Personal Narrative: The Importance Of Early Childhood Education

For the past two years I have immersed myself in learning about developmentally appropriate early childhood teaching practices, the impact of early childhood education on families and society and something else. Through my field placements and working as a full time teaching assistant I have acquired a command of early childhood curriculum frameworks and best practices for implementation in the classroom. Teaching in the early childhood setting is my passion, but it is also my second career. I bring to the classroom an unique perspective, and pragmatic outlook about the skills and talents needed to succeed in the 21st century workforce. There was a common thread throughout my education at MCLA that urged us to recognize the importance of standards,

Appropriate social and emotional skills help children develop the skills they need for cooperation, following directions, self-control and paying attention. These skills are innate, however in the school setting have become a part of everyday learning. Especially since social and emotional competencies are critical for children 's success, in school as well as in other settings, and later phases of life into adulthood. (Darling, 2016, p. 3). Developing social-emotional skills in children help them persist on challenging tasks, and effectively seek help when they need it along with exhibiting thoughtfulness in their actions. These are all traits that are important to academic

When given the opportunity to perform tasks outside the classroom, children can more easily move away from confrontation, and so are less likely to show signs of frustration and lack of cooperation (Maynard and Waters, 2007, p. 257). This allows for students to freely develop responsible decision making skills that lead to improved negotiation. In the outdoor classroom educators can design authentic activities such as den building or team challenges using pulleys and rope for example that require students to cooperate and process another individual’s point of view which develops empathy - a vital social-emotional skill. The natural world provides a diverse and stimulating environment for young children to experience shared discoveries that lead to shared negotiations. At Stony Point preschool in Richmond Virginia, a group of nine or ten preschool students were fascinated with a newly fallen tree. One group of students wanted to disconnect the base that was still attached to the ground and were working hard on deconstructing, others were “mining” materials from inside the tree, and a third group was scraping the rotted bark to make a hot chocolate factory. During their time working at the tree, negotiations, defending arguments and compromise were observed. At the school this became known as the “Dead tree debate” and the classroom teachers were able to incorporate this real shared experience into an