Our View of the Teacher
Our Perspective
We view our teachers as competent, creative and committed to the education and development of our young learners. Teachers are free to create a unique environment that fits within the framework of our curriculum and approach.
We view our teachers as early childhood professionals not nannies, babysitters or daycare providers. All of our teachers possess knowledge of child development, years of formalized trainings, and have certifications and degrees. They are lifelong learners in the field of early childhood education.
Our teachers engage in ongoing discussions with colleagues, participate in study groups and formal trainings, and receive mentoring to reflect upon their own teaching and the observation, reflection and documentation of the children's learning.
Teachers are viewed as
co-collaborators with parents and children to provide optimal experiences. They share ideas, thoughts, and discoveries through newsletters, emails, documentation panels, and daily conversation and include them in planning and incorporating experiences into the classroom.
Our teachers are investigators, experimenters, researchers, and co-learners.They plan along with the children by framing questions, collecting data, observing and recording thoughts and actions, and analyzing and interpreting this information in a continuous cycle.
As the children are constructing their knowledge, our teachers make that visible through documentation. A teacher at OECC focuses on the process of learning through through play, exploration and discovery rather than focusing on the product that results.
​​​​​​​​We view our teachers as protagonists, setting up environments that are aesthetically inviting, orderly, accessible to all children and reflect the ideas, ethics, attitudes and cultures of the community. They recognize the environment as a third teacher, an instrument for learning, intentionally placing tools and materials within the space to provoke thinking.
