I am making a new professional beginning for myself by embracing the field of early childhood education.  This blog will memorialize my journey.  I have taken a very non-direct route to get here, though my prior professional experiences in the business world should not be discounted.  They were key to my personal reflections about what motivates me to work.  What are your motivations to pursue work in early childhood education? Are you working for a title, or for privileges in a parking garage, or for a bigger office?  I was.  It seems so contrived and silly to work for such things. How would you explain the value of these motivators to a child?  This perspective has already been written about in a favorite children's book of mine, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

 

In the story, a little prince travels to Earth from his own planet in search of ways to care for his special flower.  When he arrives on Earth, and sees men traveling in commuter trains, he notes the following:

'Men,' said the little prince, 'set out on their way in express trains, but they do not know what they are looking for.  Then they rush about, and get excited, and turn around and round....' And he added,'it is not worth the trouble.'  

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'The men where you live,' said the little prince, 'raise five thousand roses in the same garden - and they do not find in it what they are looking for....And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose....But the eyes are blind.  One must look with the heart....'

I worked blindly for many years, until I became the mother of two daughters, Annalise and Audrey.

Annalise

Audrey

They are still so young, only ages 3 and 2, and are the wisest bosses I have ever had.  These two children, so full of wonder and love and silliness and happiness, make me passionate about teaching other children.  Now don't you think the little prince would understand the value of this motivation....