Innehållsförteckning för DECEMBER/JANUARY ISSUE 13 2022 QUALITY från Pedagogy+

Quality means what? We both have very different views on what constitutes a quality meal. For Anthony, it’s fresh and quick. For Colin, it’s elaborate and fancy. Here is where the challenge of defining and coming to an agreement about quality arises – it is subjective, and each of us brings our background, beliefs, experience, likes and dislikes to the quality debate. In the early years’ sector, the qualifying elements and what these might look like in good practice have been discussed for many years, and yet the questioning remains — Quality for who? Quality in whose eyes? Quality in what location? And is it possible with a descriptive checklist and tick boxes in hand to parcel quality and decide that we have it under control? At Semann & Slattery,…

These wildly beautiful books offer a collection of acrostic poems, spells and breathtaking illustrations that invite readers to rediscover the natural world. Born from the concern that words referencing the outdoors and the natural were being lost from our dictionaries – displaced by the indoor and virtual, it came to be seen by many as a powerful sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world. First published in 2017, The Lost Words has cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America. The Lost Spells is the unmissable sequel – kindred in spirit to but new in form, The Lost Spells is a pocket-sized treasure. A must for the bookshelf this companion…

PAPER PRESENTED AT THE EDUCATIONAL LEADER CONFERENCE ROADSHOW 2022 I love the metaphors of dance and choreography for thinking about our work. Every day in our interactions and learning alongside children, families and colleagues, we engage in dance – a dance of reciprocity, a dance of dialogue back and forth, a dance of research and ideas where children and adults’ thinking and theory-making come together in a desire to create meaning. A dance of creativity where we respond to moments and choreograph new learning experiences or intentionally scaffold using our deep knowledge of the children and our context. A choreographer is someone who works within a space of rhythm, flow and movement – moving with the body but also moving us with their storytelling and their ability to bring people…

We hope you enjoy Pedagogy+ the art of teaching. Each issue of the magazine looks at a theme relevant to early education; exploring and challenging practice and thinking The pages of Pedagogy+ brim with inspiring articles, candid conversations, the latest trends and lifestyle treats - our brief being to foster critical thinking and stimulate conversations that can advance the theory and practice of pedagogy in early education settings, and to encourage you to think about you. Why subscribe? – it’s an opportunity to: ■ Slow down, relax and enjoy a well-informed read ■ Share in the insights of highly-respected and knowledgeable education experts ■ Enjoy the experience of deciding - what might I like for me or that would make a great gift for someone else ■ Critically reflect on…

PHOSPHORESCENCE JULIA BAIRD An intimate, achingly beautiful and inspiring exploration of the ways we can pursue awe, wonder and purpose. Over the last decade, we have become better at knowing what brings us contentment, well-being and joy. But how do we retain happiness? It often slips out of our hands as quickly as we find it. Phospherence is a beautiful and rallying read. DARING TO FLY LISA MILLAR This is the story of a girl from Kilkivan who dreamed big. With unflinching honesty, Lisa Millar shares her very personal, life lessons - from global foreign correspondent to the face of ABC News Breakfast. She writes about her love of flying, her enchantment with the Canberra press gallery and her ‘moment’ with Prince Harry on the eve of his wedding. Above…

PAUSE & PONDER: REFLECTING ON YOUR WORK WITH CHILDREN KATE MEEK & ANNIE O’SULLIVAN This resource offers individuals and/or the team an interactive, journal to encourage critical reflection and deeper understanding around current practices. Each chapter highlights a focus that is uniquely articulated within different organisations and is worthy of pausing to ponder why and how your service have evolved in such a way. Using personal examples, current research, information, reflective questions and activities, this resource will guide practitioners in ensuring the decisions they make around environments for children are based on authentic and responsive determinations, not because “this is the way things have always been done”. Available from: www.earlyyearseducationspecialists.com.au HOW TO ENTER… SIMPLY BE AN ACTIVE PEDAGOGY+ SUBSCRIBER AND FOLLOW SEMANN & SLATTERY SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES TO BE IN…

