1.1 The Nurturing Teacher
Holly Lanoue, M.Ed.
Early childhood teachers work directly with children to teach them, talk with them, guide their behaviors, and to provide for their physical and psychological growth and development. Early childhood teachers also document children’s progress, model appropriate interactions, and nurture their students. Teachers also interact with the adults in the children’s lives to build an essential connection with each child and their families.
One of the primary goals of the early childhood educator is to be a nurturing teacher: one who promotes respect among everyone involved in the classroom. This level of respect is underlined by a sense of the joy in teaching children. You may have an image in your mind of what a nurturing teacher might look like, and it could include some of the behaviors and tasks listed above. It also includes building a caring learning community that creates a positive classroom community. A caring community goes beyond having the appropriate number of math manipulatives. In fact, creating warm inviting classrooms is among some of the most important work that early childhood teachers do for children and families. Positive relationships are at the heart of everything we do as teachers, and the messages we send leave lasting impressions that lay a foundation for children’s approaches to learning for the rest of their lives.
Each day you walk into the classroom you bring a set of personal and professional values that guide your work. Although there is no one correct way or one personality that lends itself better to the teaching profession, there are tendencies, personalities, and skills that contribute to the daily success you will have working in the profession. We will begin the book by exploring what all teachers of young children carry with them as they enter the classroom each day.
The Teacher as a Person
Who you are as a person will be the foundation of the daily work that you do with children and families. Attitudes that you hold about diversity and inclusion of children will factor into how your classroom is set up and managed.
Skills and Knowledge
Every profession has a set of skills and a knowledge base that individuals within that profession use to define the field. For example, a dentist should have skills to check your teeth and fill cavities, and a car mechanic has knowledge about how to diagnose a faulty carburetor. Working as an effective teacher means that you have knowledge and a specialized skill set about many topics within the profession of early childhood education. It also requires that you stay current in the knowledge base of early childhood education and work to apply professional knowledge and skills for the benefit of young children and in partnership with their families.
A recent study entitled Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores implications of research-based child development practices that influence those who work with childre