When I started my new job in early childhood I thought how hard could it be? I’ve worked in education with kids before, I mean sure they were primary school kids but how different could it be? Well my new line of work is a definitely a different kettle of fish. I find myself learning some interesting new skills, most of them related to child wrangling.
I’ve been running classes full of five to eight year olds with the occasional four year old. Herding a group of children this young is much like herding sheep (I'm assuming, I’ve never really herded sheep). I have got it down to a fine art, I can whip a stray child into line with a well aimed “Oi”. The power of tone in voice also becomes apparent when child wrangling. I find myself using a sing-song voice in high tones but if I consciously lower my tone of voice a distracted child is more likely to snap to attention.
| How I sometimes see my class - Wiki |
Another skill I am developing is the ability to memorise names. With the aim of name tags I seem to be picking up children’s names quicker than I thought possible, about 15 names per day is my current rate. The more often I use the name (ie the rowdier, naughtier the child) the quicker I learn it. I also notice myself unconsciously using a child’s clothing to identify them. When they come in the next day wearing different clothes I sometimes forget their name and have to rejog my memory. This reminded me of a post I read over on sciencegeekgirl about how our brains read faces, well worth a read.
SNG
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