MEET THE TEACHER Canaan Quinlivan Ponsonby Montessori Kindergarten How did you come to be an early childhood teacher? I came to teaching as an adult, bringing to my teaching a variety of life and work experiences. I decided to re-train as an early childhood teacher so that when I had my own children I could work and teach with them. They are now seven and five years of age and love going to school! Where did you train? I am a qualified, fully registered teacher. I trained at the University of Auckland’s School of Education and hold a Graduate Diploma of Education (ECE). I also hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree, specialising in Indonesian Studies and Asian History, and a Post-Graduate Diploma of Business (Human Resource Management). I am currently studying towards a teaching qualification specialising in Montessori Education. What brought you to Ponsonby Montessori Kindergarten? My parents purchased the centre business in December of 2012. My mother, Shelley, is the onsite owner/operator and brings to the centre a wealth of experience from her many years as a primary teacher and her deputy principal management experience. When my parents purchased the business, I joined them as we had complementary skills and ideas. As a team the staff here is committed to providing a high quality programme aligned with both the Montessori philosophy and the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum. What has been the highlight of your teaching career? Regularly catching up in the community with children I have taught in years past and being delighted to hear how successful they are at school, academically and socially. Participation in quality early childhood programmes supports later success at school and in life. And the low point? Seeing the impact of doing away with the 100% qualified teachers funding tier for early childhood centres and replacing it with a maximum funding tier of 80% qualified teachers.
How would your Centre Manager describe you? I checked! Team player, committed and passionate about quality early childhood education, a clear communicator who values the partnership between the centre and families, knowledgeable about ages, stages, developmental readiness and potential of pre-schoolers - and has a strong commitment to Montessori Education. How would other teachers describe you? Funnily enough we have just had our peer evaluations and this is what they said: dedicated, always willing to share ideas, a team player, leads by example, always sees the potential in every child, knowledgeable about how children learn and what each child needs as a ‘next step’ in learning. How would your students describe you? Our tamariki are young but they would probably say I am excited about their learning and always keen to listen to their ideas. Our teachers actually asked this question recently and one of our children said, “She always reads me stories” while another said “She shows me interesting things”. If you could wave a magic wand in your classroom: Every child would be enrolled in a quality preschool education programme, with well trained, committed teachers. Five tips for mums and dads of preschool kids: 1. Read, read, read, to them from babyhood. Research tells us that being read to from an early age is linked to later literacy success. 2. Talk, talk, talk as much as possible. Engage in conversations and dialogue. Talking develops children’s language skills and provides them with a wide ranging vocabulary. 3. Help them to develop their own independence and self-care skills. Try not to do anything for them that they can do for themselves. Sometimes this is hard because it can take so much longer but experiential learning is so important in developing independence. 4. Be consistent in your approach and have clear boundaries around behaviour. Do what you say you are going to do and follow through, as your responses help guide their reactions. Children appreciate it just as much as adults do. 5. Have fun with and enjoy your children! They are only young for a short period of time.
DEIRDRE TOHILL: LOCAL NEWS
Spirited ageing WITH FOLK LIVING WELL BEYOND THEIR THREE SCORES and ten, there’s much concern about an ageing population and how society should deal with this unprecedented state of affairs. Juliet Batten is a psychotherapist who has written many books and her latest, Spirited Ageing is particularly relevant given there’s a dearth of advice out there on how to cope with the vicissitudes of great old age. When treating older clients she became aware that a number of them were anxious about ageing and were afraid of dying. By researching the subject she found psychologists and therapists were declaring that we have to prepare for old age so she decided to write a self help book for those in need. Juliet was alone in Paris when she gave birth to her first child. With no family support, and few friends who could speak English, she bought a book on childbirth to guide her through a significant life change. Her own way of dealing with an event outside her experience has motivated her to write a book on how to deal with the transition into old age. She first wrote ‘Growing into Wisdom’, which explores important questions regarding midlife and the prospect of ageing. All the books in circulation aimed at the middle-aged just seemed to be full of advice on how to stay young, which is totally unhelpful. This was a forerunner to ‘Spirited Ageing’ which takes a step further, teaching people how to embrace ageing and be lifted into a whole new stage of growth. Both titles have a wide readership because they complement one another. Juliet’s oldest fan is a woman of 92 in a rest home. Her son gave her a copy of Spirited Ageing and she just loved it, claiming, as many others have, that reading it made her feel energised. An important message is not to become preoccupied with negatives otherwise our lives become more and more narrow. This applies to the body as well because in Juliet’s words, ‘it’s like watching a sinking ship!’ She says we should concentrate on our passions, our
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creativity, the things that spark our inner fire. We need to focus on quality relationships, the love of our children, grandchildren and friends, giving them more attention than we give our ailments. Later in life people tend to have a sense of loss because they are running out of the things that once gave them pleasure. Then there’s coping with the loss of parents, maybe partners, friends, jobs which often induces a fear of what’s ahead in the looming future. There’s warnings too of what not to do. It’s important not to lapse into the habit of complaint because if one adopts a ‘poor me’ attitude people will eventually turn away and the resulting danger is a miserable and lonely old age. Juliet asked 20 people from throughout New Zealand and overseas to respond to three questions about each of the main themes in the book. She has included their answers to show a variety of ways we can practice spirited ageing. Three of the strategies Juliet suggests are, converting negative thoughts into positive ones, taking care of the body without getting over preoccupied with it, learning to travel lightly without emotional baggage. She also advises the elderly that it’s important to foster friendships with younger people and to work at keeping such relationships alive. It’s well known that grandparents and grandchildren are each other’s treasures. Staying connected within one’s own community is a must and taking on new challenges can be revitalising. Juliet herself joined a local choir three years ago even though she had never sung professionally. She devotes a whole chapter to attitude because while routines and familiarity are comforting if too deeply adhered to, a life can become dull and stagnant. Instead, one should try doing something different as often as possible even if it’s cooking a new recipe, or taking another path on a walk. Spirited Ageing: cultivating the art of renewal costs $37 and is available from independent bookshops or www.julietbatten.co.nz Finally, ‘You’ve gotta accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative’ to have mental health, spiritual wealth and a happy old age. (DEIRDRE TOHILL) F PN PUBLISHED FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January)