Amy EYLF Principle: High Expectations and Equity

Amy (not real name) is a child who often approaches educators to ask them to do this please? or help with this please? The first time I encountered this aspect of her personality Amy had decided she wanted to make a bird at the craft table, with a box. She decided she needed a birds head first, though, and that she could not draw a birds head. I said Yes you can! and e mployed strategies like What sort of things does a birds head have? and Alright you start drawing the circle for the head and Ill help when it gets harder, etc. I have found that these strategies generally work, but Amy continued to look lost and say But I caaaant! and I dont know how! until, to my horror, she began to cry. She was easily comforted by another educator who swooped in to help Amy with her bird. I was concerned with how the situation had played out and the ineffectiveness of my role. Amys attitude also troubled me; I felt that she did herself a disservice by not attempting something new. I took it upon myself to monitor Amys behaviour and build her confidence in her skills. This is not a stand-alone occurrence I spoke to my mentor and found that this attitude is usual for this child. This behaviour resonated strongly with me because I am familiar with the works of Carol Dweck who claims that how we celebrate children affects how they feel about themselves (Glenn, 2010). Saying things like Oh youre good at this! and Youre so smart at this! tends to give children the idea that skill and cleverness is unchanging and not a fluctuating concept. This leads children to think that they are good at some things and will continue to be good at them, and will not improve at the things they currently cannot do. The answer is to use terminology such as Youve worked so hard and done such a good job! and Look at what you have achieved! This creates a discourse in which children know they can achieve anything so long as they put enough effort in. Of course it is still appropriate for children to ask for aid when they need it but it helps them to be agents in their own resilience. I held these concepts in my mind whenever I interacted with Amy in the future and even when she approached me with something simple, such as Can you put my jacket on for me? I gave her enough suggestions and reinforcement that she was able to do it on her own, and then I drew attention to this with comment s like, You didnt even need me Amy! Look at this, youve achieved it all on your own! I have noticed that she no longer approaches me for help with so many simple tasks, and after discussion with my mentor teachers I can conclude that she does not approach any educator as often as she used to. There is also a marked difference in how she tackles issues when she does come to me for help.

I believe that this is a valid example of how I have held high expectations of a child and the way these expectations positively affected the childs self-confidence. This is in accordance with the Early Years Learning Framework Principle: High Expectations and Equity (DEEWR, 2009).

References: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Council of Australian Governments. (2009). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Retrieved from http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Documents/Final %20EYLF%20Framework%20Report%20-%20WEB.pdf Glenn, D. (2010). Carol Dwecks Mindset. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 56(35), 86-89.