"The Corner Store"

As you read Eudora Welty’s story called; “The Corner Store”, she takes you on a journey back in time to her childhood memories of Mr. Session’s corners store.  Welty gives a very illustrated description of the store; from the red brick exterior to the obscured darkness you meet as you entered inside the store. She talks about the many shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling and wrap around the store.  The shelves were filled with everything from lard, matches, kerosene to octagon soap. They carry such a diverse variety of foods that ranged from jars of pickles, bread, and milk to cans of sardines.  She reminisces about the sweet smell of licorice that filled the air and all delicious varieties of penny candy like; gum drops, tootsie rolls, wine-balls and lollipops.  Mr. Sessions would allow Welty to place her hand into the mouth of the candy jar and scoop the candy into her paper bag.  She talks about the many chocolates that are still popular to this day for instance Hershey Bars, Goo-Goo Clusters, and Baby Ruth’s .  When she wasn't in the mood for candy she would ask Mr. Sessions to fish out an ice cold soda pop from one of the huge barrels of ice water.  The barrels contained many popular sodas such as Coca-Cola and Orange Crush but her favorite one was a locally bottled soda concoction called, Mr. Lakes Celery Soda.  Welty said, “Enchantment is cast upon you by all those things you weren't supposed to have need for, it lures you close to wooden tops you'd outgrown, boy's marbles and agates in little net pouches, small rubber balls that wouldn't bounce straight, frazzly kite-string, clay bubble-pipes that would snap off in your teeth, the stiffest scissors.” These items were some of the toys that they were popular in her time period.  Every day before Welty would leave the store, she would look forward to being weighed on Mr. Sessions scale that stood by the door.  The scale was described as a stand up scale with a 20 stack of iron weights and a brass slide; on the balance arm.  He would place Welty on his scale and have her stand still as he weighed her.  He would wait patiently for her to be ready to come down and never rushed her off.  This was a fun experience that she would look forward to doing every time she went to his store. 

As you read her story you feel as if you are right there; standing by her side, seeing and smelling everything that she describes.  You can also envision all the different varieties of candies that she could choose from and buy; by the handfuls, from one single penny.  I can taste the refreshing, ice cold Coca-Cola and Orange Crush soda, and try to imagine what Welty's favorite, Mr. Lake’s Celery Soda would taste like. Mr. Lake's Celery soda was a popular treat, but in all honesty, it doesn't seem to enticing for me to even want to try it. The store described in Welty’s story sounds just like the store I would go to as a young girl.  My corner store was called the, Quick Shop and was owned by Mr. Dubois.  It was set up basically the same way as Mr. Sessions’s store.  Mr. Dubois had shelves that reached to the ceilings and wrapped all around the store and were filled with a multitude of items just as Welty described in her story.

I remember walking to my corner store at the bottom of my hill every day.  My parents would send my brother and I to store to pick up the things that they needed for our household. Just like Welty we too were occasionally allowed to use some of the money that was left over to buy candy or refreshments.  Sometimes I would try to hide the bread or drink all the milk just for a reason to go to the corner store.  Mr. Dubois was a lot like Mr. Sessions. He was always a very helpful, patient and a kind man.  He would allow me to hang out in his store with his sons Dennis and David and some of our friends from school.  Every Friday when I would get my five dollars allowance, I would run down to the store to spend it all on toys or penny candy. The Quick Shop also had the same variety of items as Mr. Sessions store did.  The toys that were popular back when I was a kid were similar to those of Welty’s.  We had the wooden tops and rubber balls but I don’t recall the marbles being sold there.  We had the fake rings, yo-yos, wolf pack poppers and jacks.  Toys were built very well not cheap like today’s toys.

Welty describes the corner store as one of her most favorite places to go as a child.  The owner of the store Mr. Sessions is characterized as a caring, helpful and patient man. The store itself may have been filled with items that would draw her or any child in but its the owner himself that makes her want to go back to the store each day.  Basically, all the small stores at that time would have the same items and be set up in a similar manor.  If the owner Mr. Sessions was described as a crabby old man who was impatient and unkind, I don't think that her corner store would have such wonderful memories to look back on.

“The Corner Store”  story is filled with so many rich details that even if you didn't grow up in that time era; you can still imagine what it was like to live back then.  Welty uses all 5 senses to accomplish that experience.  You can see the shelves that are up to the ceiling;, filled with all the many ranges of different items. Taste all the different assortments of penny candy and feel the cold soda pop in your hands and on your tongue.  Smell the jars of pickles that fill the air and make your mouth water. She also describes the smell of licorice as she walked in the door.  Last but not least, you can hear how much she loved her corner store that Mr. Sessions owned and all the life long memories she made there.

"Early Childhood Dispositions for Teachers and Trainees"

                     "Early Childhood Dispositions for Teachers and Trainees"        

        Nationwide, teachers and anyone in the early childhood field are  encouraged to further their education in order to provide a better learning environment for their students.  Professional organizations have set the foundation for which they believe are the most important areas of education that need improvement. Each state has created their own guidelines to follow in order to enhance their children's education and also to strengthen their teacher's teaching skills.  One important emphasis has been made on how a teachers disposition can have a very significant effect on a child's education.  The authors of "Early Childhood Dispositions for Teachers and Trainees",  Susan Harper-Whalen and Sandra L. Morris, really put a lot of emphasis on how important one's disposition is; in early childhood education. Whalen and Morris make many references to other authors, but most of their article is based on two particular authors.  Those authors are, Marge Carter and Deb Curtis, in reference to their 7 core disposition theory. 

