Celebrating the Care in Early Care and Education

05/10/2021

Celebrating the Care in Early Care and Education

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle

Dear Exchange Community,

Thank you to so many who shared your thoughts about President Joe Biden’s address to Congress where he talked about the importance of the early childhood field. Your comments reaffirmed my belief that the majority of early childhood professionals are committed, caring people, with children’s best interests at the heart of their work. So many of you addressed the issue of what our work should be called – childcare, early care and education, early child development, preschool. (Most of you did not want it to be called daycare.)

It’s interesting that Exchange Press has just published a new book, Illuminating Care: The Pedagogy and Practice of Care in Early Childhood Communities, where author Carol Garboden Murray explores caregiving as a vital component of education and child development. Carol discusses the concept of care as an essential building block of human community and society. Indeed, she makes the point that in the early years, care and education cannot be separated. Care is education, she says, explaining that celebrating a culture of caring and considering care as a part of reflective practice elevates the experience of teaching in the early years.

I’ve been reflecting so much on Carol’s important concepts. It occurs to me that we, who bring the elegantly linked gifts of care and education to children, have a responsibility to celebrate, with pride, the entirety of our work, and to help others really understand what we do.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Please share your thoughts, in the comments, about how we name what we do. And how do you feel about the concept of elevating and celebrating care?

As always, we are so grateful to be a part of such an important field.

Warmly,

Nancy Rosenow,
Exchange Publisher,
on behalf of our entire Exchange team

P.S. Here’s an opportunity to celebrate nurturing work at a Nature Explore Live Online Workshop:
Supporting Infants and Toddlers
Infuse nature into daily environments and routines for our youngest children
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
6 - 8 p.m. Central Time (7pm Eastern, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific)
$35.00 per person

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.