Learn Play Thrive Early Education Conference: Pedagogy in Practice Panel

In this live-recorded episode from the Pedagogy in Practice: Early Education Conference on the NSW Central Coast, host Simone Brand sits down with an powerhouse panel of sector experts including - Colin Slattery (Semann and Slattery), Dr. Gai Lindsay (Inquiry and Arty Play), Jessica Staines (Koori Curriculum), Kirsty Liljegren (The Creative Collection), Dr. Kate Highfield (University of Canberra), and Amelia Scarf (Rhymey). 

Together, they move beyond theory to unpack early childhood pedagogy, exploring how leadership, culture, and intentional practice intersect to shape the daily experiences of children and educators. This episode is a reminder that early childhood education is a profession grounded in relationships, reflection and purpose. And that culture, leadership and pedagogy are not separate ideas, but deeply interconnected.

If you enjoyed this episode, consider leaving us a review on your favourite podcast platform.

Have questions or feedback? Connect with us on social media or email us at info@learnplaythrive.com.au

Connect with Us:

- Website: www.learnplaythrive.com.au

- Instagram: @learnplaythrive_

- Facebook: @Learn Play Thrive Australia

- Email: info@learnplaythrive.com.au

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:01

Welcome to Learn Play Thrive the podcast, the ultimate early learning podcast for educators and leaders in the sector. Let's learn, play, and thrive together.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

The Learn Play Thrive podcast was recorded on the lands with the Dark and Jung people. We pay our respects to the traditional custodians, past, present, and emerging. Hands up, hands down, we're on Dark and Jung land.

SPEAKER_06 0:24

Hello and welcome to Learn Play Inside, the podcast, where we dive deep into the heart of early childhood education and care and the inspirational educators, researchers, and sector leaders who make it happen. I'm your host, Simone Brands. We are coming to you directly from the stage here at the Olive Grove on the beautiful Central Coast at Pedagogy Infactus, Early Education Conference. It has been an incredible day of transforming theory into intentional, high-quality teaching and learning in the early years. And now we're going to spend this episode diving a little deeper into the diverse aspects of pedagogy. I am joined by a phenomenal lineup of experts who have challenged our thinking today. Please welcome back to the microphones. Colin Slattery from Samana's Luddery, who ignited our morning with his keynote, the pedagogy of Litchy. Dr. Gay Lindsay from Inquiry and Art Play, our advocate for inquiry-rich visual arts. Dr. Kate Highfield from the University of Canberra, who has helped us find the TNC pedagogy today. Jessica Stames from Corey Curriculum, who guided our reflection on culturally inclusive practices and playfaces. Kirsty Gultregon from the Creative Collection who has pushed us to be intentional with our multi-mode learning. And Emilia Scar from Ryan, who has inspired us to screen and use music for young children. On today's episode, we'll be taking questions directly from the floor, giving our conference attendees a chance to engage with these sector leaders. We'll also be diving into a few carefully curated questions brought to the team by our guests themselves to uncover the insights that really move the needle in early childhood education campaign. So let's get those microphones ready. And panel, are you ready to go in? Absolutely. I'm going to start with the questions that we've had given up for us today. Colin. And this please will bring panel to jump in at any moment, but this one isn't addressed to Can you please talk about how emerging new leaders can be brave and go about creating a culture with saying, I don't know, let's find out together is the norm.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

I will draw upon the work of Dr. Russ Harris here, who is an Australian from Victoria, and he says, the act of confidence comes before the feeling of confidence. And basically what that means is just do it. Just start by asking that question. Now, one of the things that you might find is when we try to put any change in place in any organization, what typically happens is as you change, people say, You know what Amanda, you've changed. And I don't like it. And you get pushback. Who's ever had pushback when they've tried to put something in place, right? You come to a conference, you've been excited, you go back, they've got this great idea. Oh no, back in your box, please. How dare you have an idea, right? So the thing that we have to remember here is to keep on keeping on. Just like a water dripping on a stone. We just have to keep on keeping on.

