The Loop Spring 2015 web.pdf

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Writing our obs’? Or shaping identities? By Sue Inglis Consultant, Approved Provider, Educational Leader and Teacher at Pelican Waters Golden Beach Kindergarten and Childcare THE PLANNING CYCLE - REFLECTION, PROGRAMMING AND DOCUMENTATION – WHERE DO THEY ALL FIT AND HOW DO I MAKE THE PLANNING CYCLE COME ALIVE? 4 IN THE LOOP
Imagine for a moment that we are ten, twenty or even thirty years on from today, and that young child that you are currently documenting observations about is reading your words about themselves. The photos you have taken and the messages you have relayed on that page create a picture about them as a person, and indeed about you as a teacher, that extends well beyond this moment in time. I am sure that when you record your observations you are probably seldom thinking about the documentation in this way, but the reality is that we may be the only people who are documenting this individual’s life with such a focused lens. The choices we make about what we write may last a life time, with the possibility of being read again and again. It may sound dramatic, however when we record the lives of children in our care and openly share these recordings, we can be influencing how a family sees their child and then, over time, how an individual may see themselves. In this way the teaching and learning potential of what we author each week can be more powerful than the here and now, and perhaps more powerful than we as educators have ever really stopped to consider. In a period when early childhood educators are commonly dissatisfied and time stretched with the burden of such paper work, it may seem to be additional strain to laden you with the weight of being so influential. Is it not already enough to be adhering to all the requirements of workplace policy, national quality standards and regulations? The swirl of trying to understand all these requirements, the planning cycles and the true meaning of critical reflection can sometimes have us in a spin. Many educators I have met are bogged down by spending copious amounts of time creating lengthy documentation that will somehow be enough to meet all these requirements. In fact I question if it is often the fear of being assessed and rated against these requirements that actually drives a proportion of educators to write about children. It can be, for some, an arduous and meaningless process that becomes so time consuming that it affects the way we see our work. Contrary to that professional fog that can occur, there actually is a simple and great joy about being with children, honouring their existence and joining with them and their family to find wonder, growth and learning in this world. If we bypass the complexities of our work for a moment and take the time to truly reflect on what really matters for us and for children, we may be transported back to a more fundamental picture of celebrating seeing children playing, developing and growing, and to acknowledge the difference we are making in a child’s life. What do we notice about how special a child is? What do we collectively want for them? How can we make that happen? At what point do we notice that child is beginning to wonder, to shine or to benefit from our purpose together? What do we now see? Perhaps these types of simple questions should be more what drives us to pen documentation about children than the fears of being assessed or indeed of providing a certain number of observations per day, week or month. As an educational leader I am delighted to see the recording that happens in our early learning space when our educators can really capture the essence of celebrating a child for who they truly are and equally for celebrating the difference we can all make in each other’s lives. This is the real work of early learning communities and this is the heart of what we should be recording. For some reason when you view documenting children’s learning in this way, it becomes a joy to be the author and sharer of these important stories about a person’s life. The planning cycle seems to naturally form as you share the significant moments, celebrate the learning, and consider the possibilities for the future. For some years now the educators in our centre have been exploring recording children’s learning with the primary purpose of writing to families. It is as though we are writing them a special note; an often celebratory note about the significance of their child and of the learning space that we share together. We know when it is time to write to families because it will be that something is so compelling about what their child is doing that we have the desire to share it with them. Perhaps their child is becoming a beautiful friend to someone, perhaps they have displayed strength of character, resilience or mastered a new skill; perhaps they are working towards something and we are supporting them; perhaps they are developing exciting ideas, learning new things or sharing a part of themselves. Continued next page. WORKFORCE.ORG.AU 5
Page 1 and 2: Spring 2015 Spring 2015 HELPING CHI
Page 3: IN THIS ISSUE In May this year, the
Page 7 and 8: NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY INTO TEA
Page 9 and 10: We then asked Margaret and Giulia w
Page 11 and 12: We viewed children’s behaviour as
Page 13 and 14: Noah’s Ark Resource Centre PERL -
Page 15 and 16: Would you like to explore strategie
Page 17 and 18: RESEARCH METHOD Action research inv
Page 19 and 20: CRITICAL REFLECTION Part of Everyda
Page 21 and 22: Some examples of provocations inclu
Page 23 and 24: ATTENDING AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCAT
Page 25 and 26: SO NOW LET’S LOOK AT WHAT “TOOL
Page 27 and 28: NOW YOU HAVE THE BOOK IN YOUR CENTR

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