Nurturing the Spirit to Teach: Commitment, Community and Emergent Curriculum

This paper is a revised version of a keynote presentation at ‘Changing faces: A conference to support, minds, bodies and souls,’ June 21, 1999, Creche and Kindergarten Association, International Early Childhood Conference, Brisbane, Australia. Given the demands on early childhood educators and the lack of external recognition, the author proposes four ways through which a teacher's ‘spirit’ to teach can be rejuvenated. First, a process of supporting teachers to reflect on why they decided to work with children is described. Second, this article examines how a teacher's sense of joy about teaching is impacted by their invention of an emergent curriculum that meaningfully reflects the classroom community. Third, through exploration of a curriculum on homelessness in a preschool program, the author proposes that a commitment to teaching is sustained through taking thoughtful risks that push the boundaries of one's social and cultural experience. Fourth, the building of community amongst educators, families, and the local neighborhood, as exemplified by a micro-economy project in a primary school, is described as critical in sustaining a commitment to education.