About the work of a teacher

Whether you are a teacher or child caretaker, everyone in the profession surly had days or weeks where it seems problems pile up upon problems, because...everyone wants something different from you!

It was like this for me last week, and it made me remember a talk I had a long time ago with a few colleagues.

In this profession, you have at least three sides you constantly have to make "happy"...the kids, their parents as well as the institution or school with their requirements and laws. All of them having different interests, of course. Even if we keep doing our best, there are times where it's simply impossible to please all sides involved. It can feel like being in a straitjacket or being pulled apart on the arms and legs.
Especially at such times it is important to remember why we do our work, and why we chose that profession. And also, to not take ourselves too seriously! Every life and work has its good and bad sides, and things go on in one way or other!

(On a side note, I really understand by now why this.profession has a high turnover as well as burn out rate.)

Tasks of a kindergarten teacher

Whether in Germany or other countries, taking care of many kids at once brings a lot of skills and tasks you need to have and do!

For example:

• Cheer kids up in the morning
• Always come up with new games and craft ideas
• Give band aids, and band aids for the soul
• Listen to many unbelievable stories
• Saying the same thing 20 times in a row
• Show and teach numbers and letters
• Show and teach how to put on clothes and shoes by themselves
• Make sure they wash their hands after going to the bathroom
• Being able to tell from 10 to 20 kids how much and what they ate for breakfast and lunch
• Know when games might become fights
• Settle fights and make them be friends again
• Being able to say stupid things and do crazy ones
• Washing dishes or cleaning the floor at top speed
• Changing diapers or soiled clothes
• Motivate kids to drink, or even to play
• Find kids outside easily
• Always know where the 20 children are hiding
• Know the current trends and things of kids tv shows and movies
• Prepare food and give the right sized meals to everyone
• Make braids, and always have several hairbands at hand
• Always have tissues at hand
• Being able to calm/quiet down kids writhing a minute
• Doing 5 things at once
• Motivate kids to clean, and so help at top speed
• Give hugs and cuddles
• Make sure that each kid knows how to cut, glue, write, count, speak,....at age appropriate level
• Make parents understand that their offspring is not always an angel
• Remember parents 10 times for the same thing to bring
• Wait with kids and keep them company of parents come to pick up late
• Be ready to change plans at any minute
• Know how to make them like fruits and vegetables 
• Cutting fruits and veggies at top speed, but safely
• Know when sand is too wet to play
• Making messy crafts even if you know.you have to clean up by yourself after
• Cooperate with colleagues and come up with common themes and ideas
• And on and on it goes!

The goal of pedagogy

When i was studying at university, one of my professors liked to say that the goal of pedagogy in itself is to make itself redundant and not necessary anymore...

I understand why he said it, as the goal of education in general is usually looked as helping people to become independent,  and to be able to lead their live independently.

But! Society keeps changing, and so should the goals of education and pedagogy, shouldn't they? In a society where everything is in constant change, it has to help people to learn how to get along with the change, and how to find stability with it. In a society that is rather stable, it can encourage people to go out and explore, and to go out of their comfort zones.

Education has to adapt to the current needs of a society, while also taking into account how things might change in the future. Especially when it is about educating children!

I think the main point why pedagogy might have a goal of making itself obsolete, is that everyone should learn how to adapt to changes and different situations, and 'learning how to learn'. But even this is something that has to be taught!

Pedagogical situations happen everywhere, between all kind of people, not only with students and teachers. So that it one day should not be needed anymore, is kind of an utopian idea, I think. 

Wonders at work

Working in a kindergarten, everyday we are outdoors with the children a bit.
And as there is a sandpit, they like to play in it of course!

But why does it happen that I find sand in my hair everyday after work?
It is something that keeps puzzling me....and I thought of several possibilities on the why and how:

1. It just comes from the cover on top of the sandpit, that protects against sunlight. When helping to clean up, it drizzles down on the head.
2. Children throw sand on me without me even noticing.
3. I secretly enjoy the sand and put it on my hair, once again without me noticing.
4. There are little fairies that fly around and drizzle sand on everyone!

Especially number 4 might be true.... as I often find myself covered in glitter, too!

Third culture kids

What is a third culture kid?
Well, basically it means the parents are from one (or even two) countries, but living in another. Therefore, the child grows up in a culture  that is different from their parents.
With this, there come unique challenges and opportunities, for parents as well as children!

Here are two articles describing it a bit further:

What is a third culture kid

The 10 biggest struggles

27 states of emotion

Researchers of the Berkeley University have created an interactive map that shows 27 distinct types of emotion, in contrast to assumed 6 common ones: happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear and disgust.  

In this article by Yasmin Anwar you can find the interactive map, as well as further information on the proceedings of the research.

Just the interactive map you can find here.

Is anything really truly "ours"?

While this question obviously is not being asked in everyday life, still it can give a good starting point to think about the value of possessions and we define as "mine" and "yours" or "theirs" and "ours". So let me just give this little trail of thoughts, and let you decide where it leads to:

That favorite book/DVD/game that lies there in your shelf...is it really truly yours? Sure you bought it with money, but you didn't really make it by yourself, right? Neither did you produce the money nor the DVD. You worked so you could get the money that has been produced (mainly by machines), to buy something that has been produced (mainly by machines). And if you have the knowledge to make the book? Well, then you still have to get the paper that someone else made. If you can make the paper by yourself too, you still have to cut down the tree, not to mentioned the materials for the needed tools. And before the tree can grow to the size where it can be used to make paper, first has to be planted. And so on. In the end, close to everything that we one we have thanks to the common effort of several people involved.

So when children are starting to learn the conceptions of 'mine' and 'yours', what should they actually be taught? Of course it is accepted that toys they bring from home are theirs, and they can decided who can play with it. On the same time, it is simply assumed and requested that the toys at kindergarten are those of everyone, with no specific child as an owner! Especially at the beginning time, when coming newly into such a group, a child can be confused about it. Everything was their own, so why is it not the way now? Oh it's not mine, then just let me break it, if it's not mine, no one can have it! (Unfortunately, there are even adult who still have this way of thought)

Maybe instead of teaching about ownership and rules concerning it, it would be more important and appropriate to start off with showing and teaching that every living being and object has to be treated with care and respect! If we knew and trusted that the other side also uses our items with care, we might be inclined to share it much easier.

Eventually, such kind of understanding also might help with the discussions about digital ownership, rights to ideas, concepts and inventions, etc.