Donald Stewart Early Childhood Center is a dual-language preschool located in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The school is comprised of 22 classrooms in which our students are grouped by age group and includes two special education classrooms. At Donald Stewart, we have high academic expectations for all 308 of our students. In order to help each learner meet these high standards, we the staff must first ensure that our students are equipped with the ability to self-motivate and regulate their own behavior, so they lead successful lives. This is not an easy task given the age group of our students that ranges from 3 to 5 years old. In the following paragraphs, we will provide examples of how, despite the challenges, our school has successfully put in place essential practices and initiatives that develop intrinsic motivation and reinforces its commitment to ethical character.
Foundation
The “High Scope” approach to learning has been the foundation of our program since our center first opened in 2004. The program’s student-led approach to learning is perfectly conducive to fostering intrinsic motivation in children. The teachers at our school implement the High Scope method by first designing each room to include seven important areas: dramatic play, block, art, math/small toys, science, library, and private area/calming area. Next, the teachers carefully develop a daily routine that includes: greeting time, plan/do/review, small group, large group, music and movement, and gross motor play. This particular room arrangement and daily routine empowers the children with the ability to make decisions in a safe and predictable environment. For instance, the children typically begin the day after breakfast on the carpet in a large group. During this greeting time, the teacher leads an informal discussion on topics such as who is in attendance, who is absent, and the weather. An integral activity that is incorporated into greeting time is the morning Message. During this activity, the teacher verbally and visually informs the students of the day’s events including special classes they may have such as gym, music, or art. The teacher might also include any special assemblies, class visitors, new materials, or any other changes they should expect. The teacher will then review the daily routine with the use of simple and familiar pictures that represent each part of the day. Knowing exactly what their day will consist of and having a visual representation displayed helps to lessen anxiety in some individuals, especially young children.
Following greeting time, the children will transition into two smaller groups where they will plan where, what, and with whom they will work. This begins the first part of the plan/do/review component of the High Scope day. Giving children the opportunity to choose work areas and materials acts to fuel their excitement within their educational experiences. A child may have a current interest in building castles in the block area. Allowing children the freedom to pursue that passion opens up endless teaching opportunities for the teacher to act upon. Knowing what special interests the students have provides the teacher insight as to what is driving the students, therefore giving her the information necessary to create meaningful lessons. During work time or the “do” portion of the day, the children execute their plans. Work Time is extremely valuable because the children gain a sense of control over their environment, and this in turn leads to an increase in their self-confidence. If at any time a child feels the need to be alone, each classroom has a special private/quiet area with soothing materials such as pillows, soft toys, and books where the student can relax. At the conclusion of work time, the students regroup again and recollect. This time of reflection allows the children an opportunity to recount their experiences and possibly give them new ideas that create excitement for the next day.
Building Socio-Emotional Skills
In order to thrive in school and life in general, people must first have a good set of social and emotional skills. We at Donald Stewart School, focus equally if not more on teaching these essential building blocks that our students will carry forward and continue to fine tune. Our teachers introduce the “Second Step Program” for students who are 3 years old. The teachers implement the unit-based lessons daily. Through the use of puppets, songs, books, poster cards, and discussions, the children learn a myriad of character-building lessons. The skills taught include: learning, empathy, managing emotions, building friendships, problem solving, and transitioning into kindergarten. The children become familiar with songs that help them move throughout the day in a successful manner. For instance, the program teaches them a clean-up song that the teacher incorporates regularly into the routine. If a child is unsure of what to do, the friendly and familiar lyrics aid the child in the task of cleaning. Another example is a song to cue the children that the teacher will start a lesson. The short and simple song gives the children step by step directions as to what their eyes, ears, voices, and bodies should be doing. The song is accompanied by four poster cards that illustrate children modeling the behaviors. These fundamental skills that are presented and practiced during their first year is then reinforced when they return the following year as 4-year-old students.
Strategies in Place
Our collective goal at Donald Stewart School is for all our students to feel pride in themselves and their education which ultimately leads to intrinsic motivation to do well in school and beyond. Through our collaborative efforts, we have established common practices that are evident in every classroom. Displayed in each are age-appropriate classroom rules that have been created along with the students. The students have an understanding that the rules are in place to ensure a safe environment to learn and play. The rules have been written to include illustrations and are in an accessible location for everyone’s reference. Students also examine what emotions they are feeling that morning and have the opportunity to talk about it with their teacher and peers. There is a feelings chart where students can place their names or symbols in accordance to how they feel at the time. Teachers regularly conduct formal and informal lessons on emotions to ensure the children know how to identify their feelings. Each child has some ownership with their individual cubby in which to keep their belongings. Cubbies are labeled with the child’s name and a symbol that is unique to that one child and is used throughout the room. Seeing their name throughout the room (on a cot, cubby, chair, chart, etc.) and having the ability to handle it gives them a sense of autonomy. If children feel overwhelmed, upset, or just need alone time, there are several quiet areas in the classroom where they can go and have their private time and space respected. Along with recognizing their own emotions and those of others, the children practice how to handle social conflicts that arise throughout their day. Teachers regularly read stories on topics such as sharing, bullying, feelings, taking turns, friendship, etc. There are conflict resolution boxes that contain picture cards with strategies for the children to apply according to the situation. For example, if there is a conflict in the Dramatic Play area because two children want to use the broom, they or another child witnessing the situation can access the box to gather ideas. Among the many cards they might find helpful for that particular conflict, might be one that illustrates two children taking turns, or one of a timer, or a card that shows children trading toys. Many teachers also have conflict resolution helper as one of the classroom jobs. Classroom job assignments where children choose a job themselves is an effective method for children to learn responsibility and feel a sense of worth.