SPEAKER_06 3:25

I think for me as well, it's as you said, take the first step. What is the worst that can happen if you say to somebody, I don't know, let's find out together? If you think of worst case scenario versus potentially what might happen, you'll probably find that if you start the conversation, that's going to change the perspective of what could happen. And if there's something else that comes up, I think we were speaking a little bit earlier, then it's a different question again. Is it why do we need to have the answers right now? Is there anything, you know, barrier, is there a reason why we need to be able to in the moment share our I don't know, let's find out together.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

The the other thing I would do too, because if there is a culture of not being able to say I don't know, it tells me it's probably not a psychologically safe culture. Right? Because if my the culture I'm in is psychologically safe, it's okay to say I don't know. It's okay to say I made a mistake. It's okay to have accountability. So if I have a problem with being able to say, I don't know, let's find out together, I will go back a step and say, what is happening in the environment, thinking about this morning's conversation that I had, what's happening in the environment that I'm creating through my leadership, and I'm what who I'm talking to here is probably the nominated supervisor, centre manager, educational leader. What am I creating here that is per that is perpetuating this culture of not being able to say I don't know?

SPEAKER_06 4:58

And I guess as it might be a matter of, does this person then feel like I am passing the workload on to that other person? And that's a matter of saying, let's find out together, I'll be with you. Or let's sit down and have this space and this time to find out together.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Yes and no. Yes, but I think we have to have a culture where it's safe to do that though, where people feel it's okay to be able to say, I don't know, let's find out together, and that people don't see it as additional work. Because sometimes when if you think about, I think about a particular role within the education organization, and that's the room leader team leader. I think that's a very hard role to have. Why? People are nodding, and I can see. Why is that a hard role? Because one, you're the room leader. Katie, you're the room leader. Guess what, everybody? Katie's the room leader. Katie's responsible for everything that happens in this room. Is usually what we're told, right? Then Katie is the person then who has to then bear all the answers, know everything that's going on in the room. So as soon as Katie says, I don't know, let's find out together. And if it's not psychologically safe, people will say she doesn't know what she's talking about. Why is she the room leader, right? So what I want to come back to, particularly around that role, is let's relanguage that role particularly. And let's say that role, let's describe that role in a different way. This is Katie, everybody. Katie is the room leader here. Katie's my go-to person. And what that means is I'm going to go to Katie first before going to anybody else. And I expect and I know that all of you are equally responsible for the successful running of this classroom and outcomes for children.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Can I jump in there?

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 6:41

Because I think that everyone's responsible. That idea of the collective is really critical because in leadership, you know, in democracy, they have a position of responsibility. Doesn't mean they're telling people what to do. So I carry that responsibility, but I'm going to create the conditions where we can contribute, right? So everyone needs to feel that they matter, that they can contribute. As a citizen, I can bring what I think my perspective, our differences unite to do the work that matters together moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

And I think what we also need, you know, the education is a bit more kindness. To be kind to each other. And if I make a mistake, who cares? Be kind. Because one day you'll go through through the same thing that your colleagues gone through in terms of trying to do something different. Just be kind. And kindness doesn't cost anything.

SPEAKER_05 7:36

And we've talked today about embracing uncertainty. It's be willing to be wrong. And in terms of a resource that I found really helpful about creating that culture is Nancy Klein's thinking environment. So there are elements of a thinking environment that you can do training in. And it really does open up that idea that every single voice in a service matters, and every single voice has value that can contribute. So the quietest people in a staff meeting who never open their mouths, they let the talkers talk. Those quiet people have thoughts that should be heard. So it's about creating the tools to make that voice visible and heard and valued. And that is what I think creates that willingness to say we all contribute here. And it's okay if I don't have the answer to this because somebody else will have ideas that matter that we can build on. So that's a resource I'd really recommend. Can I add one as well?

SPEAKER_08 8:38

Yeah. I read a book called The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. And the first two like really stood out to me, which was that the first dysfunction is absence of trust. And then the second is absence of conflict. Because I think we have to foster environments where questioning is okay and that we're able to scaffold each other's understanding. But having that trust by being kind and making everybody feel valued, I think is really key.

SPEAKER_05 9:06

And that it's okay to disagree. Yes. It's okay to have a debate and still be collegial. Whereas, I don't know, our culture's not as good at that.

SPEAKER_06 9:16

Um Colin said inviting thinking rather than directing it.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 9:20

Which leads me to my next question. How could be the first step? What could be the first step in creating change in a culture of a place or a service or a team?

