Time---Teaching Inspiring Mentoring and Empowering Journal

About the Book

This book is for you—yes, you—who have taken the vow of poverty and work selflessly in early childhood classrooms. I know it is often the hardest thing to do—daily/monthly planning, thankless parents, lack of support, and low pay. Yet it is and can be the most gratifying thing to do—grateful parents, unconditional love from children, opening the eyes (worlds) of little people, and constant learning. I know you don’t always feel the love and there are few, if any, incentives to do this work, but as a teacher of little ones and as an early childhood teacher for over thirty years, the rewards have been great! “My children” have gone on to become great people—chefs, lawyers, doctors, and yes, teachers! My heart soars when I am stopped by a parent of a now thirty-something-year-old and told how I made a difference in their life or the life of their child. That is the payoff! That is the incentive! Don’t forget that the words you speak, the hugs you give, the lessons you plan today will matter years from now. You have the power to change lives, to give hope, and to create futures. You get to plant the seeds, lay the foundations, and watch them grow! Be careful, gardeners!

About the Author

I wanted to be a teacher from the moment I entered kindergarten. Ms. Wardell was the quintessential teacher of the twentieth century—hair in a bun, seamed stockings, neat red dress, and a smile that could light up the world. She had a way of making each child in the classroom feel special. I think each of us thought she liked us the best! She even played the piano so we would have music almost every day. I vividly remember singing with my classmates and feeling like I was on Broadway. It was those moments that made me think, “This is what I want to do! This is how you make people happy! Learning is so much fun! I have to do this!” It began with playing school. My poor sisters (Sorry, Lisa and Stacy) suffered through the indignity of having to be my “students” along with some dolls and stuffed animals. Living in a home where children were to be seen but not heard, “teaching” made me feel empowered. When I got to college, I did not have to think for a second what my major would be. While others were in their sophomore or even junior year and still trying to figure it out, I was deep into my education courses. Of course, education was not a major, so I majored in psychology with an education minor. Needless to say, I was an A student in all my education courses. When it was time to be a student teacher, I was placed in a fourth-grade class at Richard J. Bailey School in Greenburgh, New York. Ms. Peggy Christian was a great teacher and was able to teach me as she taught the students of her class, but I realized then that childhood education was not where I would be. There was something missing! In the seventies, there were no jobs in what was then the Board of Education, so I did other jobs to make ends meet. My first teaching job was in a childcare center that was not licensed and was not a real learning ground for children or teachers. What I did learn was that children were not to be treated like they had no value. However, from every negative comes something positive. I looked around for the right place and found Susan Wagner Day Care Center in Bronx, New York. Under the tutelage of Joyce James (my mentor, my friend), who was the director of the center, I realized my dream! Susan Wagner was my real learning ground! It was 1984, and I was given the honor of teaching three-year-olds—eighteen of them! I truly had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I could love those children like Ms. Wardell loved me and, with that, help them to see what fun learning could be. I found my love! Lesson plans were like a high for me. Creating new ideas for “my children” was often all I could think about. Every discussion with an adult would lead to a discussion about my kids! Even though I had a three-year-old at home, I never tired of the other eighteen.