North Canterbury News: July 02, 2020

EARLY CHILDHOOD
10 North Canterbury News, July 30, 2020
Education: So much more than teaching
By KATINA BEAUCHAMP
Education: noun.Aprocess of
teaching, training and learning,
especially in school, collegesor
universities,toimprove
knowledge and developskills.
(Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries)
Tellingly, this definition does
not eveninclude early childhood
education (ECE).However, as
has been made abundantly clear
during the lockdown, there is so
much moretoeducation than
teaching, training, and learning.
During the weeks teachers,
parents, and children were at
home,the education sector,
particularly ECE, wasrecognised
as the essential part of society
that it is.
When earlychildhoodcentres
had to close in the face of Covid­
19, this had adramatic flow­on
effect on families.
The most often talked­about
effect was that manyfamilies had
to reconfigure their lives and
integrate parenting, entertaining,
and teachingtheiryoung
children, often whileworking
from home at the sametime.
However, how to occupy
youngsters represents onlypart
of the story.
Childrenhad to come to terms
with disrupted routines, being
away from their friends and their
social environment, as well as
theirteachers.
This leftmany teachers
worried and,despite the logistics
of physical separation, they
managed to maintaincontact
with children and parents.
Centres and teachers did their
besttoreach out andconnect
withthe centrewhanau.There
are many stories of how early
childhood teachers ensured they
keptintouchwith their tamariki
via Zoom,social media or other
ways, to continuewith learning
but also to let children and
families know they werenot so
isolatedastobealone (He Panui
Kohungahunga,2020). Some
teachers held virtual storytimes,
others conducted music sessions,
posted photosand videos.
The simpleact of seeing
familiar facesand hearing each
other’s voicescan make all the
difference duringdifficult times.
Thishelped not only to bridge
overtimesofboredombut, more
importantly, kept the dialogue
going and generate afeeling that
the communitywas still there
and provided support.
There was alsoconcern for
those children and parents who
relyonspecific support.
Amongst the various roles ECE
has in New Zealand society, early
childhood centres are seen as a
safeplace of respite fromstress
at home.
The knowledge thatthere are
childrenwho require additional
support, even rely on the centre
for food, and would have to go
without this support structure
provided by centres, weighed
heavily on many teachers.
It has neverbeen clearer than
throughout these difficult times:
Kaiako (teachers) in ECE are so
muchmore than babysitters, and
thereissomuch more to
education than learning.
Being an early childhood
Adaptability needed ... Many families had to reconfigure their lives
and integrate parenting, entertaining, and teaching their young children
into their work lives during the Covid­19 lockdown.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
teacher is arole that extends
beyond acentre’sdoors.Earlyyears
teachingprofessionals are
trainedtoapply aholistic view
and to understand children as an
integral partoftheirfamilyand
wider community. Teaching and
learningworksbest if it involves
parentsand caregivers.
However, there is more to this
interconnectedness than
teaching and learning.
Te Whariki,our early
childhoodcurriculum,expects
kaiakotogobeyondworking with
the community, i.e. to understand
and be part of thecommunity, to
establishreciprocal
relationships with families and
whanau.
ECE teachers literally do not
work in isolation at their centres;
they are part of the parent
community and often the local
community as well,and as such
the sense of belongingworks both
ways.
At its best it culminates in
peoplereaching out and taking
care of eachotherindifficult
times.
About the author: Katrina
Beauchampisanearly­years
teacher and teacher of ECE
teachingprofessionals. Katrina
currentlydelivers policy advice
for the Early Childhood Council,
enjoying the creative interplay of
research and writing. Katrina
combines practical experience
with theoretical expertise, with
the specific aim of informing and
supporting teachersthroughout
New Zealand.
Afirm believer in the
importance of language in all
learning, supported by a
background in linguistics and
additional languages, Katina is a
trained translator, witha
specialist interestinadditional
languages in earlychildhood
education culminating in a
Master’s degree.
References: Oxford Learner’s
Dictionary.RetrievedMay 11,
2020, from:
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
He PanuiKohungahunga. The
Early Learning Bulletin (2020).
Special Edition, April7,2020.
—Courtesy of Swings+
Roundabouts,produced by the
Early ChildhoodCouncil.