Ultimately, the biggest issue for everyone right now is the Coronavirus pandemic. All children are being affected as their lives have been turned upside down and their normal lives are not normal anymore. They do not go to school, they do not see their friends, or family, they cannot have birthday parties or do fun activities during the holidays. They are forced to do school from a computer, something that adults struggle with. Thankfully, in the early childhood field, younger children are still able to attend school, but the "new normal" standards are still not fun for them. Children over the age of 2 must wear masks. All day. (This is hard for some adults I know.) They are limited to the centers they can play in and with. There are no soft toys in the classrooms anymore. Baby dolls are some of the young children's most favorite toys. But, sorry. No more dolls. It has been a struggle for teachers, but especially ECE teachers. How do you keep ten three year olds socially distanced? How can you convince a group of ten 2 year olds to keep their masks on? There has been a learning curve that we have all had to adapt to. I wouldn't wish this "new normal" on anyone. We are making the best of it, but it is not fun by any means.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Professional Goals, Hopes, and Dreams
For me, I hope that this pandemic is just a memory in the blip of time of our children's lives. I hope that we do not need to keep offering pieces of training that are gut-wrenching to our teachers. Just last week, we required all staff at my school to take a child abuse awareness training. It was so difficult to get through. I hope that early childhood education continues to be important to government officials and that ECE professionals are recognized for their hard work. I hope that the standard for requirements in the ECE field continues to be brought higher and higher and easier to attain.
Ultimately, I hope that even though this pandemic has been difficult for everyone, I hope that it brings us all closer and makes us realize that we are actually all in this thing called life together as one unit. And that kindness always prevails.
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Leanne,
ReplyDeleteI agree Covid-19 is still the most talked about among educators. What hurts the most is that we still have to explain to some stakeholders and community members why we must follow the CDC guidelines. No one understands the frustration of a young child not being understood because the adult has to ask for them to repeat over and over again because the mask is making it difficult to understand them. I wish I could have recorded the stares I received the other day for holding a 6 year old in my arms, who was crying, because he was not sure that Santa would bring his uncle back in time for Christmas. His uncle died last week. I hope this soon fades away.
Hi Leanne,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point of view about covid-19 and its impact on children. The quality and magnitude of impact on minors is determined by many vulnerability factors like developmental age, educational status, pre-existing mental health condition, being economically underprivileged or being quarantined due to infection or fear of infection. I hope that 2021 will be safer for us.
Tasneem
Hello Leanne,
ReplyDeleteCOVID 19 is the biggest issue. Recently one of our staff members tested positive. We had to contact parents and let them know that they had to pick up their children within the hour. Parents were scrambling to leave their jobs and rush to pick up their children and to find alternative child care. The Health Department informed us that we must let parents know that their children would need testing before returning to school. The center was closed and all staff members were required to get tested. What a mess! Recently we received new information from the CDC that the children would not have to be tested because they would not be returning to school until after the holiday break. How confusing is that, mixed messages from two reliable sources? I just want this to be over.Thank you for sharing and have a blessed holiday and New Year.
Cynthia