|
Esperanza philosophies: The concept of "Five
Jobs"
We make a clear distinction between giving children
responsibility and making them responsible. In our Five Jobs concept
for children and adults, the jobs at hand are to:
1. Have friendly touches,
When we touch our friends or communicate
with our hands, we should always use friendly touches. Instead of using
pushing, shoving or hitting hands, we use friendly touches, or we keep
our hands to our self. When talking to children about hitting we say,
“Did you forget to use friendly touches?”, or “Your job is to use
friendly touches.”
2. Have listening ears,
Listening ears are needed for everything;
circle time, lining up, working with friends, following directions,
etc.. If the children are having trouble listening we say, “Please
listen to your teacher…., friends…., parents…, and turn on your
listening ears”.
3. Take care of myself as best I can,
It is important that the children are
able to take care of themselves. We want our little ones to become
independent thinkers. For example, in regards to Boo-Boos or tattling
we may ask, “Is this a small boo-boo or a big boo-boo? Because if it is
a small boo-boo, you can take care of it yourself”. “ Are you taking
care of Johnny? Because I would like you to take care of your self”.
4. Learn, and
We feel that a smart brain and a loving
heart in combination create wisdom. Having wisdom leads to making good
choices. By making good choices, the children are able to problem solve
better and create new and better ways of doing things. We encourage
wisdom by asking questions like, “What do YOU think?”
5. Have fun.
Fun is built into a child’s day, but
sometimes a child can become stuck. We then have to remind the children
that one of their jobs is to have fun. “When you’re ready to have some
more fun, just let me know”.
The emphasis is placed on the child’s behavior -- not the child.
There is a lot of room for the child to rethink his action on his own
because his self-esteem is left intact -- only his behavior needs to be
addressed. Good Job!
We invite you to read about other
Esperanza philosophies that are also essential elements in education.
|
