Caridad "Cuqui" De La Torriente is a lead teacher at the Creative Learning Center in Miami and has been in the early childhood education field for 38 years. Her favorite part of being in this field is the shine in the children’s eyes when they learn something new.
An Example for All
"Five Years ago a young man came to the door of the school and told me he had just gotten his first car and he wanted to show his kindergarten teacher Ms. Cuqui. When I asked him, "why her?" He said: "When everyone said I was lost and had no sense of direction, she believed in me and helped me find my way." This was a child that was fixated on elephants, had no eye to eye contact, was hypersensitive and was easily distracted. He was a child others would look at and not envy the teacher that had him in her classroom. That is only one story that says what kind of impact Cuqui has on the children in her care now and long ago. She is the teacher that is sought out for assistance by other staff, the teacher that would sit with a parent and ease their anxiety even if they were not a parent in her class, the type of teacher that will accept a child when everyone else has given up on them."
Her thoughts on Early Childhood Education
Cuqui feels that the most pressing issue facing the ECE field today is the time the children lost during the pandemic. “This is something they will never get back. I see daily the high expectations placed on our young children by parents and their teachers.”
Cuqui reflects on being chosen Early Educator of the Year, “I love what I do, I enjoy seeing the children learn something new everyday. I was honored to be chosen Teacher of the Year, but I do this for the children, not the recognition. When I was seventeen years old I walked into my first classroom and knew that this was my path to follow. My classroom has an open door to children and colleagues the same. It is with an open heart, that I accept them in. It is with an open mind that I allow them to stay.”
Cuqui’s favorite children’s book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. A fitting choice for a compassionate, giving early educator.
