The Rewards of Working with Children

We were delighted to see the latest edition of one of our all time favorite early childhood books, Who Am I in the Lives of Children (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2006) by Stephanie Feeney, Doris Christensen, and Eva Moravcik. This is a delightful and uplifting introduction to early childhood education, which manages at the same time to reflect the realities of the workplace. Here is an excerpt:

"Working with young children is varied and challenging; it demands knowledge, skill, sensitivity, creativity and hard work. If these challenges excite you, you have probably chosen the right field. Early childhood education and care is especially rewarding for those who enjoy the spontaneous teaching and learning opportunties that abound in daily life with young children. It will not be as gratifying for people who think that teaching is a matter of dispensing subject matter or for those who like everything to be tidy and predictable. Sometimes college students who begin their careers with visions of shaping young minds become discouraged when they discover how much of their time is spent mixing paint, changing pants, arbitrating disputes, mopping floors, and wiping noses. But while working with young children is demanding and tiring, it can also be invigorating and gratifying."