tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post6444221711375952706..comments2024-03-26T07:07:14.304-07:00Comments on Teacher Tom: I'm Hoping You Can HelpTeacher Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-4935499326381632852015-12-12T14:43:01.046-08:002015-12-12T14:43:01.046-08:00I just found this post today, as I skipped over it...I just found this post today, as I skipped over it when I saw it on FaceBook, but I would love to see you write a book about the importance of play-based education. You could even take your previous posts on here and re-work them into a book format, but I agree with previous commentators that it would be nice to have a book I could just hand people instead of having to send links to multiple blog posts. I think it would be awesome to be able to help me explain to parents / fellow teachers / administrators / etc. WHY my classroom doesn't look like all the others, or why I don't want to give homework for Kindergarten, etc. <br /><br />I would love to see Teacher Tom become a resource in all teacher prep programs, particularly ECE. ACsMamanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-14113944346391423972015-12-11T19:52:16.672-08:002015-12-11T19:52:16.672-08:00I now 2nd this idea!!I now 2nd this idea!!enTHRALLedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18242911084403881153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-16949151776276838392015-12-10T16:07:14.661-08:002015-12-10T16:07:14.661-08:00I'm buying it. And I'm somehow going to gi...I'm buying it. And I'm somehow going to give it to my inconsistent authoritarian parents as a thankyou for being loving grandparents. I will secretly hope your grown up man words will affect them the way my grown up little girl words never have. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-91246395072817517432015-12-09T17:58:31.541-08:002015-12-09T17:58:31.541-08:00I would love to read a book by you, Teacher Tom. H...I would love to read a book by you, Teacher Tom. Here is what I'd love to read about.<br /><br />- where philosophy meets action. What you do, why you do it. My favorite moments from your blog are word for word quotes with the kids. The deeply thought out anti-authority curriculum with the band-aid was one of my favorite and I use a variation on it when I work with young kids.<br />- How one might apply your idea to older kids.<br /><br />Why another book?<br /><br />While very little advice is new or totally fresh, a fresh voice giving a combination of old advice and new advice can bring both old and new ideas to more easily understood levels. One could go read texts books about constructivist education, but many would much rather read your embodied stories that tie theory and action together simply but beautifully.Jrothhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17001317952705576389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-76578342466548064102015-12-09T15:27:33.121-08:002015-12-09T15:27:33.121-08:00Melissa has a great idea, a documentary...Melissa has a great idea, a documentary...Rafer Nelsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01805847856852183645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-69169065932176202662015-12-09T09:47:53.750-08:002015-12-09T09:47:53.750-08:00I'd like to echo some of the comments already ...I'd like to echo some of the comments already made. For example:<br /><br />> Tom, I was just telling an ECE friend of mine that I wish you'd publish a collection of your blogs. ...<br /><br />... and ...<br /><br />> You could very easily take the pieces from your blog and compile them into a book. ...<br /><br />... and ...<br /><br />> If you wrote a book, and it were a distillation of the main points you include in your blog, then I would buy copies for all people I know who care for my child and/or were having children of their own as a primer, an introduction & compressed explanation of best practices for raising children. ...<br /><br />... etc.<br /><br />The truth is you've <i>already</i> written a book (probably several). While blogs don't (often) <i>directly</i> translate well to a book-like format, you certainly have enough material. I don't know what format you would consider. A memoir perhaps? A self-help/advice work? The latter, disguised as the former, entitled, "Memoirs of a Student - Lessons Learned from Children Teachers" (I'm only half joking). The work would come (in part) from selecting a theme or a collection of related or coherent themes, mining (and possibly updating) your existing material, (re)organizing it, and (this is likely going to be the hardest part) <i>figuring out what to take away</i>.<br /><br />If you're tentative about this approach, I would point out that, while it is likely to be a huge effort, if done well, it can bring a large amount of value for readers that may be difficult for them to realize via periodic blog posts. While you do a good job of referencing your previous posts, readers are likely to gain new insight from refinement (e.g., brevity, reorganization, etc.). Also, if you're like me, you might find joy in rereading your material that has long since passed from memory. (I sometimes find myself saying, "Wow, I wrote that? I was pretty articulate at one point!")Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-71571825727830371032015-12-09T09:45:16.548-08:002015-12-09T09:45:16.548-08:00I'm a museum educator whose been following you...I'm a museum educator whose been following your blog for a number of years, and I too would love a book. I do a large amount of staff training with interns and part time staff (many of whom are college students). A book would make it easy for me to share ideas about play based learning, how to observe children, and how to follow their lead with our staff. A book would be dog eared and passed around and discussed in a way that print-outs of a blog post are not. <br /><br />Thanks for everything you put into this blog, you are an inspiration! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-53599195012412098772015-12-09T06:00:52.880-08:002015-12-09T06:00:52.880-08:00While I love the idea of a book, here's anothe...While I love the idea of a book, here's another: a short documentary style film. Now, I know this doesn't scratch the same itch for you as writing a book might, but in terms of reaching a broad audience and having maximum impact video is the way to go. If we really want to deepen people's ideas about what ECE can and should be we need to SHOW them exceptional teaching such as yours. Plant an image in their mind of what we could all aspire towards, coupled with a frank discussion of the barriers standing between our current situation and actualizing this image at scale.Melissa Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17324755079174338424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-44290501007696595382015-12-08T20:56:11.437-08:002015-12-08T20:56:11.437-08:00I teach Philosophy of Education to undergraduate a...I teach Philosophy of Education to undergraduate and graduate students. We need more books with content like this, in part because books have a sort of "gravitas" that blogs still do not have. The fact that a third party accepted, edited, and published your work gives you more credentials in the world of teaching. And teacher education is where your words need to be read, desperately. I see the field changing in ways that dismay me, and I'm not sure what can help to stop this ongoing slog toward data-based, test-driven education, but especially now when it's moving toward preschool, I become more and more convinced that students need to read your words while they are in school, as well as beyond. And right now, the best way to get your words in a graduate classroom setting is to put them in a book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-89779633866584756312015-12-07T10:47:25.663-08:002015-12-07T10:47:25.663-08:00HI Tom,
I left a long comment over the weekend, o...HI Tom,<br /><br />I left a long comment over the weekend, or tried to, not sure it made it through. I got a message about word length after I sent the comment, edited a few things, resent it and it seemed to work, but not sure...<br /><br />RaferRafer Nelsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01805847856852183645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-63179897793231703812015-12-07T10:35:44.246-08:002015-12-07T10:35:44.246-08:00I'm such a big fan of your blog that I usually...I'm such a big fan of your blog that I usually kind of watch from afar. I'm scared that if I interact too much, it might upset some delicate balance.<br /><br />From that point of view, I'd say that you could pick a "greatest hits" set of posts and publish them together as a book. That would be relatively simple to do, wouldn't disrupt your existing writing workflow (which seems to be spot on), and would still make a great resource worth buying and sharing.<br /><br />I've seen a couple bloggers step off the deep end, transforming a previously fun and refreshingly frank blog into a marketing venture. They start offering $500 online classes and pushing preorders and holding back good content. You seem grounded enough to not let it entirely run away like that...but it's scary to worry about losing something I really love to read.Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-78055939575561373072015-12-06T21:05:10.242-08:002015-12-06T21:05:10.242-08:00Kia ora,
For me, a book written by you would be fu...Kia ora,<br />For me, a book written by you would be full of stories of children engaged in their play - a reminder of all those little moments where play happens. I agree, there is already so many books out there so it doesn't need to be about philosophy or curriculum as such, but weaving the core ideas through a narrative so someone might pick it up briefly, read an anecdote and be inspired in their practice.<br />Just my thoughts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-66970496651587794592015-12-06T14:52:47.803-08:002015-12-06T14:52:47.803-08:00You could very easily take the pieces from your bl...You could very easily take the pieces from your blog and compile them into a book. I know people could get the free content here, but a book is easier to navigate and has a stamp of: "I am an expert". Not that your blog doesn't. By selling it on Amazon, you will reach a bigger audience, because not everyone knows about your blog and not everyone types in the kind of search for your topics.