Words of Inspiration and Motivation

These are words of inspiration and motivation to me as a parent and a teacher.

"All of us have to recognize that we owe our children more than we have been giving to them." Hillary Clinton This quote is from the keynote address at a fund-raiser for the Children's Defense Fund during the Clinton's first post election trip to Washington.

"Although education and the acquisition of skills is a lifelong process, starting early in life is crucial. Recent research—some sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in collaboration with the University of Minnesota—has documented the high returns that early childhood programs can pay in terms of subsequent educational attainment and in lower rates of social problems, such as teenage pregnancy and welfare dependency. The most successful early childhood programs appear to be those that cultivate both cognitive and noncognitive skills and that engage families in stimulating learning at home." This passage is from the article Laying the Foundation by Kathy Cobb. The article is about Art Rolnick whom built upon previous studies to confirm that early education is a benifit to society.

In all my years of working with children I find this passage to be very true. I have children come back to visit from when I first started my job 12 years ago. This children are at the top of their class  and doing very well. I have even had parents email me their child's report card saying thank you for doing such a great job with their childrern. I also found that children with parents that are involved in their education do much better than ones with limited parent involvement.

"This is what it's all about. This is what drives me to do what I do." Raymond Hernandez This is a qoute from “The Passion for Early Childhood” a video that is part of my MS program at Wladen. He is refering to an event that was held on a Saturday and him seeing all of the families that had come out to support their children. My drive is the children and families that I serve. I love seeing the parents reaction when they see how much their children are learning and developing in the center. It gives me the drive that I need to continue doing what I do knowing that I am helping.  


“Passion….orients us; it provides us with focus and direction. From this perspective, passion is long‐lived. It may be ignited quickly but, once ignited, it endures and even grows as we discover how much potential there really is.” (Hagel, J., 2009) My passion for working with young children was ignited when I was about nine years old and had to grow up quickly so that I could take care of my younger siblings. I was their “mother” figure.

References

Cobb, K. (2008). Laying the Foundation. Region (10453369), 22(2), 28-32.

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Toch, T. (1992). Hillary Clinton, directing a sweeping `children's crusade.'. U.S. News & World Report, 113(25), 46.

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