SPEAKER_03 9:30

I think it's finding something central to research, is one strategy, right? But that lands on those values and beliefs. So those initial discussions to come back to because we change, we evolve, we're abreast of new research. What are we thinking now? So that question, how are we living in? What are our values and beliefs? How are we living into them is such a critical foundational approach, right? Part of our work. But one strategy can be let's find something together that we can look at over time. And it might be around the role of music. What might happen to children's regulation if we bring, you know, sing more with children and use our body as, you know, for rhythm. And put away the iPads for music. So let's look at that over the next term and let's come together with those stories from practice. Perhaps let's document, but let's share our stories of what's happened together. And then that change happens. That ripple effect we talked about that Kate talked about is critical.

SPEAKER_04 10:37

But I don't think we can get to that unless we've got a shared purpose. And I know sometimes we say our purpose, our mission, our values, and it's a just an airy, fairy statement. But I think that commitment in setting up a team, that commitment as you recruit, that commitment each year of this is our purpose, this is why we're here, helps with that. I'm doing so much work in with the early childhood professoriate advisory council, ECPAC, which is a group of boring academics like me. Hello, boring academics, if you're listening. But one of the pieces that we're trying to come to is let's elevate our profession to be a profession. And as a profession, we have to have a purpose. And if we haven't got that purpose, all of the words mean nothing.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

And that's not school readiness. It's about, well, I think, and I agree with you, Kay. I think those values and beliefs are connected, it's interconnected to purpose. And let's think about what that is for all of us and for those listeners. You know, what is it we want for children? What do we want children and families to walk away with?

SPEAKER_02 11:46

And I think it if earlier today I said that culture is a deliberate act, right? It's an act of leadership. And if I'm not clear about the culture I want to create and leave it to chance, I will end up with a culture I don't want to see. I can't complain about that then. Because I created that. Culture is created, it takes a long time to create, but guess what? It takes even longer to uncreate it.

SPEAKER_05 12:16

It's like gaining weight.

SPEAKER_02 12:17

Yes. And I just draw up on my experiences as a manager, a regional manager, as I said a bit earlier today, had 30 people. They were they were disparate teams, but also sometimes desperate teams, because I had to bring them together and it took five years. And one of the things I learned from that is that the culture change within an organization or a team is only as fast as the slowest person to change. I can't enforce the culture change on anybody. I have to bring them along to the j on along the journey. And then say, if this isn't right for you, that's okay. I'll help you find something that's right for you that maybe not be with us, that's okay. But I'll come back to the leadership part, which is if you I don't know who I am as a leader, then anything can happen. I have to be clear about my values, my own leadership philosophy, if you like. I don't like the word philosophy, I think it's overused in early education, to be honest. I think we need to have a leadership manifesto for ourselves. And think about what is your leadership for, and what is the purpose of your leadership. Because once we start to think about what my leadership is for and the purpose, then the rest will start to fall into place. And if I think about what my leadership is for, my leadership, you know, in this sector, if you want to call me a sector leader if you want, I don't mind. I don't think I'm that, but anyway, I'm just a person. I want to see a sector where uh the educators are thriving, uh uh that are paid the right amount of money for the work we do with our compatriots in the school sector, and that we actually have great outcomes for children and families. Because they're the future citizens of the of Australia, they're the ones who'll be making decisions about us when we're older. I want to make sure that we have well-adjusted Australian citizens who can make the right decisions for the rest of us in the future.

SPEAKER_06 14:17

I love the analogy actually when we're talking about leadership about leaning in. So when we're working with a team and there's a pain point that often arises in teams as they do, there may be a situation or a bearing point of perspective on a topic. And I think leaning in and asking those curious questions of what does this mean for you, or what do you think about this, and allowing for all voices to come to the table before an end point is made, before a decision is made, and being able to have those conversations. We often talk about open-ended conversations, or my door is open, always open. But is it actually always open? Or if someone comes to you, will they just say, Oh, here's the policy, this is what it says, and you need to go back and act it out. Or are we allowing for the conversation to say, tell me what you think about that or where you've come from to get to that notion, and then exploring that as a team. And it may be that the policy stays the same, or what you're doing stays the same, and you're enacting the same way of engaging in that topic. But potentially it may change and it may change slightly. It may be wording, it may be a perspective that you really didn't take on. So there's there's a lot of different ways, or maybe there's an additional, you know, critical reflection piece that you need to go through as a team to come together and make change. I'm gonna flip the question a little bit and get a little bit more bouncy. Amelia, can you please tell us a little bit about the Zoltan Codley's music curriculum?

