My PED TALK at the 29^th EECERA

EECERA gives the opportunity to people to do a PED talk. What is that? A PEDagogical talk is not a scientific talk and the purpose is not to talk about your research. The idea is to talk about something you are passionate about! It is an 8 min talk, no slides, no notes, then 2 minutes of questions from the audience. I embraced the challenge and loved it! Had my PED TALK done with my family waiting outside, all packed and then straight to the airport. It was a beautiful way to say goodbye to EECERA: high levels of adrenalin! Below, I am sharing some lines taken from my talk. You can see the full abstract here: https://www.eecera2019.org/programme/2019

‘I could bring my child in her pyjamas so supportive they are’

Hello everyone, thank you for being here today.

My name is Melissa. I am a former early childhood teacher and have worked more than 10 years in the early years sector in Ireland. I am also a founder member of a voluntary association in Brazil that provides extra-curricular activities to underprivileged children. I am currently in the 4^th year of my PhD journey in the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre and I also lecture in the BA and MA in Early Childhood Studies and Practice at NUI Galway. Most importantly, I am the mother of a very energetic and full of a life 21-month-old boy.

Why I am saying all of that for? Well, the PED TALK requires me to say what I am passionate about.

So that is it. I am passionate about young children! They are fascinating little people, aren’t they? As I used to call my pre-schoolers: little people with big brains!

We know now much more about child development that we knew 50 years ago. We know that the first few years of a child life are the foundation stage. They are the ‘golden age’.

Neuroscience tell us that by the age of 5, a child will have the maximum number of neurons for their entire life. That is why after a day teaching, or a day at home minding young children, we ask ourselves: where do they get so much energy from? By the end of the day they are still jumping up and down and we are exhausted lying down.

They want to explore! They want to touch, to get, to do, to talk, to sing, to drop, to make noises, to experiment, to read, to dance … They want nothing less than to conquer the world!

I am passionate about this uniqueness that a young child has – and I mean any child – regardless of which ability or additional need they may have. I believe in holistic development as ‘my very good and old friend’ Bronfenbrenner puts it: ‘everything exists, and everything is interconnected’.

So, here is the frustration I am sharing with you. Hopefully, you can help me spread the message and advocate for change.

Data from my research is saying that children with additional needs and their families are accessing support from their preschool. They love preschool and parents love to see their children developing with the support received from preschool teachers.

During my field work, parents told me that they saw their children’s additional needs  improving –– since the child joined preschool. While the children’s names are on waiting lists for the specialised services they need, preschools provide support for their needs even though they are not expected or have the official capacity to provide specialised services. Pre-school settings and pre-school teachers are doing an extraordinary job which has a positive impact on all children, particularly on those that need the most support.

So why is it that early years educators and practitioners who are doing this amazing job of supporting children are earning only the minimum wage?

We need to value early childhood teachers for the greatest role they have. They are working within the ‘children’s golden age’ and need to be professionally recognised for that.

It is everyone’s responsibility: teachers, policy makers, researchers and families, to do something to break this cycle if we want every child to thrive.

Melissa Bonotto, 29^th EECERA, Tessaloniki/Greece, 23rd August 2019.