Insights from Lilian Katz

05/13/2009

There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments.
Wangari Maathai, Unbowed

In May 2008 over 100 passionate teacher educators from 10 nations came together for professional conversations at the inaugural Working Forum for Teacher Educators in Auckland, New Zealand. The purpose of the gathering was to share ideas on what it means to be a teacher educator. One product of the Working Forum was a book based on the conversations that took place, Conversations on Early Childhood Teacher Education: Voices from the Working Forum for Teacher Educators, which now is on sale at the Exchange web site. Lilian Katz was one of the participants in the Working Forum and her insights at the event are shared in a chapter in the book entitled, "'The Challenges and Dilemmas of Educating Early Childhood Teachers." Here are her concluding suggestions for teachers and teacher educators...

I suggest that for all of us as teachers it is a good idea to cultivate our own intellects and nourish the mind. For teachers, the cultivation of the mind is as important as the cultivation of our capacities for understanding, compassion, and caring — not less important, not more important — but equally so. In other words, we must come to see ourselves as developing professionals — whether we teach adults or children. So I suggest: become a student of your own teaching — a career-long student of your teaching.
Never take someone else's views or opinions of you or your work more seriously than you take your own! Take other's views seriously — there may be much to learn from them — but not more seriously than you take your own; for that is the essence of self-respect, and I believe that children benefit from being around self-respecting adults.
As teachers, all we have at a given moment in a given situation is our very own best judgment. Throughout our professional lives we study and reflect in order to refine that judgment; we exchange with colleagues, consider other's solutions to the problems we face, we come together at meetings like the Working Forum, we examine the available evidence — all in order to improve our judgment. But in the last analysis, our very best judgment is all there is.
Finally, remember that whoever might be the leader of our country in 40 or 50 years from now is likely to be in someone's early childhood program today — maybe in your class. I hope she is having a good experience!

Last Chance to Share Training Insights

Exchange, in conjunction with Lakeshore Learning Materials, is conducting a survey on effective training techniques in early childhood settings. We would greatly appreciate it if you could take five minutes and give us your feedback on training. Lakeshore will award $50 gift certificates to ten randomly selected people who complete the survey prior to May 18. Click here to go to the survey now.

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