Remarks II: August 21, 2002
Remarks II: August 21, 2002
Louise Plusquellec delivered the following remarks at The College of Wooster Nursery School Parents' Meeting, August 21, 2002
Louise is a former College of Wooster Nursery School parent and a former teacher at the school. She is beginning her 25th year teaching first graders at Wayne Elementary school.
As a nursery school parent, I learned that this was a place where my child was happy, where my child was important, where my child was treated lovingly, and where I as a parent was treated lovingly, too. And I thought it was place where my child was learning things that would help him do well when he got into the public schools.
As a nursery school teacher, I learned how happy it made me to be with young children, how important they truly are, how much love they give back when they are treated lovingly, and even how loving their parents can be! And I thought it was a place where the children were learning things that would help them do well when they got into the public schools.
In 24 years as a first grade teacher, receiving into my classroom both children who have had the nursery school experience and those who have not, I have learned that it still makes me happy to be with young children, that they are still as loving as ever, and that they and their parents are still terribly, terribly important. And now I know that this nursery school is a place where children are learning things that will help them do well when they get into the public schools!
We all know that every child is different, that every child develops and learns in his own time and at her own pace, but all of them are moving along a continuum and are pretty much headed in the same general direction. When children come into kindergarten and first grade, invariably those who have had nursery school or preschool experience are moving smoothly along that continuum. They know pretty much what to expect in a situation labelled "school." They know something about the expectations for behavior in a group. They know something about how to hold a crayon or a pair of scissors. They know something about numbers and letters and words and stories. And best of all, they know how to play.
Play is a funny thing. In the adult world, play is the opposite of work. In the world of children, play is work. It is the terribly important work they do to help themselves learn about the big and often confusing world into which they are growing. And in a developmentally structured situation such as a nursery school, children's play is not just wild tearing around imitating TV, it's not sitting in front of a Playstation by the hour - those things may have their place, but children also need something more, and more is what they're getting in nursery school. In their play and the interaction it provides with other children and with teachers, they are learning the importance of words and how to use them, they are learning to interact positively with other people, they are learning to problem-solve, they are learning to listen, they are learning to explore.
Children who have not had the opportunity to explore these things in a preschool setting sometimes find themselves struggling when they come into the more structured setting of the public schools. Even if they have been in daycare, they often have not had the experiences that will help them move smoothly into the world of school. Instead of being able to take advantage of the learning opportunities that present themselves, they are having to deal with the whole brand new situation of school itself and what it's all about.
One more small but really important thing - children never forget their nursery school experience. Last year I had a first-grader bring in to share with the class the notebook she had put together here as she went through her last year in this nursery school. A fifth grade teacher who also used to teach here has told me of some of her students happily recalling their nursery school days. And my son, who is now 39, still has friendships that were made in nursery school.
I'd like to share a quote from the writer Anna Quindlen, who said this about reading, but I think it is equally applicable to reading and to children's play, so I've changed the one word. "In play, I learned who I was and who I wanted to be, what I might aspire to, and what I might dare to dream about my world and myself." The College of Wooster Nursery School is a place where your child can dare to dream, and I can give it no higher praise. Lucky you, lucky children, have a wonderful year!