ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

When there are two opinions, it amazes me how when a point should be well-taken and considered, it is replied to in the extreme to make the opposite opinion seem "right".
I don't believe Susan Landry meant that "a person with little or no educational background could be as effective as a trained teacher."
Jerlean Daniel will lose respect for her position if she sees a formal degree in ECE as THE ONLY way a person would be effective.
Excellent training and mentoring have produced wonderful effective teachers and strong results in child care for the most difficult and challenging groups of children. Their nurturing and WANTING to be in the ECE field speaks for itself.
I would hate to see small neighborhood child care centers close due to staffing issues and these same centers lose their NAEYC accreditation due to the lack of not having all staff be degreed teachers.

It's interesting that Mary Ellen in Plano did not mention that the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) coordinators and TEEM mentors have a sweet deal in Texas. They enjoy salaries ranging between $66,950.00 and $87,550.00 including benefits. Compare the TEEM coordinator/mentor salaries with child care providers who have salaries of approx. $8.00-$10.00 per hour. Of course the mentors will agree with their boss at UTHSC-H. It's in their best interest.

Mary Ellen did not mention the profitable on-line training program and CIRCLE PDA assessment program featuring corporate interests that benefit the university.

Please know that highly trained pre-k teachers with Bachelor or Masters level degrees do not rely on "worksheets."

I am fortunate to have a job as a mentor and trainer for early childhood teachers from a variety of programs. I have to agree with Dr. Landry based on my own personal experience. Teachers from all educational backgrounds bring with them different understandings of how children learn. A public school Pre K teacher may still think that children learn best through worksheets and direct instruction. A teacher at a Head Start may not have a college degree, but may understand that children need hands-on activities, and small group instruction based on formal and informal assessments. I believe one key factor is an understanding of best practice as it relates to the developmental level of the child. The results speak for themselves, and I have seen firsthand that a college education alone cannot determine the quality of teaching. At- risk children who are enrolled in childcare centers out of necessity deserve the very best we can offer based on the resources available. That is where mentoring and high quality training can be of great benefit in closing the achievement gap. All children deserve the opportunity to enter kindergarten equally prepared to be successful learners.

Early childhood is like a puzzle and we must look at all pieces. Without an educated teacher, regardless whether she/ he has a higher education or teacher training an educated teacher makes a difference in the classroom.

Landry's conclusion seems to be one sided. When you take a child they can repeat what is being taught to them. But when you combine education with a quality teacher the education takes life and it will last a lifetime.

I agree partly with Rebecca one needs education. Martie also has a good point life is a teacher, we are always learning.
I'm about to graduate with an AA in child development I'm carring a 3.9 GPA so far. Math for transfer might kill that. My point: What we learn in schools isn't always what we need in life. Sometimes it's a waste of time. I learned more in the L.D. classroom that I work in daily. Last year I worked in an E.D. class, it was tramatic for me, the violence in these children was beyond me. But I learned a new language, the non-trigger language to downplay what was actually happening in the class. So experience is the best teacher; but the educational part is bound with the experience to make it a whole. Schooling alone is not enough, experience alone is not sufficient. There has to be an understanding of what you are doing and why. Most important how do you deal with it. I'm not just talking E.D or L.D I'm talking all children, they all have special needs. Abandonment of family is todays pain in the family. No time for the children. Thank you.

Education is important but training is what makes the real difference .No matter how much higher education a teacher has but if you can not apply in the class room it would be just like book mark in a book.I have experienced in our preschool. But I would like to go beyond the issues on teacher's training .In my mother tung Gujarati there is a proverb ,'One educated Mother is worth One Hundred Teachers!' to raise the healthy society we need to work from the roots to wings.

As a director involved in hiring, I wish for a clear correlation between a high level of Early Childhood education and excellence as a preschool teacher. In practice, I cannot rely on the level of Early Childhood degree to predict quality in the learning environment.
The campaign to raise the number of teachers with degrees has opened our hiring practice to seek teachers with those degrees. A B.A. or M.A. degree gets my attention in seeking the best educators. I have been able to pay a level of compensation that has attracted candidates with high degrees. However, the work begins there to determine whether the candidate has the abilities and characteristics of an effective ECE teacher in our school.
Changes in the licensing, agency and accreditation regulations require increasing percentages of B.A.-and-above ECE-degreed teachers. I am concerned that this bias will result in the hiring and longer retention of teachers who do not necessarily perform as effectively as other teachers who have had less formal education.

