O que crianças em idade pré-escolar sabem sobre excelência | Kendall Syska | TEDxRiverfield Country Day School

A educadora da primeira infância Kendall Syska analisa o que crianças em idade pré-escolar já compreendem sobre aprendizagem e excelência. A palestra se baseia em observações de salas de aula de inspiração Reggio em Tulsa, Oklahoma, e em pesquisas nas áreas de psicologia e neurociência. Ela aborda curiosidade, criatividade, colaboração, resiliência e aprendizagem com os erros, propondo enxergar a excelência como a disposição de continuar curioso e engajado na descoberta, e não como desempenho perfeito.

• Observações em salas da primeira infância
• Curiosidade, criatividade e colaboração
• Aprender com erros e resiliência

In a world that often equates excellence with achievement, performance, and perfection, preschoolers reveal a different model. Through observations from early childhood classrooms alongside research in psychology and neuroscience, this talk explores how curiosity, creativity, collaboration, resilience, and learning through mistakes form the foundation of meaningful growth. By examining what young children already understand about learning, audiences are invited to reconsider excellence not as flawless performance, but as the courage to remain curious, adaptable, and engaged in the process of discovery. Kendall Syska is an Early Childhood Educator at Riverfield Country Day School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, working in a Reggio-inspired environment that values curiosity, collaboration, and exploration. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and later moved to Stillwater to attend Oklahoma State University, where she earned her B.A. in Psychology while working in children’s programs supporting international student families in toddler and after-school settings. These experiences shaped Kendall’s interest in how young children learn through relationships, play, and experimentation. Her work now explores what these early learning experiences reveal about human development and how they challenge the way we think about excellence, growth, and education. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx