Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/of-men-and-boys-in-preschool/5024687/
In 1974 I began my real journey into early childhood education when, as a senior in college, I took my first hands-on course working with actual children. Upon walking into the classroom that first day, I was surprised at how nervous I was to meet them. I had so little experience with children before that time that I even wondered why I was pursuing this degree with such interest. But I had a two-year-old daughter who repeatedly amazed me, and she was a large part of my motivation.
Ten minutes into the first day I realized how ill-founded my worries were. The children eyed me with curiosity, but mostly they just wanted to engage me in the activities we had set out for them to work and play with. As the days went by, I grew to know each child, their temperament, their preferences and their understanding of the world. Overall, those few weeks were a joy to me, and they led me to confirm I had chosen well my field of study and work.
Two incidents stick out in my mind during that period of my life. The first was when I was wrestling with the children on ...