[What is Child-Centered Childcare?] The Shift Required of Future Educators from "Teachers" to "Facilitators" | The Day Teachers Are Called Facilitators

I would like to write a little bit on note about a topic that came up in our staff meeting today.

When people hear the word "Teacher," many think of someone who "teaches." They are seen as an existence that imparts knowledge, leads to the correct answer, and enables others to do things.

On the other hand, a "Facilitator" has the meaning of someone who "promotes" or "draws out." Instead of providing answers, they are an existence that prepares the environment, poses questions, and watches over others so that the thoughts and strengths within them can begin to move.

So, what happens in the world of childcare when educators shift their consciousness from being a "teacher" to being a "facilitator"?

First, the children's future changes.

They will develop not just the ability to correctly do what adults tell them, but the ability to think for themselves, choose, try, fail, and try again.

This is because children do not grow only through what they are "taught," but learn by engaging with the world, starting from the questions and interests that well up from within themselves.

"Why did you think that?"
"Why did you want to try it that way?"
"What will you try next?"

These kinds of questions do not stop a child's ability to think. Rather, they foster the ability to notice their own feelings and thoughts, express them in their own words, and choose their next actions for themselves.

What is needed in the coming era is not the ability to wait for someone else's instructions. It is the ability to think about one's own life and build it while engaging with others. For educators to become facilitators leads to nurturing the "life skills" of children.

Of course, this does not mean that educators should let go of what they must convey as adults.

Protecting lives. Not hurting others. Rules and consideration for living together in society. These are important things that adults must take responsibility for conveying.

However, that is different from controlling them.

Instead of "making them listen," we convey "why it is important." Instead of suppressing them, we engage with them so they can understand. Herein lies a major shift in consciousness from teacher to facilitator.

The educators themselves also change.

They move away slightly from the pressure of "I must teach" or "I must lead them correctly," and begin to observe the children's state more closely. Instead of fixing what they cannot do, they accept what the child is feeling, thinking, and trying to do right now.

Educators become people who run alongside them, not people who manage them. That is where the professionalism and fulfillment of childcare are born.

And this perspective also leads to preventing abuse and inappropriate childcare.

Behind abuse, there can sometimes be a controlling approach of "I want to make them move as I wish," "I want them to do it quickly," or "I don't want them to disrupt the group."

Do you view children as 'subjects to be controlled' or as 'individuals with their own personalities'?

That difference changes your words, your expressions, and how you interact with them.

The day may come when childcare providers currently called 'teachers' are instead called 'facilitators'.

That does not mean the day will come when the role of a teacher disappears.

It is a shift from someone who teaches children things, to someone who believes in the power within children, draws it out, and connects it to the future.

I believe it is the day when the role of the childcare provider evolves to become deeper and more human.