Tomorrow
will be a big day. A day of changes. A day of goodbyes and a day of new
beginnings. My last day as a practicing preschool teacher! It sounds strange to
me, that I will no longer be a preschool teacher. Well, I think I will always
be a preschool teacher at heart. It has defined me in so many ways in the last
5 years, and the 7 years before that while I was working in a preschool while
not yet a qualified teacher. 12 years of preschool, playschool, kindergarten,
or what you want to call the settings I’ve been fortunate to work at.
Solborg in my hometown is always going to be “my” preschool, the place where I found my calling and got such fantastic experiences, made friends and got to be a part of the lives of all those amazing children. I still miss it. The staff there, the surroundings, the building, the pedagogy, the brake-room, the cook! And of course the children and the history I have there. Here in Oslo, I have worked as a preschool teacher in two very different kindergartens in two very different parts of Oslo (plus a few more in the last few weeks). I feel so fortunate to have worked with some lovely people who touched my life in different ways, and got to teach and care for groups of amazing children, children I will always remember and keep in my heart.
I will
miss it, being so close to children and having a direct influence on their
lives and experiences. I will miss experiencing the world through their eyes,
observing and guiding their learning. I will miss all the cuddles and hugs they
gave me, their smiles when I came to work and their love. And I will miss not
having a group of children to cuddle and hug, to smile at and to love. I
believe strongly that it is a preschool teacher’s greatest duty to love the
children he/she is working with. It is not parent-child love, or family-love,
or whatever meaning people may associate with the word love. It is “educational-love”.
It is care. It is a genuine interest in the child’s well-being and learning. How
can you work with children if you don’t have that, I only ask? I don’t think
you can, and I most certainly don’t think you should!
My new
life will be very different from my old one. I will still be deeply involved in
the preschool, early childhood education and care, but in such a different way.
Trying to make a difference in children’ lives, from a desk in an office. I
have never really worked in an office before. I don’t think the call-centre I
worked at many, many years ago, counts. It will be interesting. Sitting all
day, reading, writing, researching. I really look forward to it while at the
same time I’m dreading it. Thankfully, I will also be training for a marathon,
so there will be a lot of running as well as sitting. A few more days and there
I’ll be, a PhD student, with high hopes and big dreams. I can hardly wait!
