Early Learning Centres

My brain is still a bit fuzzy from the sinus congestion, but I am going to go ahead and tackle a post about some of my first impressions into Early Childhood Education in NZ. I have been reticent to write about it, and I still am, because I feel like my limited experience cannot begin to do justice to an entire field, especially one about which I care so much. So please take my descriptions as what they are: the first reflections of an American-trained teacher who has spent no more than two days in each of five different early learning centres in NZ.

I moved here with a valid work permit, but without credentials that are recognized in NZ. In order for them to be recognized, they must be evaluated by the NZ Qualifications Authority, and then passed on to the NZ Teacher's Council, who will register me. Registration seems to be the equivalent of teacher licensure, just as Membership was the equivalent in Canada. In any case, it will take at least another month before the process will be complete and I will be registered.

My plan in the meantime is to learn as much as I can about Early Childhood Education in NZ. I did a thorough search of early learning centres, and have begun to visit them. I have explained to the teachers at each centre who I am and what my goals are. The teachers have been kind and welcoming, and allowed me to spend time in their classrooms/centres, get to know the children a bit, and discuss teaching policies. I have spent time in five centres, and I have five more on my list to visit. (I was going to get to several of them this week, but I am too busy being sick).

Here are some differences I have noticed, when comparing the centres to American and Canadian ones:

1) The doors to the playground are always open, and the children can choose to be inside or outside. There is a teacher outside, a teacher inside, and several teachers who moved back and forth as they are needed. It seems to me that this helps incorporate the outdoor environment into children's learning, as well as giving children more options of activities and more space. It also seems like it could pose safety problems, the biggest one being that no one teacher can know where each child is at any given time. In many of my previous classrooms, I was required to do a head count every 10-15 minutes while outside with the children. That is obviously not possible with this set-up, but there is an understanding that the children are safe, and at least one teacher would see if they needed anything.
2) Another reason that head counts are out of the question is that the children can move back and forth between the classrooms as they choose (or sometimes with a teacher's permission). The preschoolers and toddlers can play in the infant room, and vice versa. The teacher have explained that the system is a great way to encourage children to mentor and support each other, which is a concept I love, and am so glad that they are supporting. It is also a great way to continue relationships between teachers and child, even as the children grow up. I do wonder a bit about whether the children feel like they have a place that is their own - a "home" feeling at school, which is also important. I will have to spend more time getting to know the children and programs in order to understand this.
3) The class sizes tend to be much bigger here. In the state of Kansas, the most children you can have in an infant classroom is nine (or ten if they are walking). In NZ, there are classrooms with 30 infants! Interestingly, the teacher:child ratios are about the same (1:3 for below 12 months, 1:5 for 12-24 months). That means that in a 30 child classroom, there are 9 or 10 teachers. Class sizes for toddlers and preschoolers are up to about 30 as well (with less teachers, as the ratio goes up as children age). I would have thought that that would be overwhelming and much too busy, but when I'm in there, it doesn't feel that way. The classrooms and outdoor spaces are large and well designed, and the use of both at the same time spreads the children, teachers, and noise out. I don't know how I will feel about having that many children in my classroom when I start working, but for the moment, I have just been impressed by how well it seems to work. The children have good friends, the teachers know each child well, and the days seem to go smoothly.
4) Maori is used in the centres. I have heard a couple teachers talking to children in Maori, but what is more common is just to say common words or phrases in Maori. For example, the teachers never say 'food,' they say 'kai.' E.g. "Please finish your kai before you go and play." They also say 'tauawhi' ('hug') and 'kapai' ('good job'). Almost all the writing in the classrooms are in both languages, and they sing lots of Maori songs. I love the bilingualism, and can't wait to get started learning Maori.
5) I have come to the conclusion that parents must be more understanding here that children get hurt sometimes, because the teachers allow children to take many more risks than I am used to, and don't seem worried about parents' reactions. I love this, because I think that we are not doing children any favours by eliminating everything that could possibly be dangerous from their environment. The world is a dangerous place, and children need to learn to manage risk and understand their own limits, which is hard to learn without some risk. Anyway, that seems to be the outlook here, as teachers watch children climb high in trees, build unstable structures and climb on them, and even experiment with real rip saws, hammers, and nails. What has been so cool has been seeing the children confidently taking on these challenges, but independently choosing to stop and ask for help when they come across something that might be dangerous to do by themselves. I am impressed (and relieved) to see that they seem to be learning to keep themselves safe.

These observations, as I mentioned, are from the early learning centres that I have visited. However, there is another ECE option here, which is kindergarten. Kindergarten in NZ is publicly run (unlike the early learning centres, which are private), and is for children ages 3 to 5 years, or sometimes younger if the child is potty trained. I have been told by several teachers that it is very similar to the preschool classrooms in early learning centres. I have not visited any kindergartens yet, but I have applied to be a reliever (substitute) teacher for the Kindergarten Association of Wanganui. All 12 kindergartens in the city (and surrounding area) are in the Association, and when any of them need a reliever, they call the central office, who calls one. This is ideal for me, because I will be able to be sent to 12 different schools, but only have to worry about coordinating schedules with one person. (This is important to me, because my experience substituting in Canada taught me that I do not deal well with the stress of three centres calling me to substitute on the same day, and I was nervous about repeating that scenario). Relieving gives me a neat, professional way to be introduced to each school, which is nice. It will also allow me the flexibility to continue visiting early learning centres, so I think it will work out great. They cannot schedule my interview until my NZ background check comes back, but I hope it will be soon, so I can get going.

I want to reiterate that my observations cannot even be generalized to every centre in Whanganui, let alone to all of ECE in NZ. Besides, they are just the very beginning of my endeavours to learn about and work in the field. I am eager to continue to learn from the teachers and children here, and to see what I can bring to the classroom.