SPEAKER_07 15:43

Zoltan Kadai.

SPEAKER_06 15:45

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_07 15:45

You are so welcome. He, as I mentioned, is a Hungarian music pedagogue. Gog pedagogue. He started his his whole ethos is around this power of singing, and that singing should start from a very young age. And as I said, it's should I believe it starts in utero from mother singing to child, um, and then it flows onto things into music into school curriculum and things like that. Why did he choose singing? Because singing creates the musical inner ear, and it's the strongest instrument, which then flows onto things like music, understanding musical notation, learning to play an instrument, and so on. So he actually focuses more on folk music, very simple folk songs. He's strong in his culture, Hungarian culture, but he also recognizes and celebrates cultures from all over the world. So that song I sang, what Senwa Dendende was from Ghana. It's a Ghana, Ghanaian folk song, which came out of Kodai's records. So he basically speaks about he developed something or he developed it from someone called Solfege, which is or Solfa, which is hand signs, and it's hand sided representing different pitches through music, through singing. So it's that physical representation we make with our hands. I'm not going to do them now. It's if you're familiar with the sound of music. Yeah. Do, remi, faso, lati do, which is based on the C major scale. Yeah, so you create physical representation through pitch, which again develops your inner earring. So you're hearing it, but you're also imagining what the sound would sound like. So it's developing the ability to sing on pitch straight away. It's wonderful. I hope that answered the question. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 17:24

And it taps into the neuroscience of embodied action.

SPEAKER_07 17:27

That's right. Yes. It's a multi-sensory experience. You're hearing it, you're imagining it, but you're also feeling it.

SPEAKER_03 17:33

Interconnection, interrelationship, all those things. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 17:37

Kirsty, how do you go to start off to introduce intelligent materials into environments that have a lot of commercial toys, like, for example, toy food?

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Great question, whoever asked that. And fantastic that you're also using that term in intelligent materials. And intelligent materials, that perhaps is a starting point, right? And asking that question, bringing that curiosity, that what if that I talked about before, the Anacraft. What we don't want to get into is a position of people feeling judged or that they're bad or doing the wrong thing. We want to bring that idea of curiosity or professional inquiry to say what would happen, or what do we notice when? Why might we introduce? So to open those conversations rather than saying, right, next week, from next week on, we're getting rid of all the toys and all, you know, everything that's, you know, toy in the imaginative play space, and we're replacing it with this. So what might happen if we chose one area where we replaced it and we observed what happened? What might we see? So we're inviting different perspectives. So we're warming up the thinking, we're not giving the answers. We want to create those conditions for curiosity, but learning. So people feel they have input into their thinking, right? And we don't want to be binary. It's not one or the other. This is about, you know, when we're also not going to be, we want to be sustainable, not get rid of things. We want to think about how do we gradually replace but see value in from a sustainability, from an engagement, all the reasons why, whether you call it open-ended materials, you draw on loose parts theory, intelligent materials, but have an understanding of why that will lead to that change and transformation over time. But we want to see it as an opportunity for professional inquiry, I think.

SPEAKER_06 20:52

And what I heard from you earlier is curating the environment where they have space so that their whole body involvement is in tune. But what that may look like, and when you're working with somebody that may have a different perspective view of what resources and provocations need to be in the environment is role modeling. Create a space yourself. Request, can I have this space to create or remodel? I loved the clay representation that you gave to us in today's talk. Ask your team, can I make this space? I'm really excited to do this with the children. And then role model what it looks like, how engaging that space is for children. Watch how many children come to that space and always look at your spaces and see how many children you feel have the ability to have hands-on interaction with those spaces. So, for instance, if you have a space with one item and there's not much else, you're going to potentially attract one, maybe two children. But if you have an open-end space like the clay space, you can invite multiple children into that space. You can have multiple children in that area and then role model what that looks like, how engaging that is for children. I think yeah, and I think the role modelling, I agree.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

And another strategy is also to companion together. I think there's, and I do this in coaching a lot, we set up together. We have those professional conversations. You know, everyone is a little time poor, right? So what about we go in, we have that professional conversation while we're creating the context, because then we're thinking with the materials. There's something about being hands-on, getting us out of here, ourselves, not just children, and being with the materials, the space and playing with ideas. Let's see. And it's very powerful to have that conversation in the doing.

