Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/why-dont-you-just-ask-me/5020656/
I was attracted to early care and education from the first time I entered a center in 1984. It was a place of joy with children laughing and teachers making every moment a learning experience for children. The environment was child sized with little chairs, tables, and even toilets. Art and evidence of learning was displayed everywhere and children were engaged in activities that were both individual and yet communal by nature. I was in wonderment and after spending 10 years in secondary and post-secondary education, I was hit with a catharsis that would forever change me. If we are ever going to make the world a better place, it begins here! This place of fun and simplicity is where one’s fundamental self can be promoted and allowed to blossom into that special person we were all meant to be. I had found my place.Early care and education fascinated me in so many ways beyond the classroom as well. Whether for profit or nonprofit, public or private, to be successful you had to be a business person/educator in order to keep the lights on everyday so the magic could happen in each of those classrooms. The demands on the staff, and ...