Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/collaborative-learning-communities/5018010/
The orchestra is playing a familiar tune; the chorus is singing familiar words. If you look around the audience, some are quietly mouthing the words or humming along, and a few are just singing out boldly. But many are staring straight ahead, with no recognition registering on their faces. Do they know the song? If so, what prevents them from singing along? The early childhood community is a lot like this concert. If ‘theory’ represents what we could be, then ‘practice’ represents what we actually do. In the case of educating the young, our nation is standing at a precipice between the two, unsure of how to make the leap.As a facilitator of professional development for preschool teachers, I am continually faced with questions related to the great divide between theory and practice. Although most child care professionals learn that developmentally appropriate practices support the holistic growth of young children during their initial training, many teachers feel ill-equipped to implement these practices in their classrooms. Many even feel that school structures (i.e., policies and procedures, curriculum, assessment, etc.) are not set up to support this type of teaching.
So here is the million dollar question, the one that should be on the ...