Oh, my gosh! Serendipity? What power!!!! Just after I posted this, I opened an e-mail from my dear friend Harriet (mentioned below) and found this quote. “The Real Work” aptly describes the benefits of making the trail as you walk it. “It may be that when we no longer know what to do/We have come to our real work/And that when we no longer know which way to go/We have come to our real journey. / The mind that is not baffled is not employed. /The impeded stream is the one that sings” (Berry 2006).
Bonita, I have a dear friend on the NAEYC board who was the EC director of my state for many years, and I'd like to quote her here in answer to your thoughts and questions. Many times, she was asked another version of the same question when it came to teachers teaching kindergarten: is it doing the kids a favor to have this wonderful, developmentally-appropriate "garden of children" when you know where they're going as first graders? Her answer was always simple--not easy--but simple: "The best preparation for tomorrow is a good today. No matter what." WHAT IF Ellin (and all of us) hadn't had that period in our education and life where we sought to understand? If we can recall with great clarity those few brief, shining moments when we were intellectually supported, engaged, challenged, then I'd say there weren't that many.Don't take one moment away from any of your children!!! Bev _________________________________________________________________ Stay in touch when you're away with Windows Live Messenger. http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_messenger_052008 _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
