Since it's founding in 1997, the CYC-Net discussion group has been asked thousands of questions. These questions often generate many replies from people in all spheres of the Child and Youth Care profession and contain personal experiences, viewpoints, as well as recommended resources.
Below are some of the threads of discussions on varying Child and Youth Care related topics.
Questions and Responses have been reproduced verbatim.
Listen to this“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch
the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey
down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can
strengthen learning how to learn.” ~ Loris Malaguzzi
I have worked within the field of Early Childhood Education (ECE) for
over 23 years and in the past 10 years I have really developed a strong
discourse of viewing myself, as well as children and youth I have worked
with as capable, co-creators in teaching and learning. This belief does
not establish me, the educator, as the expert or the adult full of
knowledge ready to fill the child’s empty slate. Instead, it positions
me, as a contributor to the collaborative process of teaching and
learning with children and families within my community.
Throughout my career as an ECE it has seemed that the more common
Euro-Western discourse has viewed the educator as the expert and the
child as the empty vessel waiting to be filled with our knowledge and
often bias truth’s. I have personally discovered that when I do my work
from my heart, I feel more inspired and engaged as an ECE. I feel I have
developed stronger skills as an educator who is flexible, open, curious,
enquiring, adaptable, and imaginative.
I am wondering how other ECE’s and/or CYC’s view their position as an
educator or person who works with children, youth and families.
Thank you,
Danielle Jimeno
...
Hello,
My thoughts are quite similar to Danielle's. I have been working
in preschools for 7 years now and over the course of my teaching career
have developed a strong stance towards seeing children as co-teacher and
learners in the classroom. The project approach has been important
for my work because learning is guided by the children's interests and
together we explore, investigate, ask questions, discover, observe, and
draw conclusions. The learning experience is interactive and the
children are empowered to take initiative in learning. They also
develop skills to learn, how to find the answers for their questions,
and how to think critically. As the teacher, I learn with the
children and investigate with them rather than see myself as the one
with all the information. These skills will support children
throughout their lives.
At the end of one school year I asked each one of my preschool students
what they wanted to investigate at school. Up that that point we
generally did class investigations, but I wanted them to have an
opportunity to explore their own interests and become a bit of an expert
on a topic so they could share their knowledge with the class. We
explored books, experiments and online resources to name a few and the
children began to learn from one another. It was a powerful
experience in supporting children to take a lead in learning and share
knowledge together as a class. They were empowered to learn rather
than just listen to information.
Melanie Van Eyck
....
Great Melanie!
See
www.fairstartglobal.com, useful free attachment based care training programs :)
Med venlig hilsen/ yours sincerely
Niels Peter Rygaard
Denmark
...
Dear Danielle,
I agree with you. I think there is a great deal to be gained from
approaching our relationships with children and young people as a shared
experience with shared discoveries and shared learning. My own
experience has been that a child helps me learn more about being an
adult and about our world and if all goes well enough I help a child
grow, learn more about our world and keep her/him safe. The great bonus
is when we discover we've got time for each other. This is not a
blueprint recipe for surefire outcomes but an organic, dynamic process.
Neither do I believe I mean this to be a wishy washy " life is
plain sailing" daydream – it's a process that necessarily contains its
share of muck and grit. I'll go off and think about it a bit more.
Anyway, thanks for bringing the subject up.
Best wishes,
Charles Sharpe
....
"The audience creates the performance
The subordinate creates the boss
The child creates the parent
The citizen creates its leadership
Problem solving occurs to build relatedness
A room and a building are created by how it is occupied The student
creates the teacher
The future creates the present
The listening creates the speaker
The openness to learn creates the teaching"
From Peter Block....and his work called Civic Engagement and the
Restoration of Community
Changing the Nature of the Conversation .......
So true!
Rick Kelly
