I believe it is my duty as an educator to encourage children and help them succeed by doing my best to give them all the support they need. All teachers, including early childhood professionals, should know that it is their responsibility to educate those young children. The support children receive now will make them the person they will become tomorrow.

I was born and raised in Tanzania, and I moved to the U.S. at a young age. I have come to an understanding of how learning can be difficult if you are not getting the amount of support that you need. I moved to the U.S. and started attending middle school. For the first few months in middle school, I didn’t get much support, and I felt like quitting. I spoke Swahili and Kibembe but learning English was challenging for me. Learning a new language and adapting to American schools was quite challenging and I didn’t feel supported which negatively impacted my learning. The first year in school, I was given a counselor who was very supportive of African students and their education. This teacher inspired me a lot. She’s one of my role models. She was an inspiration to many African students. As someone who was inspired by her, I would love to serve as an inspirational teacher to my future students. The counselor did all she could to get us some help; she found a translator who would help with translation when we needed it. I believe that all children need to get the same amount of support. Providing support helps all children create a sense of inclusion and community. I have a kid with special needs in my Sunday school class. She’s new in America, and she has difficulty following instructions. As a result of that, I have to be down there with her every week and talk to her in a language that she understands. I’m doing all this to be an inspiration to other students and impact their lives in a positive way, just like I was inspired by my high school counselor.

If a child is left out while other children are learning, that sends a message to them that they are not wanted in that space. Most people might not know the outcome of this, but it surely kills children’s dreams because no one would like to be in an environment where they feel unwanted. It is really important to meet all children’s needs, especially in their early years. Children are always ready to learn in their first five years of life, and any experiences they go through are more likely the ones they will grow up with. The warm and positive experiences they have during their early childhood years will help them become mentally and physically healthy adults. It can be really challenging for one person to help all children grow into independent adults. Since it takes a village to raise a child, professionals might have to collaborate with other colleagues, parents, and people from different professions to meet the needs of each and every child.

Early childhood professionals are in charge of educating these children and helping them grow into responsible adults. They should always have an inclusive environment where every child will feel at home and get the support they need. They are also responsible for coming up with strategies that will support all learners in their classrooms. As an educator, I have always wanted to be that supportive teacher who treats all children the same. Regardless of their race, class, gender, family structure, ability, life circumstances, needs, cultural backgrounds, and so on. This passion started when I was young. I grew up with the love of children in me. Back in Africa, I always wanted to be around young children and offer support when I could. Sometimes we would play school, and I would be the teacher. I would share with them what I was learning in school. When I moved to the U.S., I started volunteering to teach Sunday school at my church. The church believed in me, and they saw that I had a passion to work with young people. They did support me in that, which really helped me become a better teacher. The Sunday school was an inclusive classroom, with people from different places in the world.

For professionals to meet the needs of all children, they first have to build a safe and healthy environment where children will gather and learn skills that will help them later in life. Children’s needs vary. Children have different needs at different ages; that being said, educators must know when and in what area a child needs support. In order to come to an understanding of what help to offer to children, it is important to get familiar with the age and stages of children’s development so they can learn about children’s milestones at each age.

Children need to be inspired because it helps unlock their creativity. Inspiration also helps them grow into productive adults, as well as boost happiness.