Tina Clark This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. The Day-Care Dilemma

   www.gazettenet.com/07132001/ne - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/13/2001   Last Visited: 7/25/2001

   The only way to do this job is to have a second job , live with your parents , or be married or have someone who's helping support you , adds Tina Clark , 28 , a former art and preschool teacher at Stonybrook who worked extra hours at the center to pay her bills. Trying to get by on your basic salary is just about impossible..
   
   ...
   DURING THE LAST week in June at the Stonybrook Children's Center , Tina Clark is reading a story to a class of 4- and 5-year-olds , who sit - some quietly , some restlessly - in a broad semicircle before her. Another teacher , Sara Pequinot , sits with one antsy boy close by her side , while a third teacher , Carole Jackson , tidies up the room in preparation for lunch , which is about 15 minutes away.
   
   The story Clark reads , called More , More , More , has four vignettes about babies with nicknames , like Little Guy , and Clark tries to get the children to make links between the stories and their own lives.
   
   Does your mom have a nickname for you?. she asks Zachary Anderson.
   
   She calls me 'sweetie , ' the boy says.
   
   ...
   Clark reads on , this time about a baby who gets kissed on her belly button , and she asks the room , Have any of you ever been kissed on your belly button?. When some of the children giggle but say no , Clark smiles and says , I think you just don't want to tell..
   
   For over four years now , Clark has been playing out these kinds of scenes with children at Stonybrook. But in a few days she'll be leaving : A University of Massachusetts graduate with a degree in art education , she's now looking for a public school teaching job. Much as she's enjoyed her work at Stonybrook , she says , she can't live on the low salary any longer.
   
   She knew she was coming into a field with low pay. But once you get into it you hope that will change , she says. Public schools are putting pressure on preschools to get kids ready for kindergarten ... this is a teaching profession , it's not baby-sitting..
   
   If she can't find a public school job , she'll return to preschool work ; she also plans to pursue a master's degree in multicultural education , with an emphasis on art. I love working with young children. I don't regret having been [ at Stonybrook ] at all. I just wish society would place more value on it..
   
   Next Story July 13th index

2. 2. Greenfieldoptimist.com - Artspace Update

   www.greenfieldoptimist.com/ind - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/21/2007   Last Visited: 11/26/2007

   Students in the 4th grade at Newton and the 5th grade at Green River worked on the mural over the last 3 months with their art teachers Tina Clark and Jan Atamian.