One of the professional and personal areas I learned from my
New Zealand early childhood professional is, how similar our hopes and dreams
for the children we serve. We had
the opportunity to skype with our classrooms this week. There is a day
difference as well as a seasonal difference; school just started back after
summer holiday for them. The children on both sides noted the clothing worn, t-shirts
and shorts, where we all have turtlenecks and sweaters. The children’s smiling
faces, all talking at once and sounding different, but all the same no matter which
end of the earth we live. This was both a professional and personal joy, which
ignites my passion for children, and families everywhere!
My second learning area is the form of assessments used in
New Zealand, the learning stories. I will continue my contact with Sarah and
plan on revising the portfolios we do in my program to eco more of the learning
story format. Something the children have access to and build their own story
through documentation, throughout the year.
The third area of learning is the human factor. Sarah just
completed her two-year registration (we call practicum). She felt overwhelmed
with the work and is relieved and excited to move forward with her career. I am
currently feeling overwhelmed with my workload, but I’m sure the sense of
relief will come. We are all in this field because we love the work, it doesn’t
mean it is easy by any means but it is something we feel drawn to. I am grateful for this experience and meeting someone made from the same clothe to
share and learn with.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteEven though I was not able to make a international contact I enjoyed reading about the connections that you made. I think that it is amazing all of the opportunities that you were able to receive throughout this process. I wish you the best of luck on your journey.
Lauren
Tina,
ReplyDeleteMy consequences focused more on the different perspectives given through the pod casts and different resources from global organizations. It was refreshing to read about your consequences in respect to directly communicating with an international educator. I agree with you that although early childhood education is occurring across the global at different paces and with different types of curriculum/standards, we also have a lot of similarities. Thank you for sharing your insight and consequences. Best of luck to you!
Erin
That Skype opportunity sounded so cool! Hearing about opportunities to integrate a social study with the utilization of technology in the classroom like that really get me excited, and now I think I will strive to provide an opportunity for my students like that in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteIt is also good to hear that you are able to both professionally and personally relate to your particular professional contact. Who knew that a class assignment could possibly turn into a life-long association around children? Thanks for sharing and best of luck to you!