Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/rethinking-our-use-of-resources-part-2/5016718/
Working with directors across the country, I’ve been struck by how tied down with a scarcity mentality we are in this early care and education field. Yes, of course, budgets are tight and expenses are rising; but I think that we are so used to getting hand-me-downs and left-overs, that we sometimes think we don’t deserve more. Perhaps a good first step for breaking out of narrow thinking about our resources is to do a little dreaming. What could really change the way children and adults feel about their time in our program? How could our environment feel more nourishing to the staff and families, as well as the children?As I discussed in the last issue of Exchange, (November/December 2005) “Rethinking Our Use of Resources �"Part 1: The Pedagogy of Time” we would do well to expand our thinking by considering resources that we may be overlooking �" our physical spaces, our use of time, and what might be thought of as our psychological resources, our attitudes, and what we pay attention to. We have a good deal more control over those things than we tend to exercise, though this sometimes requires some disciplined refocusing. I don’t mean to sound ...