In 2009, a year after PKS opened its doors, I felt so lucky to join a tiny but cozy two-room preschool in the Presidio with 25-30 students. Ten years later, a lot has changed, but watching the school (and my first students) grow and transform has been amazing. Although the school may not look the same on the outside, what makes PKS such a special place still remains: our community and sense of family.
When I first started teaching at PKS, I was new to the United States and new to Reggio Emilia, a teaching philosophy that was vastly different from the education I received growing up. Coming to a new country and teaching in an unfamiliar way was intimidating. I didn’t know very many people in the US, and was very thankful that the PKS teachers, parents, and children welcomed me, cared about me, and adopted me as part of their family. That feeling of community, family, and belonging is the reason I am still here at PKS, and it’s something we try to provide every new teacher and family that joins us.
Walking into different preschool classrooms is like walking into different homes. Each classroom reflects the unique personalities, interests, and passions of the teachers, children, and parents that make up that classroom family, and each class is one of a kind. Regardless of which class a child belongs to, they are loved, nurtured, and known. Teachers make the effort to get to know each child’s likes, dislikes, and unique needs, not only through observation but also by talking to each child and listening to their parents, who are an integral part of the classroom family. Parents are involved in their child’s learning at home, share their expertise and cultural traditions in class, and support not only their own child but also each other. I know several parents from that very first PKS class that still meet up regularly and consider each other close friends. Our community is a close and nurturing one for all its members, with the children at the center.
Much as our school has grown, so have our teachers. When I was teaching my first Reggio Emilia project, I was so scared of making mistakes, which made me afraid of making any project-related decisions. Although I had reference books about how to conduct a Reggio Emilia project, I did not understand how the steps were connected and didn’t know how to “color outside the lines”. I didn’t realize that a project could go any number of ways and still be a great learning experience for the children.
One of my first projects on dinosaurs.
Now with over a decade of experience, I know where a project can be tweaked, I can see multiple different paths for each project, and am no longer afraid of going down the wrong path because there are no wrong paths. Looking back at those first Reggio projects, I realize how far we have come. And because as a faculty we have pushed ourselves and each other, our children now have even richer projects and classroom experiences. Each of us brings our personal experiences, passions, and viewpoints to the classroom and to the preschool team, so as a group we have more people to brainstorm with and learn from. As a team we are constantly growing and learning together, much like our students do.
And seeing my first class of preschoolers (kids whose diapers I changed ten years ago!) as seventh graders has been such a rewarding experience. It makes me happy to have watched them grow, to now be able to talk to them as “adults”, and that so many have chosen to stick with Mandarin and truly love learning. It’s particularly rewarding to know that more than one of them has taken their non-Mandarin speaking parents to China and were fluent and confident enough to be tour guides and experts. I feel very proud of them.
PKS has grown a lot since our beginnings in that two room preschool, but we are still a community that welcomes new members and new perspectives. Teaching and working with kids is not just a job for us, it’s our passion. And for those of us who come from China, Taiwan, or from other parts of the country and world, PKS is our extended family, our home away from home.
