I have been watching the interaction between teachers in my Early Childhood Group and other Groups.
And the way you disrespect each other is disheartening. We are always saying how we want the field to be respected, yet we can’t even respect each other.
Be professional whenever possible.
Some of you in the Early Childhood Education Groups, feel that its okay to say whatever you want. And you can, it is in your right to do so.
But keep in mind that you are representing yourself as an educator and you are not sure who is in the group, it might be a parent, a colleague or someone looking to hire educators for a project that they are working on.
As I understand that these are just groups on Facebook. I have to think that mutual respect should be practiced in all interactions. I don’t comment on everything in my group, especially if I don’t agree with it. However, I will step in if I think the information could be harmful to new educators that might not know about all of the rules and regulations
I’m very concern that some educators are not able to regulate their emotions when discussing hard hitting topics, and revert to name calling which in turn make others leave the group. It just seems so counterproductive. The person who left the group could have been a valuable asset.
In addition, aren’t we the ones who work on teaching our students how to regulate their emotions? But we have a hard time regulating own emotions, that’s very concerning to me.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but how you voice that opinion says a lot about who you are as a person.
I have chosen to let parents in my group. I thought that it was important to let parents see what Early Childhood Educators deal with. My hopes was that they would see the importance of the field. But teachers that are disrespectful and rude only confirm what others might think of the field, that we are just babysitters. 🙁
Another thing I wanted to cover is that know-it-all mentality that some of you have. Its okay to express your knowledge about the field. But not everyone has to believe what you believe. And not all teaching styles is a one size fits all. Just because you don’t agree with it, does not make it developmentally inappropriate. I must remind you that not all Early Childhood Educators are from the U.S. therefore their practices are different from ours, and children develop at different rates.
Please keep this information in your mind when you interact with each other. If we want to change how others see Early Childhood, it has to start with us.
Shine Early Childhood Educators! You deserve the best! But you have to show the world, who you are.
