a place for childhood

When I switched over from a teacher-led, adult centered mindset ,  I Think the first thing that I noticed was the freedom and inclusivity of a child centered atmosphere. You know, so much of adult centered philosophy is rooted in rules, regulations, and standards that center the person in authority. And from those roots grow a culture, invasive like a weed, that shrouds the children who are supposed to be learning underneath it all. 

In my work, I often use the term oppression to describe such cultures as they are filled with well-meaning teachers who may or may not be aware that their actions are breeding grounds for implicit bias. 

As I grew in my philosophy and honed in on who I was as an educator and what my pedagogy was,  it became clear that I not only wanted to give a voice to the children I serve, but I wanted to make space for their creativity, amplify their imagination and joy and I wanted to honor the sliver of time that they have to be completely autonomous. This is how liberated learning was set in motion. 

Liberated learning in early childhood looks like a child being valued as an equal. It looks like agency over mind and body and it looks like knowing what safety, belonging, and respect look , sound, and feel like so that they know the difference when they enter a room where none of the above are being served. Liberated learning is centering the child and finding value in their individuality.

Liberated learning also lends itself to inclusivity as the culture respects the fact that each family comes with a diverse past, background, and may even carry trauma-either newly acquired or generational-and is intentional about cultivating a space where  ALL children are physically and emotionally safe to show up with those individual differences and know that they too belong here.