Educator in Profile: Jacqueline Zerafa

Meet Jacqueline Zerafa, who works at Rising Stars Early Learning Centre in Redbank.

1. What is your role within your service and what do you want to achieve in the next five years?

My current role within my service is Assistant Educator in the Nursery Two room alongside my Lead Educator, catering for up to 8 babies a day. In the next 5 years I would like to continue with my studies by going on to complete my Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, to help develop more knowledgeable information about working in the childcare sector.

2. What/who inspired you to forge a career in early learning?

My Big Family! Growing up there was always busy weekends/holidays with lots of family and friends. I was always helping my uncles and aunts with their babies when I was a young teenager. I have 6 children of my own and 15 Grandchildren. There are many things/events and people that finally led me towards this career path. My Daughter Kylie and the staff at Rising Stars played a big part in me kick-starting my career in the childcare sector. I was given the opportunity to work at this centre and received lots of encouragement from staff members as well as my Trainer, especially Kylie (my daughter) who helped push me on my harder days. I am grateful to all the people who helped me to get my studies up and running to go on and complete my Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

3. What do you find rewarding about working in the early learning sector?

What I find rewarding is being able to see each individual child grow and learn in their own unique ways. Being able to create a fun educational and supportive environment with a cultural variety for them to enjoy and hopefully carry with them into the future. I also feel rewarded getting to know the families and forming connections with them inside the centre as well as outside in the community.

4. How would you describe your early learning philosophy?

I believe that young children are happy, energetic, and playful human beings. A child’s role in their development is to have fun at the same time as learning to make good choices, learn to socialise, learn academically, mentally, and enjoy life. I would like for the children in my care to accomplish anything they have set their mind too and learn skills that will help assist them in their journey of life. I hope to help children and their families in my care, learn, develop, and communicate well within the community and centre.

5. How do you engage the families in your service?

We use KidsXap which is software that helps the service with enrolments, attendance, Quality Improvement Plans, incident reports, medical records, and learning observations. Providing the families with access to see daily updates, photos and any notes or news from the centre. Parents also can message us through this app when required. At our centre we are always happy to greet families at drop-offs and pick-ups, we understand how important face to face communication is to families.

6. What is your biggest challenge as an educator and what strategies do you put in place to manage these challenges?

I still find my biggest challenges as an educator (sometimes in life, like writing this profile was a challenge) is self-confidence. I still find myself seeking guidance and/ or approval when I am making any choices. I am what I like to call “old school” so I have had to learn some new techniques on how to communicate with children, “different eras create different times” although the fun in the challenges we are given is the learning, no matter our age, we are always learning.

7. How have the challenges you faced helped you grow as an educator?

Having had to face my challenges in my mature age has made me eager to achieve more knowledge and confidence in myself. It has also taught me to feel pride in my

achievements. I now like to take this knowledge into the classroom with me in the hopes that children in my care learn and realise that anyone can achieve anything they desire in life.

8. What is the most important skill you hope to develop in the children you educate and care for?

The most important skill I hope to teach any child is kindness, equality for all humans, and the resilience to cope in an unkind situation. I believe everyone should learn and accept “to err is human“. Show a little kindness, but don’t forget yourself in the process.

9. What advice would you give to someone who wishes to start a career in early learning?

Firstly, I would say this would be the most rewarding career path a person may achieve, as long as you have the passion and drive not only to help teach, but to learn from our younger generation. You should always feel privileged that a family is comfortable enough to leave their child in your care, and you should respect and honour that privilege.

10. Finally, what’s your fondest memory from your own childhood?

Growing up in a big family environment always surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, my parents and my two brothers whom I have always been very close too. These are times I will always be grateful for and I feel very privileged to have such wonderful memories of not only family, but close friends who are still in my life to this day.

A child’s role in their development is to have fun at the same time as learning to make good choices, learn to socialise, learn academically, mentally, and enjoy life.