"I don't like your paradigm."

Dr. François S. Clemmons [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

I had the pleasure of attending the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference this week.  Why would a nurse educator attend an early childhood education conference?  Honestly, I missed my roots.  And, I am a pediatric nurse.  I had planned to attend sessions on child development, trauma informed practices, and resilience.   But it was the simple messages from Fred Rogers that had the most impact on me.

I attended a session titled What Would Fred Rogers Do? presented by Junlei Li.  He deftly wove clips from Mister Roger's Neighborhood and the documentary, Won't You Be My Neighbor, throughout his discussion of Fred's legacy.  I have to admit, I still haven't seen the documentary.  My eyes will leak and I would like to do that in private...with a glass of wine.

Junlei, explained that in August, 1979, Mister Rogers spent a week talking to children about going to kindergarten.  The theme was a response to letters from many parents concerned the demands of "school readiness" were causing anxiety for their young children.  In one scene (episode 1463), Daniel Tiger frets that Lady Elaine will be displeased with him because he doesn't know letters and numbers by the first day of school.  Lady Aberlin takes Lady Elaine to task and explains children don't need to learn academics before they start kindergarten.  Lady Elaine quipped, "I don't understand your pedagogy."  After I stopped laughing, I started reflecting.

Nursing education and preschool education converge once again.  Instead of the pressure of "school readiness," I face the pressure of students being ready for their first job as a practicing nurse.  The employers say the new graduates aren't ready and need to learn more as students.  The instructors in the terminal courses say the students aren't prepared and need to learn more in earlier courses.  Every faculty meeting brings new pressure and expectations for students to learn more faster and sooner.  I wonder what Patricia Benner would think about this?

In the Land of Make Believe, Lady Elaine is won over by Lady Aberlin's pedagogical rationale and Daniel Tiger gets a reprieve from learning letters and number.  I choose to believe that can be true in my neighborhood, too.