SPEAKER_07 22:35

I have a just to add on, it's sort of a question. I read recently the word cross-pollination happening in services where children are bringing resources and you know things to one area or one corner or one space in the classroom and taking it over with keeping meaning making in mind and you know, open to the child's interpretation as it always is. What are your thoughts on cross-pollination and how do we navigate that as educators in the space where we're like, oh, the food stays in the home corner and the books stays, you know, how would you what are your thoughts on it?

SPEAKER_03 23:07

It's bringing curiosity to that. What could that be about? Schemas. I heard someone say it could be play schemas, it could just, it could be part of the story. Story. Part of the idea that we're going over to grandma's house, and grandma's house is over there, you know. So it's listening and observing and bringing out different perspectives to understand what's going on. Now, children having freedom and agency doesn't mean no boundaries. So those puzzle pieces we want to keep with the puzzle because when it gets lost. So we, you know, consult with children and work that out together and have agreements. Agreements are democratic, not rules.

SPEAKER_07 23:43

I think it also reflects the element of respecting the space, respecting these puzzles and stuff.

SPEAKER_05 23:49

But then I'd also problematise that by suggesting that if you've got, for example, a bunch of little really active people whose favourite thing to do is zoom the trucks all up and down the veranda, but you're thinking, oh, I really want these children to also experience mark making, then you set up a provocation where you run a whole length of paper along the verandah and tape charcoal to the bottom of the trucks, then they are going to be there. Or you take the printmaking brayers to the construction area. You make the cross-pollination work to enrich everybody's engagement and to bring children who might not normally come to the art studio, take the studio to them and set up under the tree outside and put drawing in the crawling tunnel and mix it up.

SPEAKER_06 24:48

So, Gay, can you speak more about the need for the end point in mind? Isn't it an adult perspective? If it fizzles out, is it always an indication of lack of something? Or can it simply reflect the transient in the moment routine of a young child?

SPEAKER_05 25:06

Okay, that's a really big question. Yeah. But it's a good one. So with a project of inquiry, Cats and Chad's notion of having a culmination to the project, the idea of that is so that the fizzing out is less likely to happen. The other thing I'd say with projects of inquiry that I see are that sometimes there might be several lines of inquiry tracking along in a classroom, either because there's three children who come three days here and then there's two days here and a different teacher. That's okay. So if we think about Claire Warden's flaw book approach, for example, there's that idea that as we're documenting these lines of flight, as Deleuze and Guitari, the philosophers would call it, we're following the lines of flight. And sometimes we'll put that thread down because the children's interest in it might have gone a little bit cold because another something has come up or there's been an excursion or whatever. But as we document, we use that. And as educators being intentional, we're always we ideally are talking about our documentation collectively and collectively making those decisions about oh, I can see an option opportunity to pick up that thread. Let's share the documentation from two weeks ago and give the children that reminder of what we were thinking about, and then the project can pick up again. But as far as the question was about an end point that was decided by the teacher, I probably didn't make that clear enough when I was presenting. When we're deciding whether we're going to finish with a party for the families or the Christmas barbecue or an exhibition, that decision isn't made by just an educator alone. It's a collaborative, consultive discussion with the children about as this project is bubbling along, when we see it's got some momentum and potential, then together we say, how could we have a party to share the family share the journey of our learning with our families? What do you think? So the children can say, and we can plant the seeds, of course we can, but it's a collective decision so that they are driven by the momentum of organising, you know, a part a paper party. So I'm doing this paper project and we're going to have a paper party, right? Because Naya, who gave me the Rainbow Love Heart, if anyone saw that on my Facebook page, she's into paper, she decided the paper parties were something we should capitalise on. Because she brought her paper treasure hunt bag that we sorted and categorized, and there was party paper there. And I said, Oh, tell me, I don't know what party paper is. And because it was all the streamers. So then I got the whole story of grandma's 80th birthday, and we then put all the papers in the bag to bring to preschool. So it's all that relational dialogic decision making, not the adult imposing. I hope that cleared up that question.