            Since I work as a T.A. in the early childhood education field, I can honestly tell you that these two authors Whalen and Morris have done their research.  Anyone who works with children whether its teachers aides, teachers assistants, or teachers themselves; are being required to take college courses and workshops.  I have been able attend CCRI thanks to these organizations that are giving the financial aid that is needed to attend these classes.  These courses are a wonderful way to improve all of our teaching skills and give us a completely different approach on our teaching methods.  We are finding out that children learn more productively through play then the previous methods of sit there, look, listen and do as I tell you to do.

              My Head Start utilizes Carter's and Curtis's 7 core disposition approach in all our schools. They truly believe in their methods and have incorporated it into our curriculum.  When you use their methods everyday it becomes like second nature to you.  The following list is Carter's and Curtis's 7 core disposition theory.

 ~ Delight in and be curious about fostering children's

development, establishing a focus on individual children.

~ Learn to truly value play and its role in the teaching/

learning process.

~ Expect change and challenge as a member of the

early childhood profession.

~ Be willing to take risks and make mistakes; this is

the foundation for learning.

~ Build in frequent and regular time for reflection and

self-examination.

~ Look for opportunities for collaboration and peer

support.

~ Become a confident and active advocate for children

  There are teachers that are extremely book smart but do not have these dispositions that are needed in order to give the children the best education possible. Once you have an understanding of how these methods work and apply it to your teaching skills you will notice a major difference in your students and in yourself.

            It is so important for people who work with young children to get to know each and every one of them on a personal level.  By doing this, you will be able to provide each child with the individual help that they need to reach their personal goals.  The educational needs for each individual may be quite different than those of others but you can incorporate their needs into a classroom curriculum.  

             Through play, each and every one of your students will be able to learn more efficiently.  In fact, the children often teach one another without even knowing they're doing so. Teachers may need to scaffold the children in the right direction but you will be surprised just how fast the children learn and in turn teach others.   

            Working with children has been such a wonderful experience for me.  I have probably learned more from them than any educational course I have ever taken.  Don't get me wrong,  thanks to these classes I am learning important skills that are required for teaching children.  Although, observing the children and getting to know them on a personal level, has taught me that each child  is special and unique in their own way and require individual attention.  A teacher can graduate the top of their class and be very knowledgeable, however if they don't have that special charisma that is required to be an efficient teacher, they will not be as effective as they could be.

             I am so grateful that I have been given an opportunity to further my education through the grants that I have received.  I have been able to view teaching in a whole new light.  I have been trying to apply everything I have learned to become a more productive teacher. There were a few important things that I already knew before coming into this profession which were how important it is to have a loving, caring, and mindful disposition.    Being patient and understanding of parent/child's circumstances are also very important qualities to have.   Having these skills are a huge plus while working with children but you do need to have the educational skills in order to be able to teach them accordingly.  Professionals across the country are improving their knowledge of early childhood development for the education and well-being of their students.

"Moving Bodies, Building Minds"

       "Moving Bodies, Building Minds" was written by, Michelle L. Marigliano and Michele J. Russo.  This  is article states that you can "Foster preschoolers' critical thinking and problem solving skills through creative movement". They recommend that teachers use the NDEO's (National Dance Education Organization) standards; to teach children how to express themselves by using creative movements. Marigliano and Russso wrote that most children are naturally active and use movement to express themselves and to explore the world. This article states that the children will learn how to use movement experiences to develop both receptive and expressive language skills.   Children will also learn how to think before they act, pay attention to details and learn how to reflect on different experiences so that they can learn from them.  
Teachers use the three E's method: Engage, Expand, and Empower. You can engage a child by selecting an element such as (big or little) and relationship (under, behind, around) as they dance to a song and watch their peers moves. The teacher can expand their student’s experiences through open-ended questions such as; what kind of animals were in the book? Can you show me how the snake in the book looks like when it slithers on the forest floor? Finally empower, you can empower a child in many ways by acknowledging the child’s achievements whether it’s making a shape, snake, or a movement to a song.

            This was a very educational article; especially for people who are in the early childhood education field.  Creative movement, is definitely a powerful tool in learning. Even as babies they use movement to discover the world and learn from their experiences.

            I personally have learned some great ideas on how to incorporate creative movements in different areas of teaching.  One of my favorite parts of this article was when the teacher had her students pretend that a part of their body was glued to the floor and each child had to find other parts of the body that they could still move. The children were able to discover different parts of their body's and all the different ways they could move them. When the teacher asked the students to think back to what movements their peers were doing, they were able to develop their memory skills. They then created a chart making a list of all the body parts and how they can move them using words like twisting, shaking, lifting etc. This was a great way to  teach them sight words and expanded their vocabulary.  Sometimes a teacher may need to redirect and scaffold a child for the child to be able to express themselves.They also were able to see what their peers were doing and asked if they could mimic it. They had to think about what they had saw and show their teachers how it was done. 

       Another thing I loved was how she sang songs and added shapes and letters in it.  The children had to use their body and make that shape on the floor; some on their own and some with assistance from their classmates.  The story books that have the CD's with them, are another fun way to reenact the book.  For instance if it was the Jungle Book, the children could imitate any of the animals, they could use this as an opportunity to show the other children how to become that animal.  The teacher could scaffold the students to help them come up with different ways the animals could move.  
      There was a passage in this article that was very inspiring it said: To the young child, verbal language and movement are entwined.  Preverbal movement expression does not cease when a child develops language.  The road to literacy involves the translation of movement expression and communication into words. Language and dance are not separate threads, but are woven together and incorporated into a fabric of communication and understanding. (NDEO 2005,4) I think this sums it all up.