From Our President. Dreams Deferred or Dreams Preferred: Reimagining Early Childhood Education for Us and for Children
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Tonia: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Isaiah (age 4): A monster truck driver.
Frederick (age 6): A surgery doctor.
Zoe (age 8): A professor, but someone who works with animals.
Recently, I was facilitating a meeting with early childhood professionals and advocates and asked the icebreaker question, “As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?” Responses ranged from candy stripe nurse to back-up dancer to hair stylist. One participant tearfully responded that she is exactly what she wanted to be—an early childhood educator.
As I asked in my last column, “Who are you?” When you were 4, 6, or 8 years old, like my children in the dialogue above, what did you want to be when you grew up? Was it an early childhood educator? How did you get here? As I also asked, “Why are you here?” These are important questions because in some cases, we chose the path toward early childhood education for ourselves. In other cases, this path may have been decided for us, and we’ve grown where we have been planted.
As you consider how you came to this profession, think about your educational path and experiences. In what types of settings did you learn and develop as an educator? Knowing what you know now about the early childhood profession, how would you rate the quality of these experiences and settings? What was beneficial to your growth, and what was a barrier? How do your experiences connect to your aspirations as a child? Are you here as a dream preferred or as a dream deferred? And how does your educational and professional journey represent equity and/or inequity in early childhood education?
This isn’t the first time I’ve posed these questions. As a teacher educator, I work and establish relationships with early childhood teachers who are pursuing a four-year degree, a preschool special education endorsement, and a certification in birth–kindergarten. Many are Black women and first-generation college students. Many have been impacted by social determinants of health, such as lack of access to equitable and high-quality education, quality health care, safe and affordable housing, and economic and food security. Many have also been impacted by systemic and institutional racism. As I ask who they are and why they are here, some share that they started in early childhood education because they could work without a high school degree. Others feel that it’s an accessible and community-centered career—one that allows them to grow with the profession. Still others know a friend, relative, or child who attends an early learning program, so considering a career locally was the most feasible decision for them. For about 20 percent, being an early childhood professional is their dream preferred.
No matter why our teacher candidates at Georgia State University entered the profession, all of them have found their space and belonging in early childhood education. They recognize that they can develop as professionals, and they are committed to cultivating the skills and knowledge needed to create high-quality, equitable educational experiences for young children. However, it’s important to note that these teachers can enhance their knowledge and practices because of our teacher education program’s intentional efforts to seek external and state funding that eliminates financial barriers for them. Imagine their peers who have just as much enthusiasm and zest for learning and becoming a better educator and leader but who are unable to afford or clear a pathway toward educational and career advancement. Is that equitable?
Consider, too, that even once we begin working within the early childhood profession, our dreams of becoming better (both personally and professionally) can be deferred. As you reflect on your work, ask yourself
- Have I chosen the path and space I’m currently within?
- What do I aspire to become and be in early childhood?
- What are the supports and barriers that are holding me back from my dream preferred?
Lastly, I ask, “Are we ready?” Are we ready to consider ways in which we can support ourselves and our colleagues to strive toward dreams preferred within early childhood education? What are the barriers we need to break, and what are the opportunities we need to take? How are we creating spaces for children that are both high quality and accessible? We need to examine how we allow children, particularly those who have been marginalized, the opportunities for success, belonging, and even dreaming (see “Helping Children Reach Their Dreams Preferred” below).
So roll up your sleeves my early childhood colleagues. It’s time to ring the alarm! Are we ready for some dreaming? Are we ready to be better, do better, and reimagine an early childhood that dreams big? Let’s start dreaming, so we can start getting in formation to actualize these dreams! Check out Advancing Equity and Embracing Diversity in Early Childhood Education: Elevating Voices and Actions and NAEYC.org/our-work/initiatives/equity for a few other top NAEYC resources to begin our dream journey!
Helping Children Reach Their Dreams Preferred
All of the questions I ask you to consider relate to the cornerstone of my work in educational equity for each and every child and family. Early childhood equity scholars such as Iheoma Iruka, Stephanie Curenton, Kerry-Ann Escayg, Gloria Swindler Boutte, and Brian Wright have contributed scholarship and research to suggest how children who experience low-quality, low-resourced, and inequitable early care and educational experiences are less likely to have access to opportunities that set them on a path toward an affirming racial identity and educational and career advancement. This reality is compounded when children are also experiencing social determinants such as food and housing insecurity, childhood trauma, racism, and educational inequity. The result is a dream career deferred and children not being given a choice or dream to decide what they want to become when they grow up.
Childhood should be a time where all children have the peace and joy to dream. We have the opportunity as early childhood professionals to help children dream big and create the environments and safe spaces for them to do so. Therefore, I turn back to you, my early childhood peers: Do you provide the space for children to be joyful and to dream and learn safely? Do you provide space to show children how you value the magnificent ways they contribute daily to the classroom or program? Do you provide space for children to be their authentic selves—to see themselves, their communities, and families in your setting and to feel a sense of belonging? Do you provide quality experiences that are accessible to all children? These are just a few of the questions we must ask ourselves to ensure we are creating opportunities for children to have more dreams preferred.
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