<br /><br />I teach a phonics based program, but I need to keep my head clear that children at the preschool age, still need to be children and your blog keeps that focus for me and keeps me in that perspective. You have a handle on children's play that many early childhood "experts" have lost. There's no messes, no climbing, no free building, no making up games in many of these "experts'" classes. Maybe your book should be called: Don't Forget - I Need to Play, Too!. You could start it where you say, "As you follow your curriculum (because many have strict curriculum) or teach your phonics based, math based, theme based programs, that preschool aged children still need to play. You could speak to that LARGE group of teachers as well as the group that agrees with EVERYTHING you do - more natural, hippy, mother earth followers (I hope this wasn't insulting). I used to belong to an attachment parenting group and most of the members were anti-public school and were looking to put their children in Waldorf schools or doing "unschooling" or Montessori or other alternative to the norm. I've explored a lot of the ideas in those alternatives, which is how I found you in my searches. However, knowing I can't afford private school and that my children were going to public school, I looked more in to what the public school needs from preschoolers coming in to school. The teachers kept saying - "They need to know their letters, phonics, numbers, to cut, and to hold a pencil." They never mentioned being able to socialize or get along with others. They never talked about playing to achieve certain motor skills or to help the brain understand the world they live in. I designed my preschool so that they get exposure to phonics, writing, numbers, colors, and shapes, but the rest is centered around the children talking to each other and playing. I cover the part they don't mention. (in bold:) I need a book like yours to, again, remind me of what is really important!French Valley K-Prep Preschoolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699134132586874018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-88588504322467127462015-12-06T06:31:35.052-08:002015-12-06T06:31:35.052-08:00Hi Tom,
I'm an ECE student down in New Zealan...Hi Tom,<br /><br />I'm an ECE student down in New Zealand. And I'm also a man. As irrelevant as that last statement should be, in our field it's not. You get judged and scrutinized, and then you judge and scrutinize yourself. When I started it was hard; I really wasn't sure I belonged, in that environment, and I wasn't sure whether others thought I belonged here either. But over a period of 6 months I've realized I love children; I don't say that often, because men saying they love children seems to be a taboo. Still, I do. I would do anything for any one of my little monsters.<br /><br />I wanted to thank you with all my heart for what you are doing. You may not realize this, but your blog was an enormous part of the past 2 years of my life; and I'm sure there are other guys out there who can say the same. I'm young and inexperienced, and having someone like you talking about teaching, passionately and with love, really made a difference in my life.<br /><br />As far as writing a book goes, I really don't have any advice, so I'm sorry about that.<br /><br />Have a great day!OddOneOuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02520934788369501801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-661892729514405422015-12-06T05:03:34.717-08:002015-12-06T05:03:34.717-08:00I've told lots of people about your blog and I...I've told lots of people about your blog and I'm sure several are following. A book would be something I could put into their hands or earmark and open as I stand with them. Book talks would also be good. I'll be thinking of what I'd like it to look like. Please, please do not let it become a substitution for this place. I also like the instant gratification. I've come to crave it each day! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-11679035203586599652015-12-05T16:08:39.929-08:002015-12-05T16:08:39.929-08:00HI Tom,
I've been following along on your blo...HI Tom,<br /><br />I've been following along on your blog all fall, and been meaning to comment here and there. So, I'll start here.<br /><br />I think a book (or maybe three!) sounds intriguing. I'm just thinking out loud here as I type (with Loic hanging from the back of my neck, he wants to type his name...), and of course my personal biases and interests (with Loic now in public kindergarten...) will be embedded in my thoughts, but here goes, in bullet-point style to get it all out of my head ASAP. What I have learned and pondered the last 1.5 years, a little willy nilly:<br /><br />1. Mammals use play to learn survival skills and adapt to their environment.<br />2. We are mammals, and as kids we play as a means to adapt and survive to our surroundings and culture. We are programmed by evolution to learn. Play is learning.<br />3. As such, play and the freedom to choose what one plays, is essential to education.<br />4. So essential, in fact, that true civic democracy depends on our play as children and our developing a sense of "deep freedom", or "deep democracy" within us, so to speak.<br />5. With the above related ideas as "givens", or at least a hypothesis or starting point, I am interested in how we can infuse the notions of free play and play-based learning (or whatever we want to call it) that we see at Woodland Park into our public schools, and make it age-appropriate (or whatever we want to call that...) across elementary, middle and high school; infuse both curriculum and pedagogy with play-based learning, in other words.