Our Research

Jean had been excited to be a teacher his whole life, and he poured hours into creating structured plans and content because he thought it was the best way to support his kids. He described it as “a complete failure.” He said they were too young to follow instructions, and they didn’t care about his plan. He used the simile of a gift – “it’s like if you offer a present to a child, they end up playing with the box.” He decided to spend a whole day observing to understand them better, and the day flew by.

Monir grew up in Iran. She said that “especially for the women over there, you have to fight” for your education. She began teaching thinking her role was to force children to know all kinds of academic content. Now she believes “you can’t force a kid into doing things at that age.” She started to follow the kids. One spring, a spider built a web and laid eggs in her backyard, and the kids watched the baby spiders grow. She had never seen the kids so excited and curious, so they spent a month building their own web.

All the teachers we interviewed in some way reflected this mental transition early in their careers from leading to following. The words that came up in every interview were following, observing, nourishing, and loving.

Finding:

Insight:
We want to highlight two key shifts:

1. Confidence → humility
   All the teachers described the process of realizing their own misunderstandings of what children need. They humbly turned to the children as leaders of their own learning instead of looking for tangible measures of their “success” as teachers. Jean says you have to be like a scientist: go in with no expectations and see what you find

2. Expectation of reciprocal love → selfless love
   Home daycare teachers told us the most beautiful thing you can give to a child is love with freedom and trust. Gigi said the heartbreak of her first child leaving made her realize that she has to love fully but can’t expect anything in return–not validation or reciprocity. She loves them with complete trust. This unites all the daycare workers we spoke to. They give love with no restraint and complete certainty, allowing their children to gain autonomy and personhood. The children can feel that, Gigi thinks. 27 years later, Gigi shows us a rose bush the height of her house that grew from a seed from that first child.

Conclusion
The teachers we interviewed have been denied freedom in some way that impacted their lives. Many are immigrants, and all described feeling unaccepted because of language, profession, or background. Their mindset change reflects their refusal to confine children as they have been confined. When they witness children “not caring” as Jean said, or feeling controlled, they understand this feeling as one they've experienced and choose to give their children the gift of full freedom that they have not had.

Needs:

1. Need to support children in their independent exploration and creativity

2. Need to observe children; need to know them fully

3. Need to focus entirely on the children and abandon ego

4. Need to have a sense of humility in life

5. Need to give selfless love; need to love fully