My vision of working with children is…an immediate picture of me and the children smiling and laughing. The professional vision includes the ability to apply the skills and strategies in an early learning environment. Currently, choosing a strategy to implement has only been tested at an academic and hypothetical level – and thanks to my computer’s “delete” key I am afforded the time to plan my approach (July).
My vision of working with children has become more serious and intentional. My previous goal was to have fun with a child with no direction. Today I understand that as an educator I can still incorporate fun into an activity but my goal has now shifted to developing skill levels. I now see children as capable learners with unlimited potential. And I now want to build upon strengths and abilities and am excited that I can do this through play-based approaches.
In three years, I see my greatest strengths with children to be…well versed in utilizing Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding. Identifying where the child is in her developmental domains so that I will be able to start where she is and implement Vygotsky’s principles to build upon these strengths (July).
The greatest strength I see me possessing is the knowledge of where to look when I am in doubt. Yes, I feel pretty confident that I will be relying upon the approaches of Vygotsky but I now understand that it would be foolish to adhere to just one theorist, theory or approach. I also see my quest for knowledge as a major strength as I will be able to bring “…clarity to practice..” (Dietze & Kashin, 2016; p. 3) through the process of reflecting, questioning and exploring the new information that will cross my path throughout my tenure as an educator. Once the disequilibrium has passed of adopting a new philosophy and perspective regarding early childhood education, I envision myself to be connecting to the children, creating effective environments, and constructing knowledge through scaffolding.
I envision the early learning environment as…Wet Wellies Ink – an Outdoor Environment Plan created by Juanita and me. The component I appreciate the most in an early learning environment is providing options to children and their families. There needs to be designated areas or zones but pockets of mini-zones dispersed throughout an environment allows for child-directed play. Opportunities for explorative play is met by providing sand and/or water tables. Baskets of loose parts and yellow, blue and red Unit Blocks invite children to engage in constructive play. And for that child practicing self-regulation, a quiet area with a basket of books, perhaps a stuffed animal or two, where the child is welcomed by soothing colours and/or materials; a safe place to de-escalate and become calm. These environmental components would allow me and my colleagues to provide an experiential learning environment (July).
I still imagine what a wonderful place Wet Wellies Ink would be for children… But after completing this course, I realize the environment is not just about the materials found within the structure. In fact, I now see how the educator is a cornerstone of the environment. The core values of care, respect, integrity, and trust that the Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia (2008) promote are exactly the messages I want to convey professionally but also within the learning environment. Between ECEBC’s Code of Ethics and the Canadian Child Care Federation’s guidelines (Dietze & Kashin, 2016; p. 8), I have a clearer picture of what needs to be in place professionally to increase environmental success. Using developmentally appropriate practice, collaboration and partnerships, enhancing human dignity, enabling engagement, enhancing relationships, and pursuing ongoing learning are values/beliefs/principles that I feel comfortable incorporating into my philosophy.
I see children as…inquisitive and primed for learning (July).
This is the educational component that has been more clearly defined for me. I have always been fascinated with watching a wee one progress through their stages but have never really taken a deep dive into the process nor worried about what was being learned. Now I am beginning to understand the importance of play and its connection to learning. Not structured, step-by-step play but rather the kind that allows children to explore the five W’s – who, what, where, when, why & how – that environmental materials will provide. Through this exploration play, children are provided with experiential learning and thus developmental domains are getting opportunities for growth. As children encounter the challenges of play-based learning, they are given the chance to solve problems on their own. So, now when I am invited to play, I am more invested with what is transpiring. Discussions flow more freely when I simplify and use the five W’s as reference points – “Who am I?” or “What is my job?”. Thanks to be introduced to Bronfenbrenner, Froebel, Malaguzzi, Vygotsky, et al, I now view the child as an amazing sponge that through its inquisitive nature will soak up learning and knowledge through environmental interactions.
I view children’s families to be…a resource and a collaborative partner (July).
For this question, my views of parents/parenting has been influenced this year by a program called Touchpoints (www.brazeltontouchpoints.com) rather than the content of my courses. Just as in the ECCE program, Touchpoints recommends reinforcing relationships and partnerships with children, families and colleagues. It provides statements such as parents are the expert on their child, that all parents have strengths, and all parents want to do right by their child. These “assumptions”, as they are called, are designed to develop an empathetic approach in dealing with parents. The assumption that I will be implementing right from the beginning is that parenting is a process of trial and error. By approaching a family from this perspective will help me to rejoice with them in their successes and supportive of them in challenging times. This in turn will allow them to continue to be a resource and a collaborative partner.
I suspect that cultural diversity will…be a relevant discussion considering the social unrest and turmoil that is happening globally (July).
The old definition of “culture” used to be, for me, “the way we do things around here.” And it does still sort of mean that…until “diversity” is added to the phraseology. If I go by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework (Dietze & Kashin, 2016; p. 28), the strict definition I had would not apply. Peers, schools and community programs may have “ways of doing things” that differ from the way the family operates within their home . But chances are, if they were born into this system, they will embrace similar cultural views as their community systems. Encounters with diversity for children will probably be introduced within their micro-system through entry into the school environment. Here, children may find themselves in what Ditze & Kashin (2016) refer to as “culture in between” (p. 58). A child of immigrant parents, for example, may have a cultural norm of removing shoes before they enter a room but yet the cultural norm of a school is to wear shoes indoors. And now with Covid-19, there will be a whole new set of cultural norms …it will be interesting to see how the “third space” will be acknowledge for the epidemic.
I envision my colleagues as…supportive with similar core values and/or principles (July).
