Theory into Practice
Sunday, November 25th, 2007
I spend a good share of my work days enveloped in the theories of early childhood. My day job is teacher education where we spend our time reading and talking about working with young children. Although I get to spend some time in the world of real children fairly often in a month through volunteer work with Reading is Fundamental and field supervision, I am an empty nester and don’t have daily contact with young children. This week my granddaughter and daughter spent the week with us. Mornings were early, snacks were often, every object in the house was material for learning and exploring! Practice is indeed so important in really understanding theory! Of course, I know this and say it to my pre-service teachers all the time, fortunately I had the pleasure of enjoying it this week! We visited a newborn, had a 4 month old and a 2 year old visit with us, and spent the week attempting to not step on anything that would hurt too much!
For years, I’ve posited the idea that if every teacher in training - including those from pre-K to college - had to spend six months with newborns to two year olds, the education system would be much improved. Those who work in the field of education would take all that theory and understand in clear terms: temperament, nurture vs. nature, rates of development, and so much more. Instead of teaching to the test, we would teach with integrity.
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I love your idea about all teachers spending time with babies. I taught high school, and had barely held a baby. When I go back, the experiences that I’ve now had with babies and very young children will have made me into a much better teacher in so many ways. What a wonderful idea.
Thanks for your comment Marjorie. In teacher education we often tell our non-parent students that being a parent doesn’t make a difference; yet actually it can give you a level of experience that can be useful in the classroom. Enjoy your parenting!