Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/hearing-the-voices-of-our-teachers/5020361/
“Recovering the voice of the teacher �" usually a woman, increasingly a person of color, often a member of the working poor �" is an essential part of reconceptualizing the field of early childhood education. . . . The question, ‘What can these teachers tell one another and the world about teaching and about children?’ has largely been ignored in favor of moredistanced questions, such as ‘How shall we explain what these teachers ought
to know and what it must be like for them?’”
�" William Ayers (1992)
With the ever-growing list of expectations, skills, and content early childhood teachers are now required to master, I’m hearing more and more stories from those discouraged about their work. They feel that everywhere they turn, someone is telling them more they need to do and what training will make them a better teacher. It’s not that anyone resists opportunities for more professional development. Rather, most of the trainings they are required to attend don’t really engage teachers or seem relevant to the everyday challenges they face in their work. If they don’t just up and leave their positions, many seem to be losing heart for their work and just going through the motions ...