Our Values
What do you value as a teacher of young children?
Perhaps you value children’s play — a child’s unstructured, personally motivated engagement in an activity for joy. Or perhaps you value children’s curiosity — a child’s desire to understand how something works. Our values fundamentally shape our interactions with young children, as well as our expectations of their learning. Five core values, grounded in evidence from research, supported the development of the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Mathematics: Prekindergarten to Grade 3. These Essential Values seek to promote high-quality, equitable teaching and learning for young children in the discipline of mathematics. By sharing these core values, we pull back the curtain so all can understand the backdrop against which the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Math take center stage.
Value #1: Developing positive, robust mathematics identities - How children see themselves
Value #2: Embracing social differences as assets to learning and doing mathematics
Value #3: Expanding the meaning of mathematics - a broad, creative, collaborative discipline based on sense making and problem solving
Value #4: Children learn mathematics in different ways toward the same ends
Value #5: Teaching practices that value and honor children's humanity
