The Struggle for Authenticity in an Inauthentic World: A Response to a Response(s)

Abstract

After spending three pages attacking me in a rather scathing critique of both me and my Reggio article in this journal (Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, Volume 1, Number 1, 1999), Frances Rofrano suggests that I ‘spend time with young human beings under the age of 2’ as a way of clearing my head and (re)learning what the real world of practitioners is like. I like children and at this particular moment in my career would much rather spend time with those smaller humans than most of the humans I spend time with in my department. Alas, a long time ago, I chose this line of work, made a conscious decision to remove myself from daily interactions with those people (under 5) I most like being with, and realistically cannot now go back. As difficult as it was to understand at the time, I quickly learned that each time I gained an advanced graduate degree, I was further distancing myself from day-to-day interactions with children. With the granting of each degree I was made more unmarketable, as few directors would want to hire an ‘overqualified’ applicant in possession of a doctorate. What helped me deal with the onset of ‘separation anxiety’ from direct contact with children was the realization that I would potentially be influencing children through my daily interactions with undergraduate and graduate pre-service and in-service teachers, professionals who themselves interact with children on a daily basis. The thought that I still influenced children, although much more indirectly, helped me stay in early education and helped me feel like my work in early education still somehow made a difference. I thought I went to great lengths to locate myself both inside of, and, maybe more appropriately, outside of the field of early education in my CIEC article, just as I have done in other recent works (see Johnson, 2001; Johnson & Gaiyabu, 2001). There is little need to add to that discussion here. While it has taken time to find time to respond in kind, what I do now feel is some sense of