It Takes A Village, Right?

There’s no doubt the past couple of years have been a tough slog for all of us.

We’ve had to adjust to working from home, juggling kids, pets, partners, house plants, and access to the fridge all day.

But throughout it all, there’s been a group of unsung heroes keeping calm and carrying on, providing much-needed care and consistency to a lot of people – yep, we’re talking about the amazing early learning educators of the Highlands!

We sat down with Lindsay, General Manager at Explorers Early Learning Academy, to chat about the importance of what the Explorers team do, how families benefit from centres like theirs.

1 :: Tell us about the role of the early learning educator and why it’s so important.

Making a difference in a child’s life and creating positive experiences for our wonderful children is a big part of what we do.

Every day we have this amazing opportunity to show them we care, they’re important, they have a voice, and teach them independence so they can make choices, and grow in confidence and knowledge, and build all-important life skills.

That’s what the team do here do every day, without even realising it!

We teach them about relationships and help them to play and interact with other children where they might not have experienced that before.

We help open their imaginations and create those building blocks for play and interaction, sharing, caring, empathy, being nice to other people and being aware of other people.

2 :: So how long have you been in early childhood education and how did you get into it?

I did my primary education degree in the UK, and I taught in primary schools there. 

When I moved over to Australia about 16 years ago, I was doing casual teaching here in the Highlands at different schools.

But I knew my passion lay with early childhood education in supporting children to have positive learning experiences.

Because it’s not about worksheets and ABC’s and 123’s – it’s about instilling a yearning in a child to want to know more about their world, so they can become the problems solvers and critical thinkers that society needs.

I love early childhood education – it’s such a beautiful age and laying the foundations of learning for their lives is such an important role.

3 :: What does it take to be a wonderful early childhood educator at Explorers and how do things like education, qualifications and natural intuition play into that? Can everyone do what you do? 

No, not everyone can do what we do.

Many people don’t realise the hours involved in gaining qualifications, ongoing professional development and the passion a job like this requires. 

To work in the early learning sector you need a minimum of a Certificate III in early childhood education.

Then we move onto the diploma, then of course a degree.

4 :: So let’s bring Michelle in here. Michelle, you’re the Group Educational Leader here at Explorers and work closely with Lindsay on improving the programming in the centres.

What do you think makes a great educator? 

Our work is so important because children are our future. If we want a positive and progressive world with diversity, equality and kindness, we need to start with them. 

I think early childhood educators are social justice warriors. That’s what we’re teaching every day! 

Respect for indigenous cultures, diversity, different races, different religions, sexualities and genders. 

And so what makes a good educator?

Definitely that respect for diversity, having empathy and patience. 

Seeing the role as more than just babysitting, too.

Acknowledging that you’re really teaching and formulating the next generation and building the foundations for these little humans.

5 :: That’s awesome Michelle, and so true. 

So Lindsay, tell us some of the challenges educators face in the industry on the whole, and also how this global pandemic has affected you here at Explorers and the industry on a wider scale?

All our staff, who have their own families and had their own anxieties when all of this started, still turned up every day. 

And I’m not just talking about the team at Explorers, I’m talking about early childhood educators across the globe. 

We’ve never pulled back from caring for our children, even though we’ve all had our own worries and anxieties to deal with. 

Sometimes I feel early childhood education isn’t valued enough or is little misunderstood by the public, and I really want to try and change that stigma. 

If we can help even just one family to understand a bit more about who we are and how much love, dedication and knowledge goes into what we do to care for these children every day, then that would be amazing.

6 :: What makes your centre unique and appealing to families in the Highlands?

Before COVID I would have spoken about all of our cool excursions and doing this and that, but now I don’t know if it’s anything other than the people who work here! 

At the end of the day, without the people, we’re nothing.

And it really is the team who are magical. 

They are absolutely magical!

There’s no other way of putting it, because the amount of love and care that we’ve seen with the children that people don’t see from the outside is extraordinary.

Look, it’s a scary world right now. But we continue to give the children those positive experiences that I’ve spoken about already and have fun with them to try and boost those happy hormones and give them a safe space away from the news and the world and all the scary things.

7 :: What would you like parents of prospective new little Explorers to know about your centre?

The main thing is that their child matters. 

They love their child ultimately – they’re the most precious thing in their whole world.

And we understand that. But we’re going to be that child’s friend. We’re going to give them as much love and care as we possibly can. 

We help them find their own little personalities. 

Every child is unique, and we can say that as a textbook-type quote, but they really are! 

We all come with our own little personalities and our own likes and dislikes.

The team know if a child is slightly off or not feeling themselves. They know what they like, their favourite stories or how they like their bed made when they want to have a sleep here. Even their toileting habits!! That’s how much our girls know these children. 

I honestly can’t speak more highly of the eductors in this sector. 

I genuinely believe they only work here because they love children so much. 

I’d love to see more people entering the sector again with that passion to make a difference in a child’s life.

So fantastic – thanks Lindsay and Michelle!

And give these amazing early educators across the globe a sainthood already! 

Big props to all the early childhood educators who are turning up every day and helping our little humans learn the foundations for their lives. It takes a village, right?

And people like Lindsay, Michelle and the whole team at Explorers Early Learning Academy are unwaveringly dedicated to their task. Thanks guys!! 

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