SPEAKER_04 28:13

I think there's something else really interesting there though, that as adults, we often think of the year as January to December. The project has to be finished by December. Actually, we have to break that down. There is power to the four-year-old saying, hey, three-year-olds coming up. We've been exploring paper. Would you like to join in of this? And that communication between the two groups is so powerful and gives a hook for the next crew coming in.

SPEAKER_05 28:44

Yeah, and in 2025 at Lybird Preschool, they did a paperback tree exploration because on their walk they found this incredible paperback tree. So that was 12 months that culminated in the creation of a constructed paperback tree in their foyer, which is just divine. So if anyone follows the Early Childhood Environmental Network group, have a look at their post from today because they took photos down at Liebert. That was where it was held. And this year, when I went in there this week, Melissa the teacher was reading a book that the children last year had written about the paper bark inquiry. And now that we're doing paper, we're making all those connections between the paper bark and the paper. And when I sat down and I said, Oh, paper, you know, I was talking to Naya who attaches herself to me. I said, Oh, paper bark. Why isn't the tree called paper? You know, putting emphasis on the paper. And she said, because it's soft and crumply like paper, but it's bark. And so it's just, you know, she was that group are carrying the memory of a 2025 project and connecting it to what we're doing now.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

Those traces.

SPEAKER_05 29:58

Oh, so magical. And it's that ongoing. I love it because we don't want to be school teachers who have to follow a set curriculum. We have the joy of and the empowerment of designing the curriculum in partnership with the current children in our class. Not like my daughter, who at the school she went to every year three child for about two decades did the Mini Beasts project in year two with Mrs. B. You know? It's like, no, I would die of boredom if that's how I worked. So celebrate what we get in early childhood, which is the freedom and joy of constructed curriculum. It's just co-constructed. Yeah, co-constructed. And it's just so energizing. And it hopefully can help us usurp some of the challenges that we're facing in a structural sense.

SPEAKER_06 30:53

And to finish off with our last question, we have multiple questions still to go, so we might have to continue this conversation further on. But Jessica, what does embedding Aboriginal perspectives look like in an urban environment where educators may feel disconnected from country? And how do we know if embedding Aboriginal perspectives is actually making a difference for children?

SPEAKER_08 31:13

I think, like, regardless of where you are, you're always old country. We have like this notion that we have to be out the little to be considered to be old country. But I think the examples from Explore and Develop Dow that we shared today. And I know, Gabe, like you said you had worked with them a lot as well.

SPEAKER_05 31:26

Yes, I was just telling Jess in one of the breaks when she was talking about the Turtle Project and the Lou Ren project. One of my recent blogs was co-authored with the team at Annandale. So if you want to read more about both of those projects, take a look. And the interesting thing is the synergy. I was at an artist in residence week at Bundanon, and the one other artist there, I was there writing and she was painting. She was the artist from Anandale. And we had dinner twice before we actually realised the Blue Wren crossover. So yeah. So those synergistic relationships are really empowering too. So yeah, just check out my blog if you want to see more about that amazing work.

SPEAKER_08 32:07

I think that that particular centre has done it for a very long time as well. Like I know I've been to some of their evenings there where they've done vivid because they're so close to the city, and so many of their families work in the city and seeing the lights on the buildings being projected. And so then they took that and put that with their sustainability program and looked at turtles again in the ocean and the plastic, and that got them into the Vanish projects, which they're now doing as well, and how they could reuse and repurpose recycled materials and you know save things from landfill by caring for the country in that way, and they did their own vivid light installation on their rooftop or with recycled materials. And so for me, those are always that like the culture of the city is reflected into their program and that intersection between Aboriginal programs and sustainable practices, they really intersect. But I see the difference all the time. Like I get families that tell me that their children insist on saying acknowledgement of country every night before they have dinner, or that you know they just they they challenge things like from their parents or their grandparents, or they're more aware and constantly bring up what's fair and that's unfair, and we should do something about that and this empowerment and sense of social justice that they have. I hear stories like that all the time. And I see it in children, I think the work that educators are doing it really is that ripple effect that goes out, you know, beyond us into our families and communities and stays with children as they they leave us and then they're all contour primary school.

