with our students on a regular, every day basis. This is a recent story of an incident that struck a chord with me. (Names have been changed). This story is not the usual ‘touch my heart’ type of story, but this touched my heart in a different way.

Jimmy is a 2nd grader with a very charming personality, quiet demeanor and a great smile. His mother is a singe mother who raises him in a NYC housing project. One day Jimmy was interacting with a fellow classmate and when the classmate angered him, Jimmy said “I’ll kill you”. Whether or not this was said in jest, it was rightfully so taken in a serious context by the teacher who overheard it. Jimmy was sent to the dean’s office for a demerit and a call was placed home to Mom. When I saw Jimmy, he looked sad and not his usual self so I asked him what happened. He explained the story to me and my eyes started to well up with tears. I knew Jimmy was not a monster, not an angry child and not a fighter. So, for him to say something so startling was disturbing to my spirit. It disturbed me because I immediately wanted to understand the family dynamics of his life and figure out what I could do in my position to make sure he believes we are a source of support and not just another disciplinarian in his life. I wanted to take the time to understand Jimmy and his feelings and let him know if no one else is there for him, I am and will continue to be. This is especially critical when dealing with young African-American males and I want to do everything in my power to help them understand that they do have support and they can succeed with the right amount of support.

Below is a quote that I have always appreciated the true meaning of:

“One hundred years from now,
It won’t matter what car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in,
How much I had in my bank account,
Nor what my clothes looked like,
But, the world may be a little better
Because I was important in the life of a child.”

A particular children’s book that I actually enjoy is titled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.

I enjoy this book simply because despite my love and passion for the field of education, I have good days and bad days. When I have a particularly bad day, I call it my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. In a strange sense, it helps to keep me connected to the kids and allows me to understand that despite the bad day, I will come back tonorrow and do it all over again, just for them. The theme of the book is that everybody has bad days and that helps me to remember it’s all a part of the territory.