Case Study - Peggy Dunn

After viewing the tape reflections:

I had read of a study where preschoolers were treated with apparently arbitrary prejudice over a week or two and their responses and feelings were explored. I would be much too uncomfortable to set up a classroom in such a manner but I was interested in leading into the Center activities with the premise that I would use two criteria (curly hair and brown eyes) to determine who would be able to take part in the Centers. Even that much was difficult for me, as I watched those trusting eyes gazing up at me as I explained who would be left out. It was so apparent that the children would follow whatever criteria I told them and would do so without much questioning of me or my motives--I am the teacher and so what I say, goes. It was a heavy burden for me as I explained how we would be doing the Centers. But it did spark a good discussion of fairness and equality and how people should be treated. And I was relieved to hear a few thoughtful individuals voice the belief that it wouldn't be as much fun and they wouldn't feel right if some of their friends couldn't do the same things they could. I was struck with the quality and depth of the responses from the two children on whom we focused. I had heard quite a bit of rhetoric from Ellen(not her real name) and didn't know how much understanding she had behind her rote responses. I was pleased to hear how she answered Rodney's questions and based what she said on things she had learned in the Centers. I expected thoughtful responses from Frank (not his real name) and although he was brief, I felt he reflected good growth and understanding of the two Core Values. To my relief, both children reflected positively on the use of Learning Centers. I will be using the Centers again next year with the changes I mentioned in the interview. The book I read is a good one but is a bit too "wordy" for this grade level. As I did after the first reading, next year I will be reading only parts of the book and I'll spend more time teaching them the song, which seemed to be unfamiliar to the majority. As much as I like to include the use of technology in my lesson planning, I always do so with great trepidation, knowing that many things will most likely go wrong. But I want the children to use internet sites and available software in a comfortable fashion, with the sure expectation that it will work, and the only way to accomplish that is to continue to expose them regularly to technology. I am happy to have had the chance to plan so intentionally for Social Studies and to have so much input on which to reflect and evaluate the lessons.