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“There is nothing more beautiful than a future full of happy people.”
This phrase has been the impetus that Mirian Galán Marqués (Madrid, 41 years old), an Early Childhood Education teacher for more than 20 years, has used as the driving force to publish her first book,
Happy at School
(RBA, January, 2024).
In it, Galán shares, with the help of other education experts, his experience, personal anecdotes and parenting guidelines for families, such as knowing when to remove the diaper, how to deal with tantrums or how to successfully get through the first day of school.
Galán, also founder of the SuperEducalandia blog and awarded in 2022 in the V edition of the Global Teacher Award as one of the best teachers in the world, affirms that for her it is very important that Early Childhood Education teachers are valued and respected as to those from other educational stages: “We are not just the ones who make macaroni necklaces, although I also tell you that I wish more teachers would wear them.”
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The speech therapist, also an expert in active pedagogies, has won the 2023 professional merit medal and the 2023 Educational Inspiration award from Inspiring Girls, an organization
focused on increasing girls' professional ambition, as well as their job expectations, especially in less feminized sectors such as STEM (the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
And Galán understands life as continuous learning: “There is no recipe to be a good teacher.
“Each teacher creates himself based on experiences and study.”
ASK.
You maintain that research is the greatest learning, do you think that parents sometimes limit their children's desire to discover?
ANSWER.
Possibly, and often without realizing it.
Children must investigate, touch, observe and play.
Parents must be the guides of their learning, their companions.
Surely we have heard the typical phrase “you learn from mistakes” a thousand times, so children must be able to make mistakes to learn.
Q.
You assure that it is important to understand that each minor is different, can parents and teachers harm them if they do not take this into account?
A.
We have all heard parents in the park: “My son is already peeing and he is one year old”;
“Mine is already six months old”;
“My child started eating solid foods in the womb” (ironic exaggeration).
We are different as adults and children are too.
We must try to adapt to the needs, tastes or maturational level of the minors and this will awaken their desire to learn and enjoy in class and at home.
Q.
Many parents have a very difficult time when their children start kindergarten. What advice would you give them so that the adaptation process is positive?
A.
The first months as parents translate into snot, diapers, milk... and conversations revolve around the baby, something that, although it is very nice, makes parents stop taking care of themselves.
Having children go to preschool is not only beneficial for them, for learning and sharing time with other children;
Adults will also be able to recover their personal space.
The father and mother will be themselves again... they will return to their work, eat with their colleagues, go to the hairdresser or read a book quietly.
Children should investigate, touch, observe and play.FatCamera (Getty Images)
Q.
What is positive language and why is it necessary to use it with children?
A.
“Cheerful”, “proud” or “excited” are, for example, words with a positive charge.
“Smiling” or “being amazed” also express positive emotions.
Saying them will benefit their development of attention, their self-esteem or their memory.
In addition, doing it frequently improves creativity, prevents anxiety and frustration, and helps the child cope with the rules easily.
Q.
How could children be given autonomy in household chores without making them feel like an obligation?
A.
Above all, it has to be done from a very young age, from when they begin to walk and with things as easy as throwing the diaper in the trash.
At two or three years old they can be encouraged to take their clothes to their room or to the washing machine.
Apart from this, the essential idea is to make it something fun, what adult doesn't turn on music to clean the house?
The little ones can also join in and dance with the broom.
Q.
What about the repeated blackmail or impositions on food or when tidying up the room?
A.
Sometimes, adult fatigue is reflected in behaviors such as blackmail, which we know is useless, so we should avoid it.
Despite believing that children are still very young, you must opt for dialogue with a soft and forceful tone.
It is effective.
Q.
If a child tells his parents that a classmate bothers him every day at school, how is it appropriate to proceed?
A.
Talk to your classroom tutor, have a meeting and convey your concerns and those of your child.
They will always resolve your doubts about what happened and make it possible to have a joint plan.
Q.
When faced with changes in routines, such as a separation/divorce, a death or the arrival of a sibling, what would be your suggestion to help minors deal with it in the best way?
A.
Parents have to tell the events in a natural way and depending on the age, so they can make the child participate in a situation to understand it better.
If you are going to have a brother, for example, it is essential to give him responsibilities before the birth, such as giving him his opinion on the future name or, after his arrival at home, for the little one to be involved with diaper changes, baths... Or in the If their parents have separated, the minor can visit dad's or mom's new house and buy furniture for their new room together.
Or when a loved one dies, it must be clear that the minors are aware that something different has happened and it is favorable to talk to them, not lie to them.
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