EXPERTS

I have been working as teacher for more than 40 years, but I could say that I have been a teacher all my life because when I was young I looked after my neighbors’ children for some coins. I did it by vocation, something that is disappearing. I’m retired now, and when I look back I think everything has deteriorated significantly because new generations have lost precisely what made me take care of my neighbors while my friends went to the park to hang out: the vocation.
Government employees have lost it: steady job, good pay, tedium, vacations, good timetable and above all the safety of having a secure job. Children will change, but the public teacher remains. In private education it’s different, working conditions are not as good and stability either. Deep down it doesn’t matter, they have lost their vocation.
As a professional in primary education, I reflect by telling my story. I remember my teacher Maruja who sang songs for us. The children nowadays will remember something called Sony, who plays the music in DVD. Technology can not replace us.
I'm not one of those who think that any past time was better, and I’m in favor of the logical evolution of society, but we lost the values along the way, values such as respect and admiration for teachers who have helped us to learn and become what we are today.

In the day nursery group where I was on placement this year, I carried out a project as part of my course work, on the topic of “grasping water with all senses”, with four children aged two.
My goal was to get the children to deal more intensively with the element of water. It was important to me that the children's actions would take centre stage. They were to be able to act independently and experience this way that one's own actions produce an effect.
First the children had the opportunity to occupy themselves with water without any time pressure (sink and tap). Then I prepared a large tub with different materials for the next units (for example sponges, materials to pour into and out of etc.)
In good weather the units took place in the garden.
I could notice how appealing and exciting the element of water was to the children. It was difficult to conclude the project, as ever new opportunities to play presented themselves.
I also realised how important it is not to give any concrete instructions and to be available instead as a companion and a source of inspiration.

The most important challenge in media education is changing the concepts of teaching, learning and information. Nowadays we can´t think that teacher knows and teaches. We have to question the reality of information, the perspective of information and the meaning of information to different individuals and communities. Teaching is therefore other than just transferring “the truth” to pupils heads.
Also the concept of learning has changed. When learning, pupil creates relationships to his environment and to another people in a way that helps him to cope with challenges. Learning is individual and unique to everybody.
It is challenging to understand those issues as a teacher and an educator, as a parent and as a member of different communities, especially when curriculums and learning goals are the same for each pupil in elementary school.
 

We had planted potatoes in our little kindergarten garden. Now it was time to harvest. Digging them up was like a treasure hunt to the children. Every single potato turned into a coveted treasure! Each one was marvelled at and acclaimed. When we had gathered all of them, we counted them together. 1...2...3... - 88! We had exactly 88! One child goggled a lot and asked: "What? You can just find potatoes in the ground? You don't actually need to buy them?" Then the children were keen to sort the potatoes by size and to examine their different shapes. Some were sooo tiny that you really had to look very closely to be able to actually recognize them as a potato.