The Education of an Angel, part four:
Respecting Children
Tall and broad-shouldered, with a strong voice that carries across a crowded room, Carla Coffey is a commanding presence. But when she’s talking to a young child, this African American woman bends her knees, gets face-to-face, and talks softly. “Respect children,” she says, summing up the philosophy that she brings to early childhood education.
Several weeks each year, Coffey travels from Atlanta to Seattle to conduct onsite professional development with the T.T. Minor staff. A specialist in the High/Scope curriculum and a former Head Start teacher, she is helping the school transform itself into a place where the child is at the center of learning. That sounds basic, she admits, but it’s often not the first goal in a classroom.
What does a child-centered classroom feel like? That’s what Coffey attempts to convey during a recent training session. “It’s not laissez-faire, anything goes. That kind of classroom is in chaos. It puts children at risk,” she explains. But Coffey doesn’t favor the other extreme, either. In what she describes as a “directive classroom,” the teacher gives all the orders. That’s not effective teaching, she says, “because there will always be a child willing to challenge authority.”
Just as she’s saying this, Sherrill Adams happens to stroll within ear shot. Unprompted, the principal crosses her arms across her chest, gets right up in Coffey’s face, and says: “You can’t make me! You aren’t my mama!” The room erupts in laughter, but the message comes through. Every adult in the room has encountered a child eager for someone to push against.
The ideal atmosphere for learning, Coffey suggests, is supportive. “The teacher shares control with the children. You let them help you solve problems in the classroom. When you see children waving their hands, eager to contribute, you make time to hear what they have to say. You give them lots of opportunities to step to the forefront, so that even the shy child can have a chance to go first. You understand their strengths and their struggles.” Most importantly, she says, “You don’t tear the child down.”
When Adams is hiring new staff members, she looks for specific qualities that will support children’s success. “First, I want a person who truly cares about children. You can’t teach that. Next, I want people who are willing to learn about themselves. They may have to change on the inside when they come to an inner-city school, especially if they didn’t grow up in a neighborhood like this. Finally, I want them to have skills in the classroom. That’s the one thing we can teach,” the principal says.
As a teacher trainer, Coffey is often asked to consult on difficult situations, where both teacher and child may be struggling. She starts by asking the teacher, “What can the child do?” Often, all she gets is a shrug. When that happens, she tells the teacher: Find out. Then come back and talk to me. “Even the worst child,” Coffey says, cringing at her own words, “is doing something positive. And that’s where you need to start teaching. Focus on what they can do.”
That can-do attitude is intended to spread throughout the school, as all T.T. Minor children become active learners, using research-tested classroom materials. High/Scope, a widely used curriculum originally developed in Ypsilanti, Michigan, is the model being used with pre-K and kindergartners. In High/Scope classrooms, children master skills as they explore designated activity areas. They learn to "plan-do-review" as they engage with manipulative materials. They develop social skills and refine language while solving problems and working cooperatively.
In first grade, the curriculum switches to Purpose-Centered Education, developed at Audrey Cohen College. The Audrey Cohen curriculum, a New American School model, builds children’s core academic skills by involving them in developmentally appropriate purposes. They set goals, use their communications skills, and solve problems en route to achieving each purpose. First-graders might decide to invite in experts from the fire department, for instance, to help them achieve the purpose, "We Work for Safety." The long-term goal is to teach children not only how the world works, but that they can make positive contributions to their larger community. "It knits into the whole community as a resource," explains Miller, Sloan’s project manager at T.T. Minor Elementary.
