Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/in-praise-of/5018598/
I like what Margaret Mead wrote about an ideal society having a place for every unique human gift. It’s probably what drew me to the early childhood field �" the notion that my fellow professionals and I could help children discover, develop, and ultimately contribute their unique gifts to the greater good. The longer I’ve been in our field, though, the more I’ve come to believe that before we can truly help children celebrate their gifts, we have to first celebrate our own. That isn’t always easy. When the nobility of the work we do isn’t readily lauded or even acknowledged, it can be discouraging and begin to affect the way we feel about ourselves.Telling our stories helps. That’s where reading Exchange magazine comes in. It’s full of great stories �" the “here’s what I’ve learned” and “this is what I believe” variety. Reading these stories together as a staff is a great way to begin discussions that go deeper than typical day-to-day conversations.
Year ago, as a young program director, I found that buying Exchange for every staff member was one of the best professional development investments I could make. Discussing ...