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How time flies! Ten years have passed since I began working in education and I feel the same curiosity and passion for learning that I did then. I began my teaching career as a counselor at an adventure camp in the mountains of Colorado, witnessing experiential learning at its best. Since then, I have taught in a number of different settings- special education, teaching artist residencies, teaching abroad projects in Italy and Ecuador, ecological art education, teacher training in arts and disability, Montessori and play-based pre-school, and as a mother to two boys, 2 and 3.5 years old. All of my adventures have led me to believe that it is my role as an educator to:
- protect the child’s imagination and curiosity by providing a child-centered environment where children and adults collaborate to explore materials, ask big questions, and search for solutions
- provide an environment where art, nature, and literature serve as bridges to science, language, mathematics, and history
- foster peaceful communication by modeling kindness, encouraging resolution on the child’s terms, guiding children to better understand their own and other people’s emotional experiences, and maintaining guidance practices that keep everyone safe.
-Emily Hurd
