On our first day of in-service this holiday season, we were treated to a lecture and interaction with our dear friend and mentor, Harold Göthson.
Harold has called us “The school of wishes” and supported our thinking and efforts professionally for many years. In these unprecedented times around the world, Harold reminds us that this work is a re-invention and constantly evolves as we work with parents and children. His call of our attention to “The enchantment of return” speaks to our return from the holiday break, our return from the life of this pandemic, a return to pressing political issues beyond the presidential election. He reminds us that children are good at newness. That returning is a metaphor for listening to what we can do, what children can do, and echoes Loris Malaguzzi’s statement that we can learn from the children.
“The children challenge us to listen to what the child tries to be listened to.” and “the teacher stands between the child and the curriculum” as the protagonists of a community of kindness as we all return within a society of challenges.
The teachers reflected:
Julia, our brand new Cilantro Teacher: “Who am I, who are you, and how do we become a ‘we’? What does it mean to be a ‘we’?” I loved this statement because the community is so important right now and it can be hard to cope with fostering that sense of community when we can’t physically be together. It reminds me of Adlerian Theory actually, and how humans have innate potential and desire to be socially connected, but in order to satisfy that desire, there has to be a sense of community. We do things better together, I think.
Teacher Cindy: I loved how he invited the idea for us to consider Julia as a gift (a fresh persepective). This was a reminder of what we can do in place of what we can’t. Harold continues to inspire me so much.
Teacher Flora: I appreciate Harold’s highlighting the feeling of being “new” in the job. To me, being new stands as being open to learning and it should continue to be this way regardless of the years we remain at the job. New School West
Teacher Adriana: I am passionate about collaborating with children, families, and my colleagues and yet somehow the passion was becoming fragile with all the uncertainty that is happening now in our world. Thank you for waking up my passion to see the possibilities that this time has for us as educators.
Teacher Susan: Harold’s invitation to reframe our focus from what is frustrating to what is interesting imbued compassion and spoke to the idea of reinventing how we make sense of our experiences. . .To acknowledge where we are now and to work towards shifting and leaning towards positivity and joy, for joy, as you insightfully said, is the “vaccine to despair.”
Teacher Amy: It was encouraging for him to remind us that the values live in us not in the circumstances. That we must find joy in difficult situations and that joy will be the “vaccine for despair”
Teacher Silvana: What can we do is what most resonates when connecting with Harold Gothson. Democracy demands that the most important role of a school is to support the possibility to formulate and respect your own viewpoints AND to put your viewpoints into negotiations with your peers so that you can learn together…and learn the strategies that turn conflicts into energy. – Harold Gothson at the University of Vermont
Teacher Cynthia: The meeting with Harold was very inspirational. It helped me to do what I ask of children all the time. Pause and reflect. With all the changes and limitations, it’s easy to go to the things we cannot do. However, there are always things we can do.
Teacher Dana: One thing about the Zoom with Harold that really struck me was his discussion of what it means to be a caretaker. Taking care of children is more than just letting them sit in your lap or making sure that they eat their lunches; taking care of children also requires that we base our relationship and our interactions with them on the foundational belief that children have a strength and an intelligence that is there from the beginning. Harold reminded us, there will be a return to more physical participation and closeness in the future. We can use this time to really think about what we want that future to look like.
Kristin: As Harold mentioned the enchantment of return. It is a phrase that inspires hope on so many levels. I’m excited to think of return not as a place of sameness, not to what it was, but as an informed and experience driven newness.
When we came back from break we met with Mariama (Aminata, WW Cilantro) via Zoom to explore her experience in teaching children and adults to be anti-racist. What comes across as racist in young children is often only categorizing and based on limited exposure to other possibilities. We take away from these experiences the need to look at everything anew in 2021 and with fresh perspectives, keep in mind that some stages of development are phases we pass through with dedicated guidance promoting inclusion, safety, and warmth.
We are all so grateful for the children, the parents. and our professional community of teachers and mentors. These in-service days have become so valuable in supporting our roles as educators and we feel it’s need even more in these most challenging times. It’s what replenishes our cup. With gratitude.