Teacher Roles and Responsibilities

Being an early childhood teacher requires you to be willing to wear many hats.  As an experienced teacher, you are already prepared to be flexible.  As a new teacher, remember that your job description may change on a daily basis.

In most cases, your role as an early childhood teacher will be very similar to that of a guide. A guide leads others down new paths.  A guide walks beside a person on a journey, not in front.  A guide also keeps others safe from harm.

As an early childhood teacher, you will be challenged to find new experiences to share with children.  Guide children, do not lead them, and move in a direction that interests the child.  As a guide, allow the child to choose their learning and playing style while making safety your number one concern!

Give up the notion that a teacher knows everything.  Become a partner in learning and encourage children to find their own answers instead of providing the answers for them.  By being a partner, teachers learn with the children and share in their experiences.

Early childhood teachers support learning by providing activities and materials that children find engaging.  By facilitating learning, supplying a developmentally appropriate environment, interesting materials, and adequate time to explore, play, and interact, children find learning easy and fun!

To nurture is to nourish.  Nurturing a child encompasses all aspects of development: social, emotional, cognitive, and physical.  In every interaction, a teacher should nurture appropriate growth and development.

Teachers must also take care to listen to a child including interpreting words and actions.  Listening carefully helps teachers determine a child's needs and aids in furthering the child's development.

Teachers communicate with many people throughout the day: parents, children, support staff, the general public, and administrators.  Early childhood teachers must be prepared to communicate with all of these people.  You should feel comfortable opening up, asking questions, seeking advice, and sharing your experiences.

Paperwork, lesson planning, preparing materials and the environment, and negotiating require teachers to have strong management skills.  Managing a classroom requires organizational skills, attention to detail, and commitment.  There are many balls in the air and it is your job is to keep them up and moving!

Teaching is full of many responsibilities, roles, and challenges.  Like most worthwhile endeavors, it brings both challenges and rewards.  Be flexible and you will more readily enjoy the rewards of teaching young children.