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community of learning, conference, learning, PETE&C, pete2017, professional development, teachers, technology
This time of year brings with it a lot of professional development opportunities for educators. Last week, several teachers were able to attend a conference on technology integration. It is a conference held each year to share ideas and experiences with technology in the classroom. This conference is what all professional development should be…inspiring.
Taking the time out of one’s schedule to learn new things and to be inspired by the work of others is one of the things that energizes us each to enthusiastically work to do the best we can to support children’s growth. Each person has varying needs to improve his or her practice. Each year presents different challenges. Just when you think you have it all figured out things shift and new skills and knowledge are required.
Working in a school reminds us that we are all learners. We have things to learn from each other no matter how young or old. As another year’s opportunities for learning take place, where will you focus? What tools will you add to your already overfilled toolbox? It is in yearning for more and refining our practice that we continue to contribute to the lives of the children in our care.
Nothing is more gratifying than quietly working and hearing the soft voice of a teacher strolling down the hallway singing with toddlers, “I’ve got joy like a fountain in my heart.” Moments such as these literally fill our hearts. Working with young children can be delightful, frustrating, enjoyable, difficult and rewarding. After all, they are children, which means they are all of these things and more. People often ask how one can work with children every day or say they could never be a teacher. Isn’t it hard work? You bet it is, but there is no work that is more important or satisfying than working with children and watching them grow. When was the last time you had the pleasure of hearing sweet voices singing the next verse of a well loved song or asking the teacher to sing it one more time? If your job doesn’t provide this opportunity, ask a teacher what delighted her today, sit back and enjoy listening to the response. You’ll be glad you asked. 
Since Wilmington Montessori School serves children as young as 12 months old, we have an opportunity to watch them grow in every way before they graduate from sixth grade and move on to middle school. The youngest children in the school are very attached to their teachers. They depend on the same faces greeting them each day, helping them with their work, and sending them off into the arms of their parents at the end of the day. However, once these children move on to the next level at age 3, they often are shy and quiet in greeting their former teachers. They may smile or say hello if prompted. They have moved on and are creating new relationships. By the time they graduate from sixth grade, they may only recall their toddler teacher because a photo or parent reminds them of that time spent in the classroom.
