On our staff development day we spent time reflecting on our practices and our philosophy. Below are some of the questions that were given to the maestros to answer. The maestros brainstormed possible responses and were given opportunities to refine and reflect upon their answers.  Some of our maestros responded in English and others in Spanish; you can see their authentic responses below. There were twenty questions in total.  Here is the seventh set of questions:

Why is it important to document children’s learning and display evidence around the classroom?  ¿Por qué es importante documentar el aprendizaje de los niños y exponerlo alrededor del salón?

• To show each child’s unique creativity. The child can observe their creation and others’ as well. Parents can see how their children work with materials given.
  
• Shows gradual development and that our philosophy and what we believe in actually works.
  
• Ayuda a animar a que los niños puedan lograr diferentes cosas y mejorar viendo la anteriores.
• Para que los niños puedan ver que nosotros como maestras apreciamos su trabajo. Los papas pueden ver su trabajo.

Why do we have community events?  ¿Por qué tenemos eventos para la comunidad?

• We want to create a sense of community between our families para que puedan conocerse entre familias para intercambiar comidas y culturas para enriquecernos como escuela.
  
• Gives parents a chance to interact with their child and what their child has learned in schools.
  
• Spread the word about our school and build relationships with the community.
  
• Para crear un sentido de comunidad y que las familias se empiezan a conocer entre ellas.
  

Why do we have an imagination station?  ¿Por qué tenemos una estación de imaginación?

• Para que los niños desarrollen sus ideas, sus habilidades y sus formas de pensar.
• Para mi es un espacio donde ellos pueden agarrar sus materiales y crear su imaginación.
• Para que dejen que su imaginación fluya y que no sean limitados en lo que puedan hacer.
• Para desarrollar las habilidades intelectuales de los ninos inventando y creando nuevas cosas.
• Para que los niños tengan la oportunidad de crecer su mente sin restricción o reglas.
  

On our staff development day we spent time reflecting on our practices and our philosophy. Below are some of the questions that were given to the maestros to answer. The maestros brainstormed possible responses and were given opportunities to refine and reflect upon their answers.  Some of our maestros responded in English and others in Spanish; you can see their authentic responses below. There were twenty questions in total.  Here is the sixth set of questions:

Why do we let children play in the rain?  ¿Por qué permitimos que los niños jueguen en la lluvia?

• Para que los niños tengan contacto con la naturaleza y todos los componentes que la rodean. Ellos pueden explorar todo lo que la compone.
• Necesitan estar al tanto del ambiente natural. Mientras más lo aprecian, más lo consideran. 
• Everything is a learning experience, rain creates curiosity and a new “texture” for children to explore.
• It’s a childhood rite of passage. It’s a great sensory experience- So much is learned when you play in water.

 
Why do we take off our shoes inside?  ¿Por qué nos quitamos los zapatos adentro?

• To reduce the amount of toxins, dirt, etc. that we carry/ bring with our shoes.
  
• To reduce the amount of bacteria we bring in from outside.
  
• Para reducir y prevenir el traer bacteria dentro del salon. De esta manera mantenemos el salon saludable.
  
• Evitar ingresar bacterias/ gérmenes que traemos en los zapatos, en especial en la alfombra.

Why do we not use time-outs? ¿Por qué no usamos time-outs?

• Because we practice positive discipline and time-outs are not positive discipline.
  
• Because we just change their environment, we don’t punish them.
  
• Time-outs can be negative, embarrassing, and humiliating for the child.
  
• Porque usamos disciplina positiva y no queremos castigar al niño, sino la accion.
  
• It removes the child from the situation but because it doesn’t teach the child how to behave in a positive manor.

It’s always nice to take time away from our daily routines in order to engage in deep reflection.  This is exactly what we did during our February Staff Development Days.  We came together as a team to reflect on our practices in the classroom and remind ourselves why we do what we do. We sometimes get all wrapped up in routine and don’t think about what are we trying to achieve in the classroom.  It's easy to forget the reasons behind our behaviors.  It's our goal to be mindful of our behaviors because our behaviors are what are being modeled to the children.  

On our staff development day we spent time reflecting on our practices and our philosophy. Below are some of the questions that were given to the maestros to answer. The maestros brainstormed possible responses and were given opportunities to refine and reflect upon their answers.  Some of our maestros responded in English and others in Spanish; you can see their authentic responses below. There were twenty questions in total.  Here are the first two:

Why do we wash the dishes? ¿Por qué lavamos los trastes?

• Lavamos los trastes porque queremos evitar o minimizar la contaminación de gérmenes o enfermedades. Lavamos y esterilizamos con productos ecológicos para ayudar el medio ambiente.
  
• Eliminar desperdicio que en vez se haría con trastes desechables.
  
• Modelar a los niños, enseñarles rutina.
  
• Para no crear bacterias y no dañar el cuerpo de los niños.

Why does a maestra/o sit with the children during snack/lunch?  ¿Por qué se sienta un maestro con los niños durante la merienda o almuerzo?

• To encourage modeling behaviors and to encourage group conversation.
  
• Sitting with the children during snack/lunch gives them time to engage and communicate. Teacher can build relationship, which is critical, sitting with them is a way to build that bond.
  
• Para promover el ambiente familiar y ayudarles a ser independientes e introducir comida nueva y saludable a nuestros niños.
  
• Because we want to model to the children that we sit when we eat and to have conversations with them.
  
  

As a bilingual teacher during the late 1990’s and also when Prop 227 was passed, I can say that the way the “bilingual” classes were split on site and at my elementary school was a far cry from what I see today in the dual immersion climate. I had ONLY Spanish speakers in my San Jose, CA classroom.  I was told by administrators to “mix” with the English only classroom twice per day, but I was then informed by the English only teachers that there was no time for that.  

While I tried to push my time with the “mixing”, I was the new kid on the block with ideas that didn’t match what they had been doing for many years. It was frustrating to see uncooperative educators work against really providing ESL learners the opportunity to gain social and academic English skills with their grade level classmates. The system was broken, faulty and without checks and balances. I would teach my children using the program I believed was best according to the research only to hand my kids to the 1st grade classroom that even though was “bilingual” didn’t believe in teaching in Spanish. 

Frustrated and young, I left teaching after the passing of Prop 227. I'm now back in education with my own immersion schools and programs (Pasitos Schools and Language Achieve) which are successfully introducing and continuing language learning and acquisition for the children. I’m proud that SB1174 has been passed.  Waiting to vote on it until Nov. 2016 seems like a long time.  Let’s hope we can get it right for the kids this time.

Outside, a friend looks up at me with her big eyes, excited to see me.  "I love you!"  she smiles.  "You're Stephanie. I painted my nails." I approach her and her friends table where they are "painting nails" and they take turns with my 10 nails and "paint" mine and smile.  Another friend approaches. "Are you using this bike?" he asks (instead of just taking it!) of the bike parked in front of them.  "You can use it!" one of the friends replies.  


What an amazing exchange of love, friendliness, community, and cooperation.