School Spirit
Another way our school fosters self-motivation in our young learners is through instilling school spirit throughout the year. The children experience unity every morning while reciting the district’s pledge of ethics followed by our school’s mottoes, “Friends Care; Friends Share” and “We are Green, We are Cool, We Recycle in our School.” The school also joins together to celebrate diversity during our “Light it up Blue for Autism” assembly, partaking in our school’s Special Olympics and in celebration of character education during our “Panda Pride Parade” and “Character Super Hero Day.” The teachers develop lessons to prepare the students prior to the celebrations thus bringing awareness to the meaning of the events. The teachers lead discussions and typically follow up lessons by having the children reflect what they learned and express themselves through drawings. Their display of drawings and event photographs helps to promote feelings of kindness and compassion.
Support
In addition to having resources such as Second Step Program, the teachers continuously receive training during professional learning community, staff, and early childhood meetings, and the Elizabeth School District provides several professional development workshops throughout the year. I, as principal, also create a school improvement panel each year that is comprised of five teachers from our building that meet monthly with me to analyze data, discuss pertinent topics, and devise new methods for implementation. The trainings throughout the year serve to ensure that everyone that has a role in our students’ educational journey at our school understands the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. We at Donald Stewart School have moved away from traditional methods of superficial rewards and are always on the search for ways to instill a true love of learning for both our children and staff alike.
Commitment to Ethical Character
From the start of the school day until dismissal time, every student in our school is continuously exposed to a positive culture from the staff to promote ethical character. Students are warmly greeted by name every morning before entering their classroom. As the staff escorts the students to their respective classrooms, we can clearly hear small conversations forming during their short walk. These short but meaningful conversations always start with, “How are you doing today?” and end with, “Have a great day today.” It is often our attention to the small things that makes the difference in the way our students perceive the school community. The positive culture can be felt among the staff as they greet each other throughout the day modeling ethical character. “The key to successful school performance is heart and spirit infused into relationships among people, their efforts to serve all students, and a shared sense of responsibility for learning” (Peterson & Deal, 2009). As the students walk into their classroom, we help them develop self-help skills, from taking off their jackets to washing hands and eating breakfast; however, we also ensure that we model empathy. The word “help” is commonly heard throughout our school building. We think of teaching as “helping” our students learn, and we believe empathy is the best way to lead and inspire others to do more and be better. Our school motto is one example that reflects our core value, “Friends Care, Friends Share.” Every day, our school community is reminded of our responsibility to care for each other. Before the start of each school day, we pledge to “understand that my school is a special place,” “listen when someone is talking, dress appropriately for teaching and learning, care about my friends, learn from my teachers and friends” (, 2008). In order to continuously improve our approach to character education, we use data such as surveys to measure our level of accountability and commitment in modeling ethical character. We believe that our school must promote “the success of every student by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by all stakeholders” (National Policy Board of Educational Administration, 2008).
Planning, Designing, and Implementing Schoolwide Character Initiative
At Donald Stewart Early Childhood Center, Character Education training is an integral part of our initiative in promoting the success of every student. We have a Character Education Committee that meets regularly to develop activities and programs that are aligned with character development and this information is turnkeyed to the staff. “Character Superhero Day” was a successful schoolwide initiative that promoted ethical character with a fun and inspiring approach. In the classrooms, teachers read stories and spoke about different super hero powers, such as kindness, empathy, respect, love, compassion, ethic, honesty, et cetera. On Character Superhero Day, students wore capes labeled with the power of their choice, and they were asked to use their super power throughout the day. The event was documented in a video and shared with our parents on our social media page. Parents cried tears of joy and pride witnessing their kind-hearted children expressing generosity, respect, and empathy for one another. Although character education cannot be measured with standardized testing, our students’ actions and intentions are the evidence of our successful initiative. A school culture that promotes ethical character requires the involvement and planning that includes all stakeholders. Our school improvement panel is a key factor in ensuring the integration of character education into our academic curriculum. From data analysis to reviewing journal articles and developing new programs to be shared during faculty meetings, our school community is continuously receiving the training necessary to execute our character education plans. Our school focuses strongly on socioemotional skills and we use the Early Learning Scale from the National Institute for Early Education Research to collect important data in improving character development. We also use the Classroom Assessment Scoring System to help train our staff and faculty members on subjects such as classroom climate, teacher sensitivity, regards for student perspectives, productivity, etc. In the classroom, teachers use the Second Step program to promote socioemotional learning directly aligned with our schoolwide character initiative. We believe that the effectiveness of character education must be rooted in a common school vision that is shared by all our stakeholders. As Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can accomplish so little, but together we can do so much.”
Learning, Planning, and Reflecting on Teacher Character in Their Role
This school year, our professional learning communities are discussing a book titled How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. The inspiring stories about the process of building character gave our staff a better understanding of character education’s impact on our students, especially in an urban school district like ours. Paul Tough commented:
Here’s one way of looking at character: It can function as a substitute for the social safety net—the support from their families and schools and culture that protects them from the consequences of occasional detours and mistakes and bad decisions. If you don’t have that kind of safety net—and children in low-income families almost by definition do not—you need to compensate in another way. To succeed, you need more grit, more social intelligence, more self-control than wealthier kids. (Tough, p. 103)
Conclusion
As a lifelong learning community, we invest our time and effort in learning about planning and reflecting on the teaching of character in our roles. At the classroom level, teachers use the information provided to them to plan and develop their lessons aligning with our vision. Our Parent Teacher Organization plays an integral part of the planning process providing activities that are aligned with character education. They work alongside the parental involvement committee to ensure all stakeholders share the common vision of a comprehensive approach to character education within our school community. With a strong emphasis on self-motivation and a continued commitment to character education by the staff, students and community, Donald Stewart Early Childhood Center continues to make strides for a positive today and a promising future.