I’ll be there for you I’ll be there for you(When the rain starts to pour)I’ll be there for you(Like I’ve been there before)I’ll be there for you(‘Cause you’re there for me too) No one could ever know meNo one could ever see meSeems you’re the only one who knowsWhat it’s like to be meSomeone to face the day withMake it through all the rest withSomeone I’ll always laugh withEven at my worst, I’m best with you, yeah Friends – ‘you can count your good friends on one hand’ – an old tale, or a truth? How many people do you know who accept your idiosyncrasies – sometimes with an honest comment – but accept, nevertheless? Who can you reveal your innermost thoughts to? Joys are easy to share, but not…

BUILDING SKILL IN QUALITY RELATIONSHIPS In a shift away from traditional teaching, quality relationships and connections are now considered the foundation of children’s learning and development in their early years. A new series of NESA-accredited professional development courses is available to build teacher’s skills in this key area. Emma picks up a plastic tractor and pushes it down the slide. “Big tractor!” Emma laughs as a teacher sitting by the slide moves her feet to let the tractor pass. “Big tractor,” agrees the teacher. Emma launches another toy down the slide. “Big horse!” she says. “Big horse,” the teacher responds, moving her feet once again. There’s more laughter from Emma who quickly finds other toys to slide past the teacher’s feet. “Big bus! Big ball! Big boat!” they tell each…

All INSPIRE 2023 registrants are eligible to win a… Story Workshop Studio Membership HOW TO ENTER: Register before 31 DECEMBER to be in the draw! Working with children (and families! and colleagues!) is simultaneously joyful and confounding. Staying rooted in our values and unique settings is creative, whole-hearted, professional, political, spiritual work. We benefit from the meaningful and life-giving patterns, connections, and understandings we discover when engaging in that work in community with others across contexts. An initiative of Matt Karlsen and Susan Harris Mackay, Story Workshop Studio (www.storyworkshop.studio) is an online international professional learning community of mutual mentorship. Members share and discuss documentation and uncover the relevance of far flung texts while they develop surprisingly significant relationships with each other. The recipient of this giveaway receives one year of…

There is a power in oral storytelling that borders on the magical. As a butterfly flits past or a rainbow momentarily graces the heavens, storytelling has an ephemeral beauty and magic that touches our hearts. It is this connection that makes it so pedagogically rigorous. Here one minute, gone the next, a told story lives within us long after the fire’s embers have grown cold. It snakes around, like a creator being, choosing new pathways to travel and new landscapes to shape. Its power is in its ability to transform. And at a time when our world needs change and creative solutions on an unprecedented level, story offers hope. ‘Snake didn’t know why her new neighbours treated her like this. This was her home. She’d lived here her whole long…

Little Blue Hat and Little Red Hat lived together under the roots of the flame and thorn tree. Butdo you know that their home was the messiest home that you ever did see! There were crumbs, crumbs, everywhere. There were crumbs under the table,There were crumbs under the chairs. There were crumbs all over the mat,There were crumbs under the beds,There were even crumbs under the pillows where the little folk rested their heads. They had a little straw broom – it lived in the corner of the room. But Blue Hat and Red Hatdidn’t know how to use the broom properly. The little straw broom would look out over the room and sigh – ‘If only someone could use meproperly, I could clean up this mess in the wink…

WHAT GIVES YOU JOY? Having both of my kids at home at the same time. Maggie and I having the entire dog park to ourselves on a sunny afternoon—actually, right now, just a sunny afternoon brings me joy! Oh, and a block of top deck chocolate, a glass of Pinot Noir and control of the tv remote. WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ON A SUNDAY MORNING? Being able to connect with people and share their stories. THE MEAL THAT BRINGS BACK JOYFUL CHILDHOOD MEMORIES… I’m a sucker for any Island destination, so Tangalooma it is. WHAT ISSUE CURRENTLY SPARKS YOUR PASSION? To work in TV and travel the world. I guess I’m living my dream. AS A JOURNALIST, THE STORY IN YOUR CAREER THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER… Electric Fields…

