New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education: Stories from Our Nontraditional Students

This book speaks to the heart of an urgent task facing teacher preparation programs on campuses at the beginning of the twenty-first century: How can college instructors work most effectively with a new generation of nontraditional students that includes growing numbers of immigrants, single parents, and returning homemakers struggling to find their way in large and unfamiliar institutions? Susan Bernheimer went straight to the source for answers, interviewing impoverished students aspiring to become teachers of young children. Revealing, poignant, and replete with practical insights about learning and inclusion, the students’ words reflect their desire to become teachers - a desire hidden beneath their fears and silence. Their stories, testaments to courage and faith, remind us of the pivotal role of the classroom teacher at all levels of education. In a book filled with student narratives, classroom vignettes, and instructional strategies, Bernheimer shows rather than tells, inspires rather than judges. She blends research and interviews with her own classroom experience and urges educators to integrate students’ lives and voices into the curriculum. New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education offers an inside perspective and a new vision for all classroom teachers.