Sunday 10 August 2014

Welcome.


Hi all, and welcome to the first post of my blog.

I’ve created this site for a variety of reasons. First, I hope to connect with other professionals in the field of education. Through these new connections I hope to be challenged, informed, and encouraged. As teachers, we spend the majority of time working in isolation in our own classrooms and I strongly feel that there is a benefit to engaging in professional discourses and using new viewpoints and ideas to evolve your own philosophies and practice. A complacent teacher is an ineffective teacher.  Secondly, I hope to use this site as a tool to connect with parents and families from my own classroom community. We already use email and Twitter to provide daily glimpses into our learning, but I want to allow parents an opportunity to go deeper in understanding WHY we do the things we do. I hope to utilize this site to give more information and justification for my choices as a teacher. Lastly, I’ve created this site for myself. I hope to document my journey of life long learning and to self reflect on how my own practice evolves over time.

Why "Wide Eyes and Wonder"?

Choosing a title for this blog was surprisingly difficult. I went through a multitude of them before finding one that just felt "right". The final title came from what is undoubtedly one of my favourite things about working with young students: the sense of wonder they find in what we as adults may consider the most minute of things. Looking at the world around them through their "wide eyes and wonder", there's a definite sense of magic in the little things. Feathers, rocks, seasonal changes, structures and the community around them are enough to springboard interesting wonders, questions, self-made theories, and serve as the catalyst for further learning. In inquiry based learning, this sense of wonder is crucial. I've always been a believer that education is reciprocal. While the students certainly can learn from me as an educator, I can learn just as much from them. This sense of childhood "wide eyes and wonder" is one of those things that my students have taught me, and is something that I think is important to bring back in our adult lives. Given the fact that it's reflective of both my philosophy and practice in early childhood education, I've chosen it as the title of my blog. Stayed tuned for more entries, and please - don't be afraid to comment!

2 comments:

  1. Welcome to the world of blogging - it is so empowering to share your journey with other educators to provide insight into the ups and downs, the beauty of learning, and the wonder of childhood. You are a passionate teacher and I was honoured to spend time in your classroom this year. I look forward to watching your students learning on the magical island that you are so fortunate to teach on! Kindergarten has truly brought me back to many happy childhood memories, many of which I shared with you!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Tracy, and thanks as well for the countless moments of inspiration I've had from your fantastic blog. In a lot of ways you got the wheels turning in my head about why a blog like this is important!

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