My concern is how Susan Landry and others accept without question that "families need to put their children in child care." If we as a society valued young children and the role of parents in shaping and supporting a child's optimum growth and development, we would demand paid parental leave during a child's early years. Families don't "need" childcare;they must work outside the home to support their family. I'm working towards the day when high quality childcare is an option for families and when only high-quality, part-time programs exist for all children. Such programs employ well-educated, well-paid early childhood teachers. Such programs enrich the lives of families and thereby the communities in which they live. Such programs employ teachers whose vision includes respect for families and their culture and provide opportunities for collaborative learning between home and school; teachers who create environments that support children's natural curiosity, insatiable appetite and need to play. Such programs value the role of teachers in the lives of young children and shows this respect through the salaries they provide. This is a world that truly leaves no child behind.

A "positive effect on student performance" at what???? Spitting back sight words? Isolated phoenics? What is the impact on problem solving skills? Interpersonal communication? Self regulation? Attitudes toward learning? Is Susan Landry interested in learning or in test results? If this is valid research, give us the whole picture and then we can study the results within the scope of the research question. Don't just issue a press release that early childhood educators require no training to do their jobs. While the Exchange audience knows better, the general public does not. We will not have well educated teachers in classrooms until we stop wasting time and taxpayer money trying to prove they aren't needed.

I am contemplating the semantics of this discussion - education vs. training.
Isn't everything we do in life EDUCATION? Aren't we all life long learners...and don't we receive education from good quality training...and sometimes less than quality from "formal education"?

Jerlean Daniel, deputy director of NAEYC: "It is hard to
believe that a person with little or no educational
background could be as effective as a trained teacher." My issue is Jerlean's assumption that a person without formal education is not "trained". If we are going to endorse teachers with formal educations that we should use the term "educated" rather than "trained". I have met many individuals, working in the field, who do not have a formal education but are well trained. Having been a director, I would prefer some of these individuals to those who have a formal education in something other than early childhood. Parents and other entities were often impressed with the credentials of certified elementary teachers but I often found they were not trained or educated in early childhood development and practices. We need to be careful of the language we use.

I just want to add a comment. I do believe that individuals need to encouraged to develop their strengths, knowledge base and understanding through formal education - seeking degrees - and /or high quality community based training. My point is that we must cultivate the whole PERSON as well as the knowledge that s/he will use to teach children.

As we look at and debate the importance of degrees/formal education for early childhood teachers, let us agree that knowledge, information and UNDERSTANDING are important for teacher preparation, but let us exercise caution about this. Let us not forget to VALUE and AFFIRM the person who engages in RELATIONSHIP BUILDING with the children! We want children to be "prepared to enter school" with a strong sense of self and ready to learn. They learn this by engaging with people...in RELATIONSHIPS with the caregiving adults in their world and with their peers.
In our drive to put formal education at the forefront of teacher preparation, we are forgetting to place high importance on VALUING and AFFIRMING the current teachers and the teachers in training. We often help them build up their weaknesses rather than discover their STRENGTHS. We don't always allow them to use these strengths and be leaders.
In my doctoral research 25 years ago with infant/toddler caregivers, I supported the fact that the personal characteristics of warmth, nurturing and responding to the children's cues was a most important factor in enhacing child development. These were effective in positive interactions and building relationships. Formal education is NOT always the key. We talk about "no child left behind". Let's remember the PARALLEL PROCESS and "leave no caregiver/teacher behind" who just might be the most effective individual to develop children...degree or not. Dare to Affirm and Catch Them Doing Something Right!! http://daretoaffirm.blogspot.com

Imagine not wanting the highest possible education for teachers of our young children! Why! The early years are the most important time for children's brain development, emotional memory, and development in general. The early years are the foundation for the future. All early childhood educators should be required the highest education and the best compensation of the work force in general. That's how important early childhood is.
Can you tell I am outraged?