Finding My Voice

It is nap time here. And I am busy eating my lunch, researching and contemplating when I should start the dishes that are currently in the sink from lunch and breakfast time. This is my normal day. Nap time for preschool still happens here. I know the children are sleepy and I refuse to do a way  with something that helps them process the information that they have gathered during the day. 

Last week was tough for me professionally. I won't go too much into detail, but after dealing with the aftermath of me having a big mouth it left me wondering: 

How do I continue to be an advocate for Providers and Children without damaging the reputation and career I have built up? 

It is tough wanting to help family child care providers when you are constantly told to put your head down and just not to be seen. I have never been good at those things. I am a big mouth from birth. I also think that if I am not willing to stand up and fight for the people who teach the next generation, how do I teach the next generation to fight for what they think is right? 

Our career field has shifted far far too much in my opinion. We are not allowed to tell the children "no" because it is too negative. So now we have people walking around who look like they will crumble when they hear the word no. Children are suppose to be taught how to manage their emotions.....but they are not allowed to sit alone if they are feeling overwhelmed. Teaching children to sit down and wait for their friends to be done with their food or to politely ask to leave the table is expecting too much of them. 

I mean these are normal every day things. We are not allowed to help parents reinforce the lessons of manners, emotional management, patience and respect, because someone decided that a child learning to wait and that sometimes the answer is "no" because the person in charge has said "no" is harmful. We are living in a great time technologically, we have the ability to introduce the most amazing concepts to children and SHOW them how things work. It doesnt have to be done with them sitting for hours and hours in a seat. We can dance and learn to count, we can read a story while acting out the words, we can go outside on a pretend bear hunt to learn to follow the rules and watch where we are going. Teaching is more than the little box and check marks that the field has been reduced too over the last couple of decades. It is more than the standardized test we have the children take, or that teachers are being forced to teach towards. 

Teaching is about....my ears bleeding because I was dumb and gave a 4 year old an instrument to play....loudly. But they love it, so next time I will cover my ears. Teaching is finding little papers everywhere because a 2 year old mastered using the scissors but she refuses to cut on the lines. Then giving her the scissors the next day because, even though she is not following the path she mastered cutting *kanye shrug*, let her cut! Teaching is my bathroom covered in paint because we did an experiment and it got EVERYWHERE. Teaching is finding glitter in my hair and on my butt because a kid pretended to do my hair and another dumped glitter on my chair and I sat in it before I saw it. 

Teaching is Messy. Learning is Messy. Why have we forgotten how to make learning fun for kids? Why are we so obessed with making everything appear so perfect for them in childhood, that we have forgotten that we are suppose to be preparing them to deal with the world not being so perfect. 

So this blog started out bumpy. I was trying to find my voice. I wanted to inspire and leave a mark on the world. And after last week, I offically think....no I KNOW, I found my voice. 

It's a little loud and squeaky though. Just a warning. :)

Until next time, Get Loud and Messy! 

​Ms. Tessie 

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