<br />6. As an extension of my initial thoughts above, I've come to view free public schooling as the fundament of democracy, really the most important thing to "invest in" as a nation, and without any expertise in the field, I have also come to the conclusion that as a society we citizens have basically abandoned our public schools; we live in a sort of unconscious state of apartheid in this country (well, unconscious for a lot of light skinned people, I think darker skinned people know the score better...), with people of means able to choose their child's school if they don't like the local public school, and thereby abandoning public schools to the "testocracy" that we see controlling them today, as the national public school population are in many ways "easy pickings" for the testo-crats (poorer, darker skinned, more single parent or two working parent families with less time and money to resist, etc). <br />7. I am not explaining my thoughts very well right now, but in a nutshell, to me it seems like we de-segregated our schools in the 50's (Brown v Board of Ed), it took another decade to actually make it somewhat real (bussing, etc), and then segregation just kicked in again with wealthier (lighter-skinned) people opting for private school or public school in the suburbs; we see white flight from 40-50 years ago not just in our neighborhoods, but also in our schools today. So there is this huge historical/social justice issue mixed in there as well, the solution to which is hard to fathom (how do we achieve national consensus on public schooling, like say Finland or New Zealand, when we have such huge racist and socio-economic hurdles to jump still?)<br />8. Anyhow, all the above is what I am thinking about lately, and so given your unique experience as a play-based preschool teacher, a product of public schools yourself, your own experiencer with desegregation as a child, I figure you are just the person for the job of writing the mother of all books, tying in the science of play, our particular American history, identifying the problems in public schooling (or rather summarizing them), and then perhaps coming up with some ideas and potential play-based answers to address the problems.<br /><br />There you go. And I figure at the very least, you have the right sartorial outfit for the job!<br /><br />Rafer (and Loic, who did get to type his name, he was very patient with me... And also Mari, which Loic also just got to type. Good night!)Rafer Nelsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01805847856852183645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-30331358135168743832015-12-05T11:35:18.654-08:002015-12-05T11:35:18.654-08:00This may sound trite, but write about your passion...This may sound trite, but write about your passion. Don't try to forecast the direction of the book - just start writing and see where it leads you. IMO your greatest strength lies in your ability to reflect AND to communicate those reflections so clearly. Ennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214128723968189320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-8051284466902546082015-12-05T10:23:33.741-08:002015-12-05T10:23:33.741-08:00I have thought on this for the last day, and defin...I have thought on this for the last day, and definitely think you should and I would definitely buy it. (Or if you take my suggestion, a free signed copy would be awesome!) My vote would be to write it from the perspective of a 3 year old thru a couple of years in your preschool and a couple of years in public school. With of course interactions with family and friends before, during and after school. enTHRALLedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18242911084403881153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-60958154551407026662015-12-05T06:34:43.475-08:002015-12-05T06:34:43.475-08:00If you write a book I would definitely have to hav...If you write a book I would definitely have to have it. You're right that there are myriad choices in parenting books already about. <br /><br />I think, however, that your perspective is unique. You see, understand, and can verbalize a lot in a way that others can't, or don't. For me, your writing on this blog has the perfect mix of sentiment and fact, as you see it. At times the tone reminds me of Ben hewitt's writing in that I agree with my child loving soul. Other times it's just the right amount of explanation, insight, and instruction to give me the confidence to act with my own children. You generally leave me inspired. <br /><br />I often wish I could easily go back and just read a certain post again, but won't take the time to search for it. I find myself wanting to share your words with others to better explain a point I'm trying to make. If I had a book in hand, I could and would do that. I'd read it when in need of parenting inspiration. Because I believe you just get kids, and you just get how they should be treated, educated, respected... <br /><br />As far as what I'd like to see in it? All of the above, but also more detailed instruction on coming up with group rules (easily put to use in a home, playgroup, or school), examples of your circle/group time workings, and instruction on starting a playgroup or school like yours. For that sort of thing alone I'd read and reread. <br /><br />Anyway I'm all for it.