Don’t Call Me Sweet: I am a Fast, Furious and Fabulous Early Years Teacher
I was visiting a LEYF nursery on the Wandsworth Bridge Road and Shandrika the deputy manager was engaging a in a deep pedagogical conversation with me. Then she stopped, sighed and handed me “Don’t Call Me Sweet”.
“Honestly June, when people describe what I do as an Early Years teacher as awwhh so loovellly, I reach for this book! Have they any idea, just a tiny idea about what we do?”
Do you know the book by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Angie Rozelaar? Its all about a little monster who wants to be recognised for what he is rather than what people think he is and can do. Do you recognise this? Do you think people understand what we do as Early Years teachers? Do they realise we are able to translate the 100 languages of play into the science and art of teaching so children learn, develop and thrive? Our job is to translate those 100 languages for the wider public so they can support what we do, why we do it and how amazing it really is!
Of course, what the monster found at the end of his story that he could be both the monster and sweet. I think we are sweet far too much and its time we used the monster in us to let out a really big roar.
