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Cultivating the Spirit of Teaching

May 3, 2012

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What a child doesn't receive, he can seldom later give.
-PD James

"The quality we long for in teachers is not only for them to have the right technique, but for them to have the soul of a teacher. In this context, we might spend less time telling teachers what to do, and more time showing them how to be."

This is the observation of Amelia Dress in her Exchange article (January/February 2012), "Reimagining Teacher Development: Cultivating Spirit." Dress further observes...

"To help teachers remain vital, we must recapture the deeper meaning of vocation:

To be aware of one’s vocation is to recognize that there is some mysterious combination of personal skill and passion that draws us into a particular line of work.
Most teachers begin their careers with such a vision. They are drawn to early childhood education because they love children and teaching and believe they have the capacity to do this work.
The challenge is keeping this sense of purpose alive as the day-to-day reality of the profession’s demands take their toll.

"Maintaining this vision means helping teachers discover — and rediscover — why they teach. It’s simply not enough to recognize the work of teachers once or twice a year, nor is it enough to merely tell them what a difference they make. For real vitality, we have to help teachers explore their own sense of vocational identity, so that the meaning invigorates their work during good times and sustains them during the difficult days. Put simply, successful teachers know why they teach."

Topics for Video Training

The digital world opens a wide variety of new training approaches. Exchange is currently developing a series of video training resources for early childhood teachers and family child care providers. To help ensure that the topics we are focusing on first address your immediate training needs, please participate in this weeks Exchange Insta Poll, "Topics for Video Training."

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Mary L. Peters · May 06, 2012
NECTAC
Rhinelander, WI, United States

Have you ever had the experience of convergence? That is the case for me in reading Amelia's article! I am a Courage and Renewal (R) facilitator prepared by the Center for Courage and Renewal www.couragerenewal.org and a 'former' Montessori teacher, this IS the heart of teaching. We bring ourselves to our work (when we do it well) and we need to take responsibility for keeping our gift/ourselves spirited. Thank you, Amelia Dress, Parker Palmer, and Maria Montessori! Peace!

Tracy · May 03, 2012
WestEd PITC
Petaluma, CA, United States

Anyone who is interested in exploring this idea of 'we teach who we are' should read The Courage to Teach by Parker J. Palmer. Inspirational!

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