<br />The Oak Leaveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01737051019108379679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-42484124119172088462015-12-05T03:34:02.301-08:002015-12-05T03:34:02.301-08:00Tom, It would be a rallying cry to get big people ...Tom, It would be a rallying cry to get big people to embrace our desperate need to give the next generation the morals, emotions, attitude, respect, trust and what our part in the process has to be... You articulate it so well - and now we need some focused direction... Over to you. Tom xxxTom (the other one) Sheanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-53906568296724849222015-12-04T23:19:07.481-08:002015-12-04T23:19:07.481-08:00Your writing style is anecdotal, and very readable...Your writing style is anecdotal, and very readable. I find it a refreshing change from the dry and poorly written documents I am currently combing through in an effort to understand legislative changes, and rewrite our centre's program statement. We need this - we need to hear voices and stories from the field, from the classroom, from people who are actually doing the work and relating their every day experiences, while tying it back to research and child development. <br /><br />The thought has also crossed my mind - I change diapers and write imaginary blog posts in my head about why this moment of transition and physical care is just as important, if not more so, in a toddlers life than any piece of planned curriculum an educator can provide. We, in Ontario, have come so far in recognizing this, and yet, new grads still believe that they need perfect rooms, shiny toys and a list of songs and fingerplays in order to be the perfect early childhood educator. We don't need more pinteresty creative ideas or tips and tricks for "managing" behaviour. I've followed your blog for several years now, and I delight in your stories, the conclusions that you draw from your observations, and the lessons that you, yourself learn and write about as you teach. If you wrote a book, however the chapters and sections were organized - or not - I would buy it, read it, and lend it to every student teacher that walked through my classroom door. Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07874329165667110488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-67171163714646112372015-12-04T22:54:49.346-08:002015-12-04T22:54:49.346-08:00I was saying just a few days ago to someone that I...I was saying just a few days ago to someone that I wish there was a Teacher Tom book. We would buy it. I feel confident you'd include whatever is most important/relevant to you, which would probably resonate most strongly with your audience. Don't think you can really go wrong here! By the way when you do publicity, please come to New Zealand and do some signings in Christchurch hint hint! :-)Finoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-79306971667798716012015-12-04T20:23:31.401-08:002015-12-04T20:23:31.401-08:00Tom,
Your willingness to express yourself so open...Tom, <br />Your willingness to express yourself so opening, so authentically is simply delicious and delightful.<br />Please continue to simply express what is in your heart.<br />Our hearts can hear.<br />Nina SpitzerAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03923938290587907306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-63775353991249540722015-12-04T18:47:27.182-08:002015-12-04T18:47:27.182-08:00Hi! I have been thinking about your blog and book...Hi! I have been thinking about your blog and book suggestions for a little while now. I started thinking about why I like your blog above and beyond, (by a long shot), other blogs on similar subjects. I concluded that your approach is very much a hands off approach, a wait and see approach, a fly on the wall approach. You are so mindful that your influence when you are involved with the play, changes the play and herein lies the rub. It is such a subtlety to learn. We, as parents in the 21st century, are so used to being helicopter parents and tiger mums and all those things, which in effect stifle the natural course of play. This is where adults today need to learn how to step back. It takes courage, we have to understand that well-meaning as we are, we have no place in child-led play. We need to let them sort out their own squabbles and soothe their own hurts and learn to get up and try again. Learning the proper adult role, is where the most learning is needed. The children know innately how to play. They need nothing but their imagination. We need to learn how to let them use it to its fullest potential WITHOUT interfering. <br />This is what I have loved most about your blogs, you seem to have mastered the art of respecting this ability in children. You are busy changing the narrative about how children are helpless and NEED us. I would LOVE you to write a book with that being your main theme.<br />Good luck, it isn't easy. I will buy one for sure.<br /><br />Sandy GoodSandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831838300040641353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-24005274987456764252015-12-04T18:43:26.246-08:002015-12-04T18:43:26.246-08:00Yes, I'm totally in favor of this idea! Our n...Yes, I'm totally in favor of this idea! Our new co-op playschool has been looking to your blog for wisdom as we set up our classroom, write a policy handbook, and craft documents to help our parent assistants in the classroom. We are also relying heavily on two other books, It's OK Not to Share and Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting. Those books accompany us to meetings, and we frequently flip through to see "What does Heather Shumaker have to say about this?" and so on. It would be amazing to have a sort of "guidebook" to creating the type of play-based classroom you have - what materials should we have, how should we lay out the space, what advice should we give parents for helping in the classroom, how can we inspire and extend play, what limits should we set, what should we consider when hiring a teacher? There are three other play-based co-op schools in Philadelphia and we are all trying to learn from each other - but I'd love to have a sort of handy reference, and something I can easily put on a "suggested reading" list for parents.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13619355807831520342noreply@blogger.com