Listening With Our Voice

I have been a substitute in many school-age programs for the past few years. I enjoy participating in and learning about different approaches in school-age care. One aspect of care that caught my attention is how educators use voice. During my time as a substitute, I observed many different communication styles. Each type created a different outcome for the children and the learning community.

What are the elements of communication?

What is the role of voice in our work with young children?

The dictionary defines communication as “a process by which information exchanges between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.”

Reading further, I discovered that effective communication involves minimizing misunderstandings during all the stages of the communication process as participants define their roles. Our communication with young children is an ongoing conversation of discovery and a never-ending journey of sharing ideas and growing together.

Children communicate in many ways, including voice. Educators often monopolize voice to share and connect with the learning community.

Is our reliance on voice impacting our ability to communicate with children?

An effective communicator understands their audience. We spend most of our day in communication with children. Our role as educators is to understand how children communicate with us. What can we do to enhance our skills as communicators? Here are a few key ideas about utilizing voice in our work with school-age children.

Too much voice may hinder our opportunity to collaborate.

If we use our voice too often, this slows a rich exchange of dialogue and formulation of ideas with the children. Our time with the children is an opportunity to share ideas with people from different backgrounds and generations. Our unique perspectives about life are valuable in the construction of knowledge. Sharing ideas helps build our community.

Our voice is a tool. Use it in the right situation.

Our voice is a valuable tool. A hammer or saw has different uses in construction. In our work with children, we can use our voices differently, depending on the application. The challenge as educators is to make decisions about when and how to use our voices.

In our field, the voice is an instrument of instruction, but this is not the true purpose of our voice. Our voice is an instrument of collaboration. With our voice, we can share information. We can also share joy, excitement, and wonder with the children as we play together. We can talk about our shared experiences. We can insert our voice into the world of the children as an instrument to sustain work. Our voice can support the learning journey. Sometimes, our excitement to share information creates a roadblock.

Our voice is a tool for extending conversation and connection through listening.

The children are in conversation with us. Children share their experiences through the stories they tell us about play and life. Our role in this exchange is first to listen.

The book, Experiencing Reggio Emilia says, “the importance of paying attention to what children say, and uncovering what they mean is a key part of early childhood education.” I know this to be true. The best moments of my teaching journey have materialized from being with a group of children and listening. Listening to each other is the time when we grow as a community. Listening is a time to learn about each other and form the bonds that fuel our creative and learning journey.

Our image of the child influences how we use our voice.

In the book Experiencing Reggio Emilia, Carlina Rinaldi shares how our image of the child plays an essential role in our decision to use our voice. “If we believe that children have their theories, interpretations, and questions and that they are protagonists in the knowledge-building process, then the most important verb in educational practice is no longer to talk, explain, or send, but to listen.”

Children are searching for meaning and are on a journey of discovery fueled by play and the desire to connect with who they are and who they want to become. Educators play a role in this journey and must make choices about how we will lead.

As educators, we can embrace the traditional “sage on the stage method.” We can use our voice as a tool of power, as the holder of all knowledge, rules, and ways of being within our school-age community. Another option is to use our voice as a companion, collaborator, and contributor to a community of playful seekers. People who want to know more, give and enjoy more of their time together.