Personnel Issues

The Learning Team

In hiring staff, a program looks for the appropriate level of educational degree and previous experience. But education is a life-long effort. A student needs to hear information several times and in different contexts in order to really understand and, finally, be able to use the knowledge. The opportunity to immediately apply new information or a new technique also reinforces transfer of knowledge. In training early childhood teachers, honing observational skills is a significant challenge. Classroom teaching goes only so far before in-service training with different ages of children becomes necessary. Guided opportunities for observing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are critical for developing a perceptive teacher.

Knowledge of child development is the foundation on which to build observational learning. In Building Healthy Minds (1999), Stanley Greenspan presents a list of six experiences that illustrate key stages in early childhood development. The book describes situations of infants and young children connecting and relating with caring adults. The stages include: “becoming calm, attentive, and interested in the world” (from newborn); “falling in love” (from 2-4 months); “becoming a two-way communicator” (from 3-10 months); “solving problems and forming a sense of self” (from 1 year); “discovering a world of ideas” (from 2-2 ½ years); and “building bridges between ideas” (from 3-4 years). Understanding infant and young child communication and being able to respond will enhance the cohesiveness of a family literacy program.

Applying training with reflective observations is a must in creating responsive relationships. Emotional Connections: How Relationships Guide Early Learning (Butterfield, et al., 2004, p. 42) reports how “adult cues define relationships for children.” Relationships with infants and toddlers grow through communication. Much of this communication is nonverbal. In observing infants arriving with parents, one can see infants being held close with an almost constant nonverbal communication of smiles and touching, letting the child remain engaged and in a responsive relationship. Other infants are seen arriving, hanging to the side of the parent, looking out with blank expressions, as unresponsive as the parent is to the infant. Relationships or connections begin at birth and affect all later relationships and learning situations. Observation is the initial step in childcare. Connecting is the second step. A family literacy program can provide early support to strengthen family connections.

Those working with the youngest children need to be cognizant of the emotional cues they are sending out, being emotionally available to the child, and realizing the role temperament plays in relationships. A responsive caregiver mediates the environment for the child. An example is the holding and comforting of a temperamentally fearful toddler when an unfamiliar adult appears. Temperaments of both the children and caregivers can be considered in making personnel adjustments to accentuate the “goodness of fit” (Butterfield, et al., 2004, p. 38) between adults and children. For example, temperament “fit” should be considered in deciding who is working with small groups, reading a book to a toddler, or supervising large motor play.

An effective family literacy program strives to build trust and relationships among all members of the learning team. Emotional cues of different cultures are recognized. Parents will trust and share with teachers whom they perceive as improving the child’s development. Children will sense the trust and be at ease. Knowledge about child development and understanding the cues of very young children are necessary to create an appropriate learning environment. Relationships are so important that they influence infant and toddler emotional and cognitive development. “First learning involves developing the architecture of the brain (Butterfield, et al., 2004, p. 183).” The child will have the best beginning when the learning team is responsive and connected.

Butterfield, Perry McArthur, Martin, Carol A., and Prairie, Arleen Pratt (2004). Emotional Connections: How Relationships Guide Early Learning. Washington, DC: Zero To Three.

Greenspan, Stanley and Lewis, Nancy Breslau (1999). Building Healthy Minds: The Six Experiences that Create Intelligence and Emotional Growth in Babies and Young Children. New York, NY: Da Capo Press.