Evolvement of the Profession

When I began teaching almost 12 years ago there has been an increase in academic requirements which has led to a decrease in play and exploratory learning.  With more broken homes and parents in the workforce, there is a great need for early childhood education outside of the home.  In the past an early childhood educator was able to provide children with activities to engage them and allow the child to direct their own learning (Childcare Education Institute, 2009).  Now an early childhood professional must embrace and understand their always changing role including being a strong communicator, a coach, a keeper of the watch, a storyteller, and a researcher (Miels, 2007), a disciplinary, a friend, a teacher, an emotional supporter, a role model, and an advocate all while meeting the needs of their students that can change from day to day.  I currently teach kindergarten and standards have changed so much that I am unable to do fun playful activities because they do not always fulfill a standard needing to be met.  My daughter attends a preschool program that has a set curriculum including being responsible for teaching letters and sounds which in the past had been something achieved in kindergarten.  If the people who are making these decisions about education do not stop to allow children to be children, we will continue to create children who have anxiety over not being expectations and teachers frustrated by the increasing work load with less time and children less ready.

References

Childcare Education Institute. (2009, April 22). Teacher roles and responsibilities. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from Articlesbase: http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/teacher-roles-and-responsibilities

Miels, J. (2007). The seven faces of the early childhood educator. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from Earlychildhood NEWS: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_print.aspx?ArticleId=171