Heartfelt Staff Orientation

09/26/2018

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
Carl Jung

"Consider this cornerstone question," write Ann Pelo and Margie Carter in their new book, From Teaching to Thinking: A Pedagogy for Reimagining Our Work. "How will we structure our orientation for new staff, so that it parallels how we hope educators welcome and orient new children and their families? It’s tempting to hand piles of paperwork…full of details about staff schedules and break times, how payroll is managed, how leave requests and sick days are handled…

We would cringe – and rightly so – if that was how educators greeted children and families as they began their time in our program.

What if, in our first exchange with new staff members, we welcomed 'the self that teaches?' What if we invited conversations about what we hope our center stands for – the values and vision that anchor our community? What if we made time for thoughtful observation and those vulnerable first steps into relationship – just as we would for a child when she joins our center?"

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