"We are not deliberately developmental with our teaching staff. We need to be creating plans and visions that help teachers to grow and evolve".
Susan MacDonald is the founder of Inspiring New Perspectives, a consulting group focused on empowering school leaders and educators to create learning environments that deeply respect and nurture the possibilities that lie within each teacher, child, and parent.
Episode 97 - Urban Thinkscape, a program working with Frontiers of Innovation that transforms public spaces by infusing them with activities that challenge the mind while encouraging joyful interactions between children and caregivers. Dr. Brenna Hassinger-Das describes her research on how kids learn best and how the thinkscape helps children play and learn.
Our favourite story is of the bus stop and the metal bench. Which thinkscape installation is your favourite?
Our daily lives are filled with layered complex legal decisions, yet our teachers aren't trained on these core competencies. If you are going to prepare educators the way we could prepare any other professional field (like lawyers, doctors, judges, etc), then we need to include compliance as part of our professional development training. Unfortunately, what is valuable to child care owners may not be aligned with what is important for parents and families. How do you reconcile our expectations as child care providers and the expectations about the quality of care from parents? What does quality child care truly mean? Michelle McGinnis says "when you are in a quality child care center you can hear it - it is palatable".
What is the state of play in America? Ms. Yudina is spearheading the Association’s consumer-directed The Genius of Play™ movement to raise awareness of play as a crucial part of child development and encourage families to make time for play in their daily lives. Listen and find out why play is so critical to childhood development.
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Learn about the Genius of Play and read their report here.
Barb O'Neill is the Owner and Creator of the upcoming conference Transform Challenging Behavior. The biggest risk factor for being suspended or expelled from school is before the age of five. Barb returns to the podcast to discuss how not to approach expulsions and suspensions with blame but with support for challenging behaviour that assists everyone involved - teachers, parents and children. The mindset of dealing with challenging behavior is critical for reflecting on your teaching practice and identifying the unique needs of a child.