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| Love watercolor on watercolor paper 12/2012 |
What does a teacher do? Why is it important to have
teachers? Who can be a teacher? How can a teacher be a positive influence in
the life of another? Why is it important?
What words come to mind when thinking of teachers? Which
teachers do we remember from our own childhood? One’s that treated us
respectfully or one’s that gave us a hard time?
Today I was going through my iPhoto library; just browsing,
looking to see what was there, and I came across photos my students had taken
of me. I looked at the images, of myself, one a close up of my face and saw
something beautiful.
I saw a patient, kind, gentlewoman.
I don’t always look at myself, but I was looking through the
lens of my students.
I often find the children to be my teacher. I have something to learn from each of the
children in my care.
With some children the flow and the communication is easy.
With some children I have to reach deep inside my arsenal of
patience and understanding to connect with them.
As it is with the parents of my students as well, there are
parents I have an easy time discussing the development of their child with them
and those I am challenged with.
As a teacher with parents my role is to bring visibility to
the growth and development of their child as well as the areas of development
(those are challenging). My role is to
help the parents see a strong image of their child as a learner, competent,
capable, inquisitive and developing their autonomy.
There are basic questions I ask myself when engaging with
parents: is it true? Is it kind? Can I be diplomatic about it?
Can I create a bond of trust that we are both advocates for
the child’s wellbeing?
The role of a teacher is not always easy but to me it is so,
so, so much fun. I watch the children
grow. I pace myself with mindfulness armed with an arsenal of early childhood development
practice and my own practice of “do no harm”.
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