Words of Inspiration and Motivation

One of my favorite Marcy Whitebook quotes comes from an interview where she is asked what are some of the biggest challenges in preparing the workforce.  The following quote is her response to what she considers is the biggest challenge.

"Deep down in their bones, most people don't really understand what this work is, what it takes to do it, and why people in early childhood development need to be better compensated."

This quote brings out my motivation.  The majority of people outside of early childhood do not understand what early childhood is, its importance, and what it entails to be an early childhood professional.  I am constantly motivated in educating people on the field of early childhood so their understanding starts to develop.

W.  Clement & Jessie Stone Foundation (Interviewer) & Whitebook, M.  (Interviewee).  (2012).  An Interview
      with Marcy Whitebook of UC Berkeley's Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (Interview
      Transcript). Retrieved from W. Clement & Jessie Stone Foundation Web site:  
       http://www.wcstonefnd.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/spotlight_whitebook.pdf
 
Sylvia Chard said: Project work can provide a view of a child that most clearly reveals to the teacher what the child is capable of."
From my experiences, I see teachers all the time teaching the same stuff to all the children.  Some children get it and others are lost, confused, or bored.  We forget that children have different abilities and in order to truly see what a child can or cannot do, they need to be in their own element.  We cannot judge their abilities based on a test.  We need to watch them in their natural environment, where they are having fun and investigating.  This is where we see the child for who they really are.

Chard, S. C. (1999).  From themes to projects.  Early Childhood Research and Practice.  1(1).  Retrieved from
      http://ecrp.uius.edu/v1n1/chard/html
 
She also said:  "They are young scientists.  They are curious.  They like to investigate things, feel them, observe them closely, take them apart, and generally make things happen!"
Children do not learn by sitting all day.  They learn best through hands on experiences.  I wish the public and the public school system realized this concept and learn this quote.
  
Chard, S. (2012, January 22)  Edutopia interview [Blog post].  Retrieved from http://www.projectapproach.
      org/blog.php  

From the video, two quotes stood out to me.  The first shows my passion that all children deserve the best regardless of the background that they come from.  The second quote shows my thinking each day I wake up and go to work.  I do not work for myself, but for the children.  I always have and always will.

Louise Derman-Sparks:
"The passion to make sure all children were taught in environments and in ways that truly nurtured their ability to grow and develop to their fullest ability." 

Raymond Hernandez:
"Everyday I go to work I look forward to it because I know the services I'm providing for the children, its to their benefit.  It's not anything that's going to benefit me, it's going to benefit them."

Laureate Education, Inc.  (2010)  The passion for early childhood.  (Video Webcast).  In Foundations:  Early
   Childhood Studies.  Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com