Barefoot Educators

NEW EPISODE!

We have struggled, in the past, with the concept of “Behaviour Management” in the early childhood sector as this phrase seems to act against what we set out to do as educators - support children in developing a strong foundation for the future.

In this podcast, we explore our motivation behind changing the term “Behaviour Management” to “Behaviour Support” and how this can allow for more collaboration and better outcomes for children.

We hope that this conversation can inspire others to begin to work more closely with families, and allow for the child’s future to be the motivation behind what we do as educators.

We would also love to hear from you! How do you support children in your early childhood setting?

Join our discussion about ECE traineeships! We were planning on discussing all pathways of education within the early childhood sector, but only made it through traineeships. I recon we could have kept going too...

How have you started your ECE career? Did you do a traineeship, or are you currently? We would love to hear your approach!

Our first episode is now LIVE!!! Search is up on your favourite Podcast platform or straight from our website (link in bio).

Gotta love work from the beach days!!

**Upcoming Episode!**

We will be posting the official, Episode 1 of our podcast on the 16th of November and we are discussing everything parents and earl childhood education.

Some of the topics we touch on are:
-Educators as parents
-Advice on parenting vs. professional recommendations
-Judgement
-Increasing father engagement (and the benefits of this for the ECE sector)

We are super excited to share our first episode so keep an eye on your favourite podcasting platform!

It is finally here!

On the 16th of November, we will be sharing our first Episode of the Barefoot Educator Podcast! In the mean time, you can listen to our “Introduction” on Spotify, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and (soon to be) Apple Podcasts.

We are excited (and nervous😬) to be bringing our late night conversation from our dining room table to your ears! We would love to hear from you and welcome you to share your opinions, suggestions, questions, and experiences.

You can also listen to the podcast directly through our website. Link in bio!

Welcome to the Barefoot Educators Podcast!

Parenting books can be a wonderful resource for early childhood professionals. Books such as “The Whole-Brain Child” by Tina Payne Bryson PhD and Daniel J. Siegel MD, are fantastic opportunities to challenge our current practices and to inspire news ways of perceiving children’s emotions.

Using parenting books also provides educators with a chance to create a partnership with families who are struggling with the same emotions at home. Reading the same book helps educators and parents develop a collaborative partnership, and provides children with continuity of emotional support as they move between the home and care environments.

Creating a bookclub among educators allows professional conversations to take place, and encourages educators to critically reflect on their own practices. It provides a wealth of vocabulary with which to frame current and emerging practices, and allows educators to gain a sense of professionalism that can be utilised to support children, families, and other educators. It is a great option for leadership teams, or even as a whole group!

I can not believe this statistic!Although this statistic is from 2018, I honestly don’t know whether we have raised that number over the last few years.

Whenever I have a conversation with others about the lack of male representation within the industry, the common belief seems to be that it comes down to money.

I would like to challenge this. Yes, money is important, but I think it is so much more. As humans, we strive for a place to belong, a place where feel we are meaningfully contributing to our fullest extent, and most of all a place where we can be ourselves without fear of judgement.

As a male educator myself, I have had a range of amazing experiences and have had the privilege to build great relationships with a multitude of children, families, and peers. I have (for the most part) found the early childhood education community to be positive, welcoming, and accepting of my choice in career.

Putting the positives aside, I have experienced and/or witnessed many situations that I believe impact males educators.

First and foremost I think I need to address the misperception that as a male, we lack the maternal instinct required to care for, nurture, and foster meaningful empathic relationships with children across their developmental journey.
This societal belief has led to many parents (and occasionally fellow staff members and administrators) doubting my intentions and capability, based purely on my ‘prescribed gender role.’

As a sector, we need to stop utilising our male educators as the token male. Just because an educator is a man does not mean that they should be encouraged to complete menial tasks such as cleaning the shed, tending to the animals, or playing sport with the children. There is great power in having males engage in emotional expression and the development of socio-emotional skills.

Here, at Barefoot Educators, we are passionate about finding innovative ways to address systemic issues such as this. We would love to hear any ideas to encourage a higher rate of male representation within this industry!

Seeing as we have currently returned to a 7 day, snap lockdown here in Newcastle, we thought it would be helpful to tackle a commonly asked question.

For families who are choosing to stay home but who are nervous about what this may mean for their child’s social development, sharing information on Family Systems Theory and Attachment Theory may help to ease some of their concerns. Both of these theories celebrate the relationships between primary caregivers and their children as being a significant factor in future securities and achievements.

We all know that social development is an integral component of the developmental journey, specifically in terms of school readiness. Lockdowns may leave some parents feeling as though their children will end up behind when starting school.

As parents of two little balls of energy and excitement, we completely understand that lockdowns can be challenging. As early childhood educators, we must work to remove all judgement, supporting families in any way that we can!

A little bit of reassurance can go along way in times like this! Be kind to the families within your community, reinforce the power of family time, listen to their concerns, and share your knowledge where you can to support learning in your centre and at home!