I teach a course in Early Childhood Education at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, and a new semester is underway. The format of the class requires a lot of small group participation, so I start the semester by asking students to develop three interview questions to ask peers and then make their way around the room to conduct “speed interviews” with one another, a concept along the lines of “speed dating”. I participated too, and my questions were: “What is your passion?”, “Why is it your passion?” and “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
Without exception, student’s faces would like up when I asked the first question, and overwhelmingly their responses were that working with young children was their passion. When asked why, responses varied from: “These are the most important years in human development”, “I am committed to planting the seeds for a life-long love of learning”, “It is how I feel I can positively impact the future of our society” and “I am motivated to help young children build a sense of confidence and to learn to dream big”.
When asked the ten-year question, students saw themselves still active in the field of Early Childhood Education in some capacity. One student, Velma, stated that she planned to be retired within the next ten years, but she also said, “I’ll still have young children in my life. I’ll always be around young children. They inspire me.”
Can you say that you are passionate about the work you do? Does it inspire you?
Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion
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