SPEAKER_06 33:37

Well, to finish up our podcast, we usually do three takeaways: one theory-based, one practical, and one inspiring. However, today I'm just going to ask each of you on the spot to share something inspiring to our listeners and our delegates that are here at the conference today.

SPEAKER_04 33:53

My biggest inspiration is the educators in the room. It's Saturday. We've got over a hundred people in the room committed to professional learning. You guys are the inspiration. What a profession we're in. Okay, six bumps.

SPEAKER_02 34:10

And I would say just keep on going. Keep going. Go forth, be fierce, do the work.

SPEAKER_03 34:17

Take that person.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

We need you to keep doing the work.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

And building on that, what fuels us is the children, isn't it? And I know families and each other matters, but children have a right to a childhood, a right to flourish, a right to be who they are, and all their identity that they're evolving into. But this is so central to our work, and it comes through relationships. All this other stuff is important, but it's those relationships that you talked about, the reciprocal relationships. And I think we've really felt that today. That reciprocity has been really evident. So that's the feeling I walk away with, and the way we began talking about heart, I think has really stayed with me throughout the whole day.

SPEAKER_05 35:02

And as professionals, to nourish children requires that you nourish yourselves. So I'd really encourage you, you've done professional work today, do something tonight that is all about you. Make some choices that just nourish your professional identity and can think of yourselves as professionals rather than when we hear people talk about the industry. I would like to ban that word in relation to early childhood education, profession. You've earned your degrees, you've earned your qualifications, you do the hard yards in terms of frontline connection with family, community, and children's increasingly complex needs. So you are professionals. Do away with that other word because it's not doing our profession any favours to put ourselves in the factory line production language.

SPEAKER_08 36:00

That's my little I've been inspired by all of you. I just feel I feel like very I don't know, grateful to have a seat at this table. And like what you've created is just really special for our community here on the Central Coast. So I think, yeah, you've been pretty inspiring with what you facilitated and just being in the presence of you guys, I think has been amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 36:25

I would like to say the same as Jessica. It's I'm still new to this world and with Rimey. And so being up with you all, people who I've known from when I was in my teaching days, like, we're going to this conference and this way, and to be an audience member, but to now be up here is incredibly inspiring. Very daunting experience. It's a vulnerable thing to sing and to share music with others, and I get that. So my biggest, I guess, what helped me get through is to lean on each other, work together, make your own little choir. We are never allowed to be alone with children. Work together, sing together. That creates community, it creates emotional bonds and connections like you wouldn't believe. There's the science there, so lean on each other and just don't be afraid to be silly. Amazing.

SPEAKER_06 37:14

Well, going back, it's an incredible honor to be with everybody here today on a Saturday with our team that has organized today and also all of our listeners that have made today possible. And one of the inspiring things that I would like to share is that along my journey of going to conferences and meeting people, having conversations, it was actually Dr. Gay that said to me a few maybe months ago, she was explaining a guess, a position that she was put in, and she wasn't expecting to be in that position. And she said, if not me, then who? And for some reason that little conversation just stuck in my head. And it's been the ability to continue to go forward and say to myself, if not me, then who? And I encourage you all, if you're a passionate about something, if you're an inspiring leader, if you're wanting to make change, if not you, then who? So go ahead and do it. Well, thank you so much for coming onto the podcast. Really appreciate it. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Learn Play Thrive the podcast. We hope you found inspiration and valuable insights to fill your journey in early childhood education. Remember the key to fostering learning, promoting play, and empowering young minds lies within your dedication and creativity. If you enjoyed today's episode, please like, subscribe, rate, or review our podcast on your favourite platform. Your feedback helps us to continue to deliver content that resonates with you. And don't forget to visit us at our website at learnplaythrive.com.au for additional resources, blog posts, and professional development opportunities. Until next time, keep learning, keep playing, and keep thriving. We'll see you in the next episode of Learn Playthrive the podcast.