Home » ExchangeEveryDay » We Could Be Heroes



ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues


<< Previous Issue | View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> ExchangeEveryDay
We Could Be Heroes
June 14, 2019
The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.
-Fred Rogers

Because sometimes you just can’t have too many quotes from Fred Rogers:

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem. Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”

AND - “The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile.”

Mirroring thoughts from Rogers, Ruth Wilson, in an article that creates the foundation for an Out of the Box Training Kit tells the story of a teacher-child interaction that, unfortunately, and no doubt unintentionally did not guard a child’s sense of being worthwhile:

“Mia, an early childhood teacher, brought flowers from her yard into the classroom for the children to enjoy. She had arranged them carefully in one of her favorite vases and had placed it on a shelf near the art area. Four-year-old Toni walked over to the flowers and started to pinch off some of the blossoms. She carefully cupped them in her hands and carried them over to the table where she had been trying to make a crown. Toni's cousin had been a flower girl in a wedding over the weekend and wore a flower crown. Toni wanted to make a crown of her own. She glued the blossoms to a strip of cardstock. Pleased with the way this was working, Toni went back to the vase to get more ­blossoms. Mia looked up just then, walked over quickly, and told Toni to stop. "You may not pick those ­flowers," said Mia. "They're not just for you; they're for everyone. Look, you've already spoiled the bouquet." Toni walked back to the table where she had been working, picked up her unfinished crown, and threw it in a trash can. She spent the rest of the day waiting for her mother...”





Out of the Box Training Kits

Use coupon code IMPACT
to get $5 off any one Out of the Box Training.

Out of the Box Training Kits are ready-to-use professional development programs on a variety of contemporary topics to support and improve the skills and pedagogy of those who work with young children.

May not be combined with any other offer.
Sale expires February 18, 2022, at 11:59 pm PST.

ExchangeEveryDay

Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

What is ExchangeEveryDay?

ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

Brookes - Free Shipping on ASQ Products.
The Child Play Institute - 
Experiential in nature for teachers.
California Baptist University - Earn Your Degree 100% Online.


Comments (2)

Displaying All 2 Comments
Vishakha Deshpande · June 17, 2019
Thane (west), Maharashtra, India


Oh! This is so sad and unfortunate! actually this is a common scenerio in most of the pre-schools. it must be happening unintentionally the reason may be the teacher wants everyone to enjoy it, but she does not realise that she has done an emotional trauma to the child to safe guard the interest of others.
Sad indeed!

annat · June 14, 2019
United States


The anecdote about the flower crown is so sad. Unfortunately, I witness teachers saying things like this all the time and it baffles me and breaks my heart. Don't they see the look on the child's face? How can they not empathize? How can they be so ignorant? How have we failed this badly in our teacher preparation programs?



Post a Comment

Have an account? to submit your comment.


required

Your e-mail address will not be visible to other website visitors.
required
required
required

Check the box below, to help verify that you are not a bot. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this form.



Disclaimer: Exchange reserves the right to remove any comments at its discretion or reprint posted comments in other Exchange materials.