Our group met to discuss our research on four types of child care program models that we didn’t have prior knowledge about. It was interesting to learn about the various models that are around that we otherwise had not heard or known much about. Karli’s Bank Street model was probably the most interesting, as it seems to be more of an American model. She explained that she couldn’t find anything in Canada for this model. The most similar that we could come up with was the pre-kindergarten program that Ontario offers, but we weren’t really sure if that was close enough. This model was developed by a range of professionals from anthropologists, and psychologists, among others that is based on the environment that the children are learning in, the teacher as a classmate, and educating the child as a whole. This model was reminiscent of the Reggio model with the environmental aspect as well as looking at the child as a whole. This school program runs up to grade 8, and includes a nursery school for pre-kindergarten. Due to it being an American program, we couldn’t find what regulations it would fall under.
Juanita’s model was the Roots of Empathy program, which is an anti-bullying and anti-aggression program that it taught to children in elementary and early learning classrooms. The roots of empathy program is for elementary students and it falls under the school district regulations, while the seeds of empathy is the early learning program and falls under the municipal childcare licensing regulations. This program was created for elementary students to learn about empathy, by seeing first-hand the needs and emotions of an infant who is brought to their classroom on a regular basis. Studies have shown that this program decreased bullying and aggression among elementary students. A quote from the creator of the program states that “Empathy is not taught, it is caught.” I thought that was a very true statement, demonstrated by children in a group where one person decides to be nice to someone, the other children in that group will also be nice to that person.
Katy researched the Montessori program model. This model focuses on the child as an independent and respected child. The classroom is purposefully designed, in a minimalist way to avoid clutter and over-stimulation. Natural materials are used and activities are planned that could be done in “real-life”. This auto-education allows children to develop necessary life skills, and make independent choices about what work would like to do, based on what the teacher has provided.
Personally, I feel that the Banks model fits best with my philosophy. This model is child-centered, and focuses on all of the developmental domains through hands-on and experience based learning in a collaborative classroom. The roots of Empathy program is also beautiful, and would be a great addition to any classroom. After visiting a Montessori classroom in practicum, I knew that program model was not something that I would be interested in offering.