Teaching with Compassion

Kathy Harris

My passion is teaching young children and the teachers teaching young children.  Nurturing young children's desires to learn are best served by nurturing the spirit of those who have chosen to teach young children.

What are my qualifications? 

• I have been a professional workshop presenter and educator in early childhood education for over 20 years.  Presenting at local, state and national levels.  I create specialized workshops that are current, instructional and motivational.

• My educational background includes a double B.A. from Notre Dame College (Early Childhood Education and Psychology), a M. Ed. from Kent State University and a Ph.D. from Kent State University.

• I am currently Dean and Associate Professor of the School of Education and Applied Social Sciences and Child Development Center at Seton Hill University.

• As an involved member and volunteer for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC), Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children (OAEYC), Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), Division for Early Childhood (DEC), Council of Exceptional Children (CEC), National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), Child Life Council (CLC), American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRSE), National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), and Pi Lambda Theta International Honor Society.  I have served in various board and committee positions many of these organizations.

• I have designed, created the curriculum and taught a new preschool for a local parochial school for 3's, 4's and pre-k's.  My six years with a local co-op nursery school took me from teacher to director.  While there we added Parent & Me and pre-k classes, for which I designed the curriculums.



Why do I present workshops?

Compassion means tenderness, mercy, heart, a strong desire to alleviate the pain or remove its cause.  Teaching with compassion encompasses the way you speak to children, how you conduct yourself as a professional educator and your relationships with families, colleagues and educators.  It also includes a place where you provide an environment of decency, kindness, warmth and a place where children feel safe.  Teachers are the inspiration and imagination of education.  As a professional workshop trainer I want to encourage educators to take risks and test new ideas in their classrooms after attending one of my workshops.  I want to inspire educators to think about the process first in learning, rather than a final product.

Most importantly, teaching is an avocation, not a job.  After attending one of my workshops, I want early childhood educators to reflect upon their role as 'educators' for young children and families.  They need to know how special they are and what an awesome career they have chosen to follow - to educate and sow the seeds of desire to learn in all young children.

Why do I want you to attend my workshops?

I want to teach, encourage and inspire you. I want you to re-awaken your passion and fire-up your imagination.  I want you to leave my workshops saying: 

Creating a Spiritual Early Childhood Environment: Five Activities to Nurture, Support, and Sustain All Young Children, (2009, May)

• “As a result of this session, I will share your enthusiasm with other teachers and use PMI within my classroom!”
• “As a result of this session, I better understand children with disabilities.”
• “As a result of this session, I can create a social story. Kathleen Harris = awesome!”

Promoting Positive & Supportive Relationships with Young Children using Peer-Mediated Interventions, (2009, May)

(Actual quotes taken from post-workshop written surveys as noted.)