The Roots of Learning

Abstract

"My role as a preschool teacher is to engage deeply with children in their process of exploring their world and exchanging ideas through play. "My role as a preschool teacher is to ensure that children develop skills and knowledge to support their long-term academic success. What is my role? This dichotomy of identity, priorities, and expectations has served as the background for my work with young children over the past twenty years, but it has become more pronounced over the past two or three years. My training has been within the constructivist model, and I am currently working in a program whose philosophy is inspired by the values of Reggio Emilia. Therefore, the goal of participating at deep levels with the children seems very important to me. At the same time, I work in a bilingual (Spanish-English) community and in a state-sponsored education system, and for these reasons it is very clear to me my duty to prepare the children for elementary school. I'm not alone in struggling with this dichotomy: researchers and teachers in the Chicago Commons call it the "goal problem.

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