Introduction I 9 Why Is Good Teamwork so Important in Early Childhood Education? This Team Would Be Great If Everyone Else Would Just . . . Are you thinking, “I’m willing to work with other adults, but sometimes they aren’t willing to work with me. If other people would just change!” Do you ever wish others would i Do things without being asked i Do what you ask i Do things the way you do them i Change At times, all of us wish that other people would change how they carry out their job responsibilities. Some people probably think that about you too. Ouch! Yes, many of us are set on changing other people. But here’s what I know: you can change diapers, but you can’t change people. One of the interesting things about the concept of teamwork is that people typically think that if everybody else would do what they were suppose to do, they’d have a good team. “If she would just put the glue back.” becoming a team player Think of it like this: in your environment, the team of adults you work with and the children you serve are like a family. Children look to you for their physical and emotional safety. They may not know that at home their parents aren’t getting along, but they can sense discord in their environments. The same is true for their early childhood team: when the adults aren’t working well as a team, the care and education of the children is not as excellent as it could be. Children can sense the tension and that’s not good for them or you. Being a good team doesn’t mean that there won’t be disagreements at times or different points of view. It’s normal and good for centers and schools to continually question and discuss how the program should run. What’s important is how you share your differences, resolve the issues, and represent your team despite your different perspectives. Just as children can sense dissonance among adults, they can also sense harmony. When you are laughing with your coteachers in the presence of the children, having a good time and communicating well, the children benefit from the positive environment, and you accomplish the work. How you con- duct yourself and interact with others on your team is one of the most effective teaching tools you have. It is much more effective than gluing cotton balls onto a sheet of construction paper. You try to teach children lots of lessons, and what is more fundamental than role-modeling how to get along with others?