Folk from a kindergarten service in the City of Hume engaged me to support children’s resilience and wellbeing earlier this year. In Term 3, children were becoming less and less interested in fruit and more and more interested in chocolate. We were faced with a dilemma: honouring families’ knowledge of what their children would eat and our knowledge of the importance of offering children a healthy, balanced diet. We had been looking at ways we could view children as active citizens with expertise and unique experience of childhood in this particular social, cultural, environmental, historic and political context all year. We knew that when children – anyone really – has their agency respected, they are more likely to be flexible and manage adversity better: be resilient. We decided to use…

We can all recall an environment, an object or a scent that moved us, perhaps even spoke to us. It is these delicious moments of encountering an object or place so beautiful that these moments become part of our aesthetic DNA. Alain De Botton (2020) suggests, ‘A strange and rarely remarked upon feature of buildings is that they talk. They don’t necessarily speak very loudly, it can sometimes just be a whisper, but if you go up to them and look at them properly, you can definitely hear them chatting’ (pg.1). If we agree with Botton’s thesis that non-human objects, such as buildings, speak, then we must pause and ask ourselves ‘what words might the buildings that carry us through the day be saying to us? An encounter with a…

Beauty is all around us. We commune with beauty every day in our natural world, our built world, our interests and pursuits, and our relationships with others. What is it about beauty that links to the quality of life and happiness? It is but one aspect of aesthetic value that brings meaning to our lives. The key to appreciating beauty lies within our ability to see the beauty in our world, embrace it with our senses and connect with the emotions it evokes. ‘It seems part of our appreciation of beauty is because it is able to conjure the feelings we tend to associate with happiness, calmness, connection to history or the divine, time for reflection…and perhaps, surprisingly, hope.’ (Delistraty, 2014) To be awake to beauty is about being mindful…

1. Americano: It is a diluted espresso with a much more intense taste. It refers to a warm Italian drink cited as “American coffee”. It’s not so popular in Australia, but as the name suggests it is popular in USA. 2. Affogato: Adding an extra divine flavour to the coffee, it is a shot of espresso (or two) over vanilla ice cream. It’s often found in an Italian resturant, as an after dinner dessert - add a glass of frangelico liquer as a pick me up. 3. Cappuccino: Frothed milk topped with a thick foam layer of steamed milk sprinkled with chocolate. This is a lot of people’s go to order. Having the chocolate sprinkled on top means there is no need to add in any sugar. 4. Flat White:…

The Semann & Slattery Executive Team has just spent some time in Wellington, New Z ealand catching up with our friends and colleagues at Te Rito Maioha. Our time was well spent – we consolidated plans for collaborative work into 2023, and most exciting was our refocus on the Minerva Institute for Leadership. We announced Minerva in 2020. However, like many great projects, it was placed on hold as we weathered COVID. The day was joyful, culminating in dinner at a local ‘Inn’, and a few days later, we regrouped for a social soiree to meet more of the Te Rito team and board members. We would like to thank everyone for their genuine and generous hospitality. And look forward to our continuing work together. A highlight for us was…

The struggles shared by educators in relation to pedagogical documentation seem to continue. The struggle emanates from a desire to ensure quality prevails. However, the ongoing dilemma is the need to balance quality and quantity. In this article, I wish to share some provocations which may assist teams in reimagining their relationship with documentation and lean further into the power of documentation as a form of assessment, a tool for planning and a means of celebrating the learning and development trajectory of children. To do so, for some education sites, may mean a radical rethink, and for others, it may serve as an affirming message. Documentation, the act of going public, is a powerful tool for sharing stories of learning and teaching. As such, it can be seen as a…

