Authenticity with Children

In the two excerpts below there is one common thread: the need for educators to be “real” with children; to engage with them in an authentic way. From the Mindshift website, encouragement to stop hiding mistakes: “Being an authority figure in a classroom can make teachers feel as if they have to put their best face forward all the time, so most teachers’ first instinct is to cover up their mistakes as soon as possible. However, second grade teacher Connie Pertuz-Meza urges teachers to turn mistakes into teachable moments and turn classrooms into more mistake-friendly environments. ‘I always felt like if I made a mistake I needed to sweep it under the rug,” she says. “Students need to see the action of a teacher realizing and rewinding to say, ‘Oops, I made a mistake.’” In an Out of the Box Training Kit, Karen Nemeth urges early childhood educators to make time for heart-to-heart authentic interactions with children: “Too often, the demands of day-to-day work in preschool classrooms make ...special moments seem like rare luxuries. How can we make it all work? The answer can be found in one simple, entirely natural, completely free activity that we all enjoy: Conversation.... One engaging, whimsical chat with a young child is enough to put a smile on my face at the end of the toughest day.”

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site