BIO OF TOM MOORE
I had a horrible teacher in kindergarten. In that stark classroom I remember a lot of yelling, sarcasm, as well as physical punishment. Nearly twenty five years later, as an art teacher for the Rochester City School District, I was a daily witness of a wonderful kindergarten teacher at School #16. What I remember of Mrs. Rizzo's classroom was a feeling of love and respect. I loved the feeling I got from her classroom. It was warm, friendly and very nurturing. When she and the children were together clearly they were a community of learners. I was becoming disenchanted as an art teacher as there seemed to me to be little time to develop relationships with students let alone their families. After watching Mrs. Rizzo's classroom and her teaching style, I was determined that someday I would come back to school a kindergarten teacher.
Some time later I undertook a Masters degree program in Early Childhood Education at SUNY Geneseo, and before I could finish I found myself teaching kindergarten at Cobblestone School. At that time, whole child, whole language were the prevailing philosophies at Cobblestone. John Dewey's ideas about child development provided a foundation for the pedagogical attitude and I had the luxury of working with seasoned teachers. During this time I became very interested in the educational approaches of Rudolf Steiner. The importance of play, wonder, and the inner development of the younger child. But my practice grew more solid when I myself became a father. The concept of child development and appropriate practice became much more focused as my daughters grew. Parenting and teaching continues to open both my eyes and heart. In that very supportive environment at Cobblestone, I was able to find ways to integrate both the interests of my students and their learning styles with my passions when developing a year's curriculum. As my teaching practice matured I became aware that for me what was most important was that each child feel that they were an important part of the classroom community. If this was all that happened, I think I would have been happy but we also pressed apple cider, studied bees, extracted honey, planted gardens, cooked vegetable soup, tapped the sap from school yard maples and poured our very own maple syrup over pancakes we mixed and fried. We made squirrel drays, bird nests and things out of wood, cloth, stone and straw. Through it all there has been time for telling stories, singing songs and making art.
Being invited into the EBNS community was serendipity. I really love that it is a small community and a parent cooperative devoted to the age appropriate needs of the whole child. I enjoy getting to know both my students as well as their families. Everybody volunteers, and I often get to work with all of them, occasionally even grandparents. I have found the EBNS community to be a network of such caring people. This caring extends beyond the school and includes the very earth these children will one day inherit. I think it is so incredible that we compost, recycle, use washable cloth towels and snack utensils, car pool and use RTS when we go on field trips. In a similar vain the EBNS curriculum is in tune with the seasons. For example in February we'll likely tap the play yard maple tree, in May we'll plant vegetables and flowers in the play yard, in September we'll harvest vegetables, cook soup and press apples. It is a beautiful cycle that the children and I find invigorating. Most of all I love that EBNS is a community of devoted families and friends of which I joyfully get to play a part.