As an educator, I live by the philosophy of equity. I believe that each child should have a fair and equal opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. Equity is how I will allow each child to develop, by giving them the resources and support that they each individually need and require to flourish. I believe that it is my role and responsibility to foster positive relationships with children, families and the surrounding community and to provide the resources and support to help children develop and achieve greatness. By working together in collaboration and through means of active communication, families, educators and communities can come together to create the perfect learning environment for their children. As an educator who is compassionate, considerate, responsive and inclusive, I strive to support every child by implementing experiences to best suit their individual needs. Early Childhood Educators hold the future of young human beings in their hands. The children in our care today are the adults of tomorrow. We get to engage in a very important job, which allows us to shape the future of many generations. We get to help children learn about themselves and the world around them and develop their unique perceptions of happiness and success. Like seeds, we water them with knowledge and nurture them with passion, and we impact who they will become in their lives. My favourite part of being an educator is watching the children in my care grow up into strong, well-educated and passionate individuals. I often enjoy returning to old placements just to observe the children I used to care for and admire their progress because the adults they become will be based on us and our teachings. Families, communities and social determinants are all contributing factors to the outcome of our work. Unfortunately, while working in a Kindergarten classroom, I can see how the recent cuts to education funds are negatively impacting children with special needs, for example. They are not being assigned the required educational assistance and are left without the special care they require. As a result, they are falling behind and are developing at a slower pace and, in some cases, they are not progressing at all. In my work as an educator, I will endlessly strive to expose children to the most impactful experiences and valuable knowledge despite the negative external factors. However, I cannot do this alone and without the help of their families. Only through close classroom observations and parent collaboration, I can ensure the best quality education and optimal progress. Only through close relationships with the families, I can learn more about each child and create a set of unique experiences that can support his or her individual needs, “children thrive in environments that are diverse in opportunities and experiences” (Dietze, Kashin, 2018 p. 50). This collaboration between families, the community and myself stem from my knowledge and a strong belief in the Ecological Systems Theory, which says that children learn and develop based on various interconnecting relationships from different individuals and institutions in the child’s surrounding environments (Berk, 2018, p.23). Through my teachings, I aspire to connect all these individual relationships and influencers and bring them all together to create the most nurturing, encouraging, positive and motivating environment. According to an approach called Reggio Emilia, the classroom is the third educator and can enhance or hinder a child’s development (Dietze, Kashin, 2018 p. 157). I will apply this approach and strive to create an environment that will, “enhance [...] children's desire to act on their curiosity and [promote] opportunities for learning” (Dietze, Kashin, 2018 p. 158). Educators can change lives, but we have to work as a collective to combine all of our knowledge, resources, support and skills to foster development and instill greatness in every child we care for. “It takes a village to raise a child” (Proverb, n.d).