tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1933783078883231642024-03-12T18:05:20.309-07:00ChildismSue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-65254431212342499502020-06-07T15:35:00.003-07:002020-06-08T02:11:31.450-07:00My journey to understand racism and white privilege<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The murder of George Floyd by a police office in America has sparked an upsurge of protest against racism across the world. White people are joining the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign to demonstrate their solidarity with people of colour. A focus on the brutality of the American police makes it easy for us in the UK to believe that racism is something that happens elsewhere and has little to do with us. The truth is that racism is a system of discrimination that white people everywhere benefit from. Racism is a fact. It is endemic in white majority countries across the world. Structural racism is evident in all our UK public institutions. Recently we learned that deaths from Covid19 disproportionately affect the BAME population.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Discussing George Floyd in a Zoom coffee morning today, many agreed they know very little about the history of racism and Britain’s role in it. This is not surprising. School history is white history. I studied history at GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level. I did a history degree and trained to teach history in our schools. At no point did anyone think I should learn anything about racism or indeed about world history outside of Britain. I wasn’t taught how racism in the US began with British colonies and the accompanying genocide of the indigenous peoples. The slave trade was vaguely mentioned but I was not told how the wealth of Britain was built on slave labour. No-one told me how Britain initiated systems of apartheid in the African continent, how we appropriated African land, resources and labour. No one told me how India was reduced from one of the wealthiest countries in the world to one of the poorest. How Africans and other colonized peoples fought and died in both world wars. How post-war, short of labour, we actively recruited from the Caribbean and South East Asia to rebuild Britain and establish the NHS and public transport in cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">I had to self-educate and I began that journey in 1983 when the International Broadcasting Trust (IBT) (the alas no more education arm of the newly established Channel 4) produced the wonderful TV series, <i>Africa</i>. The education materials written to accompany the series encouraged communities to form study groups. I put posters up in Reading where I lived at the time, including the University. On the first night the series was to be broadcast I was disappointed – no-one had contacted me, and I thought I was going to watch it alone. Then about 5 minutes before it was due to start there was a knock on the door. On my doorstep were 12 African and Caribbean men – they had come to watch the programme and over the next 6 weeks we watched and studied together. I learnt that it wasn’t only me who knew nothing about African history. I knew a small amount about Britain’s involvement in Africa, but it had been presented as if there wasn’t any history before the Europeans arrived. And it turns out my African friends had studied the same history and geography as me: the coal mines of Wales, The Romans in Britain, Tudors and Stuarts, The Fens of East Anglia, the industrial revolution – the colonial reach dominated education. Despite studying these topics, we didn’t know there was a black Roman soldier buried in North Wales. We didn’t know there were Africans at the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth 1. And worst of all, focused on all things British, the black students had been denied the opportunity to study their own histories. Those six weeks had a profound impact on me. I wanted to learn more and do something! I was lucky enough to get a job supporting the Anti-Racist policy of Reading County Council as an advisory teacher and together with an incredible team worked to develop classroom and school approaches to tackling racism.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">We soon found out that if we were going to understand British history and the role racism has played in building the country, we had to listen to others and research for ourselves (not easy pre-internet!). And, having informed ourselves we had a responsibility to inform the children and young people we were educating. Today it is the youth that is leading the demonstrations against racism taking place across this country and others and they deserve the truth. This blog is aimed at parents, teachers and any citizen who wants to start on the journey to educate themselves. And beware of the Internet – what a wonderful source of information it can be, and what a purveyor of false news. In educating ourselves we need to have all our antennae tuned to the propaganda and misinformed opinion that is driven by racist attitudes, fueled by our tabloid press and social media and often supported by our politicians. We need to be committed to telling the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Training the teachers<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">I was a teacher educator for over 20 years. For ten of those years I was allowed one lecture a year in the 3-year teacher training degree to ‘cover’ racial equality – and I had to fight for that! In the first year I asked my overwhelmingly white students – 18-19 years old – to write down on a piece of paper how many Black or Asian people they thought lived in the UK. I gathered in their responses, quickly sorted them and one-by-one read them out. Less than 5% of them in each of those ten years got the answer right (at that time around 9%). A small minority (around 10%) thought people of colour constituted over 70% of the population. The vast majority guessed between 30-50%. They found it hard to believe the official statistics (polling has consistently found the general public also over-estimate the BAME population). I asked them to reflect on why the majority of them held such distorted views of the make-up of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">I then asked them to anonymously write down things, on post-it notes, they had overheard other people – not themselves – say about Black and Asian people. I collected the notes in and read them out loud. Apart from ‘they take our jobs’, ‘they should go back where they came from’ there were many words of abuse and denigration. Listening as I read them out made them uncomfortable. I wanted them to see how the racist gaze of white people distorts not only the experience of ethnic minorities in the UK, but all of us. I asked them what they, as trainee teachers, thought they should do about it. I wasn’t accusing them of racism, but of holding a distorted view of actual numbers of Black and Asian people living in the UK and of knowing that racist remarks were commonplace. I didn’t blame them for that, but I wanted them to take responsibility for knowing the truth and to be prepared to challenge those who hold mistruths or utter racist comments in front of them. I wanted them to understand that if they, as future teachers, were not prepared to do that, then they would be implicated in the maintenance of whiteness as power and privilege to the detriment of all the children they would be responsible for. I wanted them to realise that the BAME children they would be teaching were the subject of the racialised gaze of whites, where whiteness is seen as the norm and their black and brown bodies as ‘other’. I would have been surprised to find out that any of these students were actively racist, but their world-views were shaped and limited by a historically inherited racism built by the institutions of slavery, colonialism and post-colonial immigration of which they were largely ignorant – like me, they wouldn’t have learnt this history in school. I wanted them to see that a desire not to be racist is not enough. I wanted them to take responsibility for knowing British history, to see how the claim “I don’t see colour” is disingenuous; that the discursive practices they themselves had brought to our attention constructed people of colour as inferior and needed to be challenged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif;">In the second year of their training in my one-hour lecture spot, I wanted students to understand that the white gaze is a specific historical practice, where the values and assumptions of the white slavers and colonisers created institutional structures to maintain white power that underpins racism today. I wanted to enlarge their frame of reference, to come to terms with the way they are marked by a history they did not create but will more than likely perpetrate. I wanted to disrupt that perpetration, to see that history has given them their frames of reference and their identities and yet they are largely ignorant of that history, a history that is made up of individual stories that are manifest today in the lives of children they will teach. Drawing on ‘we were here because you were there’, I told them stories of BAME children and adults I had worked with – of the racism experienced by the Pakistani and Afro-Caribbean children in Reading, of the struggles of refugee families coming to Swansea and through these stories we did a brief excursion into the British history of slavery and colonialism. I asked them what it would be like to never see yourself reflected in the curriculum. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">In the final year of their training I used the lecture to ask them to reflect on the brutal murder by a gang of white youths of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence as he waited for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks in 1993. I asked them to imagine what they thought the white people in their cars were thinking when they didn’t stop in response to Duwayne desperately trying to flag them down to help the dying Stephen. Why did no one stop to ask, “Are you OK? Can we help?” Year after year students suggested the car drivers were afraid – a black person trying to flag them down would be seen as dangerous. Self-preservation was more important that human compassion. I asked them why they thought the police failed to investigate the murder effectively which led to the Macpherson report in 1999 documenting the institutional racism of the police. I wanted my students to confront white hegemony and to see how it impacted on all people of colour and gave them white privilege. I was trying to start them on a lifelong journey of commitment to challenge white racist practices wherever they saw them. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">And help them see that stories have so much to teach us about the past.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Truth and False News</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">How do we all commit to self-education on British history and racism? The internet will be invaluable, but how can we distinguish between truth and false news? A scientific definition might be helpful. Any scientist will tell you there are no truths, only interpretation, but they will also tell you there are verifiable facts. We need to ensure we understand the facts and be able to separate these from how those facts are presented and interpreted. Teachers in particular need to be good at this because they have the job of ensuring young people know the facts and have the critical thinking skills to question how they are presented. As citizens we also need to understand how government policy influences how facts are presented and how the press mediate information to us. This has never been more important. The digital revolution allows virtually anyone to create and share news. In many ways this is a good thing as it democratizes the news, however in the same way that our government and the ‘so-called’ free press can distort news for their own purposes, we have to be vigilant on who is sharing and what their purpose and values are. The amount of false news flying around during the Covid epidemic should convince us of this.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Racism is not going to go away. Government and media have failed to ensure that the British people understand the facts of racism. The power axis between government and media create ‘regimes of truth’ and create dominant ways of thinking. We construct society through the language we use and in mediating issues around race and immigration to the public, government and media have created a climate of hostility towards migrants, asylum seekers and Muslims that we should all be deeply worried about. We need to learn how to sort out fact from opinion. Let’s start with some verifiable facts. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Historical background to understanding migration</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">We have to start with our history. We cannot think about multi-racial Britain without looking at how Britain transformed from a colonial to a post-colonial power after the Second World War. As one migrant said to me in 1975, “We are here because you were there”. From my experