School is so amazing this semester. First of all, getting dressed has never been easier. Just throw on a dress. Done. Then, we live so close to the University of Malta that it takes longer to fill up my 2.5 l water bottle at the fountain than it takes to walk over to school. And lastly, I have time for Yoga before going to school. I remember working the early shift at Pooh Corner and waking up tired every day (and then I still had to go to classes at night). 8 hours of sleep are amazing. I recommend it to everyone.

In our last module we’re looking at curriculum. Vanessa Paki from New Zealand is our lecturer; her and Linda Mitchell (also form New Zealand) co-taught the module that we just finished. It’s nice to have the continuity and have Vanessa here a little bit longer. She infuses the classes with some of the amazing things they have been doing in New Zealand. If I’m planning to go for a PhD at the Uni of Waikato, I will already have family there… Linda and Vanessa have been absolutely wonderful.

This week we’ve been busy analyzing New Zealand’s Curriculum Framework, Te Whāriki (this is Maori for a woven mat). The curriculum is built on four principles: Empowerment, Relationships, Holistic Development, & Family and Community. The mat is woven around these principles. Every mat is unique as it reflects the diversity of each ECCE service.

In this course we’ll be analyzing our own curricular frameworks. In Canada we don’t have a national curriculum, but some of the provinces have started to design curricular frameworks; British Columbia has developed the Early Learning Framework in 2008. When I worked at Pooh Corner, I somehow missed the wave that told educators about this new framework. I’m learning now that the authors of our framework have been influenced by New Zealand (and others…). I was much more informed about another development in my province, because I was a student at Capilano when the Community Plan for a public system of Integrated Care and Learning was released. We went to a session to learn about the plan and later wrote a letter provide feedback to the authors. I can look at our early learning framework and the plan through different eyes now that I’m in this MA program.

Why am I telling you all this? Remember last year when Lucy and I wrote an article for a journal in BC about the new ECCE degree at Capilano University? We concluded the article with our hope that “the Plan, the framework, and the degree can work together”. Looking at that sentence now is quite strange. I know that we wrote it, but I didn’t really think about how connected they are. I knew that the BA degree was important, but I didn’t know enough about the plan and the framework. Stepping back now and analyzing the different documents has been so much fun. I’m excited about all the advocacy in BC and I can’t wait to find my place once I return. I guess I’m already in my place right now…

I remember back in Oslo I was certain that I could go back to work at Pooh Corner after this degree. I still believe that I can. I think it’s important to have educators with BA and MA degrees working with young children. However, I feel that many other doors are opening in front of me and it’s just a matter of going through. I have sooo many ideas of what I would like to do. In fact, I might just have to write my own job description.