2010 NAEYC Conference
By Colin Johnson, Teacher
In November 2010, eleven Bing teachers made the trip to Anaheim to attend the largest early childhood conference in the country, the annual conference and expo held by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The three-day event drew teachers, consultants, teacher educators, researchers and policy-makers from all over the country, and provided an excellent forum for Bing teachers to learn more about current ideas in the field, and to share their experiences and perspectives in workshops and presentations.
The conviction that this is a critical time for the field permeated the NAEYC conference, both through actions of the organization itself and in individual workshops. Many Bing teachers attended forums led by NAEYC committees to publish official position papers on two significant sources of controversy and concern in current education: the importance of play and the role of technology in the lives of young children. The organization has also created a Center for Applied Research, advocating a stronger link between the academic world of early childhood research and educational programs that could benefit from valuable new knowledge. Bing serves both as a model and a source of wonderful opportunities in these areas. As a play-based nursery school, the program offers an exemplar of the value of play in children’s early education and development; the teaching teams’ creative use of the school’s many resources can help uncover age-appropriate uses of our society’s evolving technology; and as a laboratory school for Stanford University, Bing has an opportunity to maintain an open dialogue with the research community.
Three Bing teachers made presentations at the conference. Head teacher Mark Mabry worked with friend and former colleague Carolee Fucigna, now teaching pre-kindergarten at the Nueva School in Hillsborough, Calif., to explore the evolution and the value of social play communities in early childhood classrooms. With distinct perspectives, Mabry and Fucigna discussed how in each of their classes children’s social play is one of the most important avenues for learning. The speakers portrayed the value of play from the children’s point of view. Paying attention to children’s perspectives helps teachers understand the value of play in their lives.
Head teacher Adrienne Lomangino and teacher Colin Johnson described a classroom photography project that designated a digital camera for children’s use during the 2007-2008 school year. Throughout the year, teachers marveled at how skilled children became with the technology and explored the ways children could capture their perspectives through photographs that illuminated their interests, thoughts and understanding of the classroom community. The presentation allowed the Bing teachers to share their work with the early childhood community and provided an opportunity for further reflection and professional development.
The NAEYC conference also helped the Bing teachers form strong ties with the greater early childhood community. As educators push for open dialogue within the field and urge practitioners to continually reflect upon their work with children, teachers are finding new ways to share and learn from each other. Beverley Hartman, head teacher and director of the Bing Institute, recognized the conference as an excellent opportunity for a “mini reunion” of early childhood educators who had gathered last summer for the inaugural sessions of the institute. At the Bing Institute “we opened a dialogue about quality education through the lens of reflective practice,” said Hartman. “This interaction started a community that continues to be in touch through an online presence. One participant had traveled from Hong Kong [to the NAEYC conference] and that underscores the value of the opportunity to meet face to face. It was so engaging that we plan to make a reunion an annual event at the conference.”
As a whole, the teachers came away from the conference feeling extremely fortunate to work with young children at such an integral time—especially at a school like Bing where creativity and exploration are valued and encouraged for both children and staff. The opportunity that this provides is inspiring, and there is much work that can be done to improve not only the lives of the young children who we see every day, but of a much greater community of children beyond our own classrooms.