GEKA Bentleigh

Stepping out of our Comfort Zone

Rachel Green & Kym Haggarty, GEKA Bentleigh Educators

We often talk about the need for children to be resilient, adaptable and able to cope with change. We set goals that include supporting them to embrace new experiences. But how do we as teachers approach change, how resilient and adaptable are we?

This is a question Kym and I faced when we worked at GEKA Brady Road Kindergarten this term. Before we started we had mixed feelings about the upcoming experience, we were excited to be working on site and curious about what it would be like. But we were also a little apprehensive. GEKA Brady Road wasn’t a kindergarten that we were particularly familiar with and it felt like there were lots of unknowns:

• How many children would be in our group? What would the group dynamics be like? And how could we plan for a group we didn’t know?
• How would the children respond to having a new teaching team come in?
• How would the service be set up? What if we couldn’t find the things we needed?
• Who would we be working with and how would we work as a team?

As it turned out, our apprehension was unfounded. The children were incredibly welcoming and accepting of us. They directed the learning and we spent the two weeks exploring their interest in chemical reactions and colour mixing. The children appeared at ease with each other and had settled well into a new group environment. It reminded us of how competent and capable children are and the importance of having high expectations of them.

Despite our concerns about working at a different GEKA kindergarten, we found that it brought many positives, particularly in terms of offering ideas for setting up our indoor and outdoor learning spaces. We found ourselves inspired; creating wish lists for new equipment and resources that will enhance our program at GEKA Bentleigh Kindergarten. It was challenging working out where to find things, but there were people to help us. Melissa and Dana were always on hand and Kavita encouraged us to call if we needed anything, which was much appreciated.

The question of who we would be working with was the one that we were most conflicted about. On the one hand our team at GEKA Bentleigh Kindergarten is well established and there’s a lot of comfort in working with familiar people in uncertain times. This was an opportunity to develop new relationships with other educators. We worked with Sally from GEKA Centre Road Kindergarten and although we didn’t know each other before, we worked well as a team right from the start. We learned a lot from Sally as we shared ideas and experiences from our own kindergartens.

Our time at GEKA Brady Road Kindergarten demonstrated that as teachers we are resilient and adaptable when faced with new challenges. It also reminded us of the benefits of being part of the wider GEKA community in terms of the support we offer each other, especially in these unprecedented times.