Now he has actually been in the field for 50 years. Quite a scary thought. Things have changed. When I was, I started my job for the Department of Recreation in Philadelphia and they hired me to coach basketball, referee basketball games, build legs. Oh, and by the way, Steve, would you work with these three and four year olds? I was, for sure, as long as I had to play basketball. And so I have this incredible memory of sitting with these three and four year olds, in the shadow of the building.
And I found a paste case. Remember the old paste with the wooden spoon? And we’d take out the construction paper and the kids would dive in, and half the time they’d eat the paste, but they’d eat the paste, they’d do their thing. And something magical began to happen. So this was the beginning of the journey of these 50 years. So I’ve seen a huge number of trends happening around this time. Some are really exciting, others are rather sad. I think early childhood education in this day and age is perhaps in its most interesting and challenging position.
Understand the importance of early childhood education
Over-the-shoulder three-quarter-length shot of a group of students lining up for a class and students running late for class at school. They are smiling at an unrecognizable teacher. The school is based in the North East of England.
Three-quarter-length over-the-shoulder shot of a group of students queuing for a class and a student late for class at school. They smile at an unidentified teacher. The school is based in the North East of England.
But it is the best opportunity because people are starting to understand the importance of what happens early in life. I started out, I worked in a half-day, preschool program, and the biggest challenge we had in that half-day program was that a child would lose a sock or spill their juice. That’s how the classes were, pretty vanilla in all aspects of that word.
And, the challenges were pretty minimal, but there was something really appealing and really enticing about understanding what I was seeing. So as I move up the developmental ladder and begin to understand a little more the importance of the true impact of early childhood, looking at classrooms today is significantly different.
Our classrooms today are dimly lit children
teenager schoolboy at the table doing homework at home at night, boy writes a test with a pen in a notebook while sitting at a desk, home schooling concept
teenage student at the table doing homework at night, boy writes a test with a pen in a notebook while sitting at a desk, home education concept
They are asked to sit and listen, long periods of time that are not in their developmental psyche. They are asked to do skill exercises because they will learn that they have to stand in line. I currently work with a school where the kids have to walk up and down the hallways like this. What does this say? That’s where the ranks change. We have more and more dysregulated children.
We have teachers who are fragmented, families who are struggling to find the resources for breakfast in the morning to find the resources to get their kids to school on time. Early childhood and childhood change. So as we look at some of the classrooms and look at the struggles that teachers have, we also see a breed of teachers that have their own baggage that they bring to the classroom. That’s how we have children. We have, families with a set, collection of behaviors and baggage they struggle with.
Children enter with angry love
Pupil taking a pen in his pencil case at the elementary school
Student taking a pen in his pencil case at primary school
That’s how classes change. We see children with angry love. Angry love is the child who has no other resources to satisfy his emotional needs by throwing chairs across the room. The teachers in the room are starting to understand that we’re seeing kids who are so dysregulated and they’re like, hold me.
I’ll do anything to make it happen, even if it means another beating We see these guys go in with angry love. They are great and we see teachers who are and behaviors are activated secondary to the classroom. We help teachers begin to understand that what we need in classrooms today is ruthless compassion.
We see changes in early childhood
How to keep a child’s soul even though they curse you, even though they spit on you, even though they throw the chair How do we keep the soul of that scared, that scared little baby? Yes, we are seeing changes in early childhood right now. So some of the trends that I’ve seen, and they’re really fascinating with 100 years of observational research and theory, and we know that every behavior has meaning.
Remember that every behavior has meaning. We also know that what happens early in life lasts a lifetime. Research done by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC on early and adverse childhood experiences maps the life history for some of our children.
Early learning has a direct impact on long-term health outcomes. So what happens early in life lasts a lifetime. We also know that brain research says that the first five years of life is the most critical time for brain development, the most critical time for brain development.
Final Words
If they feel emotionally safe and socially safe, they will take academic risk. Our systems have a tendency to want to teach children to the head, but we must teach to the soul and heart first. So when they enter kindergarten, they are ready and have the resilience needed to take on the next adventure, and school should be an adventure, not an abominable experience.
So as we look at teachers, children and families, we need to look through a holistic lens and upgrade the field of early childhood education and give our children the hope, the hope they need for a better day. So we ask that when you leave here, start thinking about how you are investing your time, talent, and treasures in early childhood education.