Hi all. Thanks for adding me to the group. I had some questions. I use teaching strategies gold for my accredited home day care. Unlike most of you I have the choice of how I want to assess children and what program I want to use. I can completely understand your concerns. I am completely against data collecting on children and inputing that data into any data base. I feel that the information I obtain through assessments are for the parents eyes only. I do feel it is important to use some sort of assessment to make sure children dont have an developmental delay. Observations are so important when working with young children. I agree that by being forced to use GOLD they are undermining teacher effectiveness. We all have more important things to be doing in our classrooms and being data collectors should never be a priority or asked of us. Our role is to help children learn and being burden by the time it takes to use GOLD or programs like it take away form the children. Which is where our focus should be. Since I am just a small home provider I only have 7 kids to assess and I can do the actual assessment on the weekend when I have no children. I know my kids and I can answer the question without having to take their play time away or my attention away from them. However, I know that in a center (I used to work in one) the last thing you want to do is take your work home with you. Working during my off hours is my personal choice, but again I am not a large center. I also think that if teachers are burdened and feel like they have no time they can end up with misleading data. Nobody wants to be forced to implement a program they dont believe in. If I had to implement a program that my heart wasnt in I would probably just do it to get it done and that is not going to produce quality results. Lastly, I agree that it is an invasion of childrens privacy. My program is accredited through the same agency here in PA as large centers. With the shift to common core they required all of us this year to start inputing data. To move from a level 2 (mine currently) to a level 3 or4 I would have to pick an approved assessment system and implement it. We however had a choice between GOLD, Ages and Stages, and a third one (that I cant remember). Now, here are my questions for you all and believe me I want to help you. Please dont take offense I really want to help you. Do you really believe that by protesting GOLD the underlying problem is going to be fixed? What is stoping the DOE or other agency from saying Fine you dont have to use GOLD, but now we are going to say you have to implement Ages and Stages instead?. When I was told I would have to data collect I fought the underlying concern of privacy and parental rights. I have no problem with GOLD. I love the program. I think it is well written and developmental appropriate. I think the curriculum that goes with it (Creative Curriculum) is great as well. It is play based and very open ended for children. Now if I had to do flash cards and worksheets and drills I would be outraged. Anyway, like I said I was outraged that they were asking me to data collect. Our DPW handbooks clearly state how this is an invasion of privacy and illegal. I quoted the law, wrote e-mails, and contacted my senator. Finally they listened. They allowed me to have my parents sign refusal letters saying they do not wish to have their childrens data shared. Trust me it was a fight and I didnt give up. I sent so many e-mails and made so many calls but they are not above the laws. The problem I see though is that info regarding parental right to opt out is not being shared with other providers here in PA. Its like my case won and they want me to just shut up about it. Well Im not and I am continuing to spread the word to others and share my e-mail conversations saying that parents have the right to refuse. When you set up a childs portfolio on GOLD there is button before it is completed that you can hit saying parents dont give consent to share info. Please ask your higher ups to require parents to give written consent so you can create the portfolios. When I created mine I only used first names and left all other areas blank so there is no identifying information to link to the children. I only share my portfolios with the parents. I do not input any of the data into any third party database. I truly think you have a just cause for concern and I applaud you for taking a stand to protect the children and your teachers. I just feel if you attack the program that you might just end up being required to use another program instead and your real concerns (unless if I misunderstood) will not be addressed. I know that many teachers are scared to speak up. I was too. I was threatened to loose my accreditation and my grant money. I knew legally they cant force me to data collect without parental consent and I fought till they couldnt tell me I was wrong. I had my renewal inspection after I fought them and I kept my accreditation and got my grant check as well without having to give into there demands. I just wanted to share a little bit about my experience with the data collecting and using this program. I dont want to upset anyone if you do not agree with my view and I apologize if I upset anyone by saying I like the GOLD program. I just really want to see you all succeed in protecting the privacy of the children and I dont want teachers to feel they are stuck. Please if I am missing something help me understand. I am here to also learn and not to cause anyone to get upset. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:27:28 +0000
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