This issue of Bedrock features a number of stories from presenters at the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Early Childhood Conference held in September.
The theme of this Conference was Myth Busters – Challenging the Things We Know are Wrong.
Among the things we know are wrong are the comments by Federal Senator David Leyonhjelm in Febuary this year that early childhood teachers are not real teachers but spend their time “wiping noses and stopping kids from killing each other”.
This statement is an appalling belittling of the positive commitment made by those who devote their working lives to early education and care. It is ill-informed, inaccurate and insulting.
But it points to the way politicians are thinking and the way the current Government is trying to take public discussion in regard to what they call ‘child care’.
In simple terms ‘child care’ is a mechanism by which mothers can return to the workforce more quickly. Hence, they connect access to a work test.
We must dispel that myth. Take every opportunity to voice the value you as teachers add to the intellectual development of the children you work with.
Stories from the conference can be found on pages 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20.
From the Queensland/Northern Territory Branch we have further insight into the early childhood profession, including why graduates are developing an apparent aversion to working in early childhood education (p14); some wonderful stories of reconciliation from Mt Isa’s oldest kindergarten (p8); a look at how boys and girls are developing behavioural skills differently in the lead up to school (p18) and a fascinating insight into dealing with discussions of mental health with kindergarten aged children (p16).