Mister rogers was right!

Mister Rogers Was Right!Keep It Simple!

Keynote Presentation

Concordia Early Childhood Conference

March 2015

Drew D. Gerdes

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Thanks for joining me!

Today I hope you:

Learn something new

Are affirmed

Smile

Reflect

Fill your bucket!

Teaching…Yesterday…

Teaching…Today…

What Happened?

Kids are different

Families are different

Society/Culture is different

Pressure/Stress

So many outside influences are impacting our

classrooms.

How Do You Feel?

Stressed?

Frustrated?

Agitated?

Crazy?

Tired?

Ready for the adventure?!?!

Criers, Whiners, and I-don’t-want-to-ers

Does this describe you or some of your students?

How can we make our job –our ministry – more

enjoyable?

For kids and adults

Allies and Partners

I want to be your ally.

I want to be your partner.

I want to make sure you love what you do and are

able to effectively meet the individual needs of

students.

We need to meet the needs of all our students.

Don’t teach the class – TEACH THE KIDS!!!

Each child must feel like they have an IEP – in a good way.

Get to know your students SO WELL that each of them feels you are individually teaching just to them!

Meeting Their Needs

Learning to self-regulate attention and behavior is one of the major developmental milestones to childhood.

There are substantial implications for educational opportunity and achievement.

Self-regulation is the ability focus attention away from a less-desirable behavior to one that is more favorable.

Self-Regulation Skills

Self-Regulation

Teachers and classroom environments play a highly

critical role in the success of children’s self-regulatory

learning.

Remember to put the needs of students first!

Self-Regulation

Effective teachers support the development of self-regulation by organizing

their classrooms as a means of managing children’s behavior, incorporating

strategies that are interesting to children, and

my cultivating strong relationships.

Make It Happen!

By intentionally making sure there is “less”

…distractions

…behavioral interruptions

…stress

…boredom

You and the kids will have MORE!!!

Slow Down

Mister Rogers…

Never raised his voice

Never rushed

Never criticized

Always spoke calmly & gently

Always spoke with sincerity

Slow Down Even More

The Yellow Light Tolerance of delay

Small pauses in dialogue…

Allow children to think and respond.

Helps children pay attention better and remember more.

Strengthens self-regulation!

The Big Question…!!!

What will you do to help

your students succeed?

Teaching Just To Them…Individually!

When children watch Mister Rogers, there is a magical

feeling about the conversation.

It’s like he’s speaking individually just to one child.

Genuine care and attention!

Can you talk just like him?

You can have the best facility, toys, furniture, etc…

But…the atmosphere and climate of the environment is what is most important.

Kids can tell when you aren’t prepared, are having a bad day, don’t like something, etc.

Be proactive in everything you can!

The Best Atmosphere

Our Neighborhood

Our neighborhood is the classroom environment.

Each person is genuinely loved, valued, and well-

cared for.

Anyone is welcome at any time. There are no

interruptions.

Our Neighborhood Friends

Our Routine

The importance of a predictable routine in the lives of young children…

How do you encourage children to be successful in

what they do?

Age-appropriate “jobs” and “responsibilities”…

Our Course

Our course of action is determined by:

Goals and objectives

The children!!!

Sometimes the children will take a path that we never

even thought of.

Our “Little Things”

Often times the “stress” of being a teacher, getting

everything done, and trying to make sure the children

are learning gets in the way with what really is

important.

Its often that one little, simple thing that makes the

biggest difference.

Our Minds

Mister Rogers always has topical pieces that were

informative and discussed issues centered around

children.

Age-appropriate

A Garden of the Mind

Things grow nicely, or whither away.

We need to grow the right things and develop them.

Cultivating the mind

Our Creativity

Mister Rogers asks a lot of questions: open-ended

questions…

What do you think?

How would you feel?

Exploration

Creativity builds self-esteem

Our Imagination

The Land of Make-Believe

Characters were named after people in his family.

There is a clear distinction between real-life and make-

believe.

The imagination is one of a child’s greatest gifts.

Imagination builds much more than block towers.

Our Social Interactions

Mister Rogers Top 10

Accept others.

Recognize how unique you are.

Expressing emotions is okay.

Teach by example.

Everyone should make the world a better place.

It’s not what you possess that matters, but rather what you

do with it.

Teach gently and articulately.

Be kind.

Remember others’ feelings.

Loving someone is the hardest, and best, kind of

work.

What would Mister Rogers do?

My Reflective Question…

Never Forget…

Drew D. Gerdes

Early Childhood Director

Messiah Lutheran School

Weldon Spring, Missouri

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: EducationEase

Twitter: @ddgerdes

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