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focus group members, Mary was reluctant to share her own documentation of the animal
project, declaring that she was “no where near this level.” Mary is encouraged by the
Directors to attend professional development sessions but is not supported financially to
do so. She is not given time off during the day and is expected to use her own money to
pay for workshops and conferences offered in the evenings and weekends. Aside from a
couple of training sessions offered by the Directors themselves, Mary has not attended a
workshop or a conference.
Figure 15. Elephants from little to big.
Parents.
Mary claims that she is “from the old school” and it has been challenging to
reconcile past practice with new ideas. Mary finds it particularly difficult to share the
Reggio philosophy with the parents. “What is my child learning” is a common refrain
that Mary hears on a daily basis. Parents have expectations and Mary is sensitive to their
needs. She understands that parents wish to have their children “stimulated” in addition to
being “well looked after.”