FINDING OUR HEART Thomas Mayor & Blak Douglas ’When we all came together at Uluru, we invited all Australian people to accept our voice and culture as a gift.’ This beautifully illustrated hardback book is aimed at educating young Australians about Indigenous sovereignty and rights. It is about understanding Australia’s past, so we can aim for a shared future. Author Thomas Moore is a Torres Strait Islander man born on Larrakia country in Darwin. Illustrator Blak Douglas was born Adam Douglas Hill to an Aboriginal father of the Dhungutti people and an Irish-Australian mother. Blak s a trained illustrator and photographer, and self-taught painter; he lives and works in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. LITTLE STRAW BROOM Susan Perrow A story poem Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviours Susan Perrow has…

I’ve always felt a little challenged by the language of ‘rules’ particularly as a pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. Some words do not connect as well as others when it comes to describing the art of collaborating, co-constructing and negotiating with children. It’s early in this article but I want to declare that I understand there is a place for guidelines, boundaries and limits within any classroom – but – even with this viewpoint, we can approach these with a learning mindset. Engaging in dialogue and with a commitment to shared understanding alongside children supports us to consider everyone’s perspective. Everyone’s perspective matters and learning to get along with others is all wrapped up in the many social interactions a child has throughout their day. I appreciate this is…

Thinkers from the beginning of time have told us that the good life is a simple life. Today, popular reading material, our growing interest in mindfulness and environmental issues, and a worldwide following of the slow movement attest to the fact that there is a growing interest in rediscovering the benefits of a simple life —and while some may wish for it, there are some who have already taken up the cause arguing better health, increased resilience and independence, peace of mind and a closer relationship with nature. ‘According to Epicurus and the other sages of simplicity, one can live perfectly well, provided certain basic needs are satisfied – a view endorsed in modern times by the psychologist Abraham Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’. (AEON 2022) How do we measure the…

ARTICLE FIRST PUBLISHED IN PEDAGOGY ISSUE 02 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 ’The more we seek beauty… the more we will find it’. So, where does beauty live? Within us all, we just need to call on our memories of wellbeing and take the time and the care to curate early learning spaces with these memories in mind…moving forward with an awareness of the inherent beauty of all ‘things’ around us… and within us.- Neale Whittaker, thoughts from INSPIRE 2020 Sometimes my partner David and I pack our dogs in the car and head south from Sydney to a little dot on the map where our hearts live. It’s neither truly bush nor coast, cottage nor beach house. At the end of a dirt track is an isolated weatherboard house that’s not beautiful…

Most early childhood educators would argue that quality is subjective. And they would be in good company—Professor Peter Moss, an international early childhood expert and author, believes quality has its place. ‘If I am flying on a plane, I hope it is a quality plane, based on technical practice, with experts answering technical questions by coming up with the right technical choice. By contrast, I want a good education based on political practice involving democratic debate about political questions, leading to a political choice about what ‘good’ means—but always acknowledging there is no one right choice to such political questions or to the meaning of good.’ (Moss 2019) Quality, in its subjectivity, is a choice to take or leave, meaning we generally leave the decisions around quality to experts. To…

THE MINERVA INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP Purpose: Building exceptional and sustained leadership capabilities across the early childhood education workforce. Goals: Tocultivateandconsolidateexceptional leadership skills Sharing insights that promote and provoke thinking and practice To instigate critical dialogue on current and emerging issues Foregrounding research and practice across the workforce To build leadership wisdom The washing slaps The raincoat flaps The leaves blow by The hats go high The breakers crash The tugboats splash Our family is out We scurry and shout In the wild wet Wellington wind. Excerpts from… The Wild Wet Wellington Wind (Ready to Read). Written by Joy Cowley. Illustrated by Clare Bowes. Ready to Read. School Publications Branch. Department of Education. Wellington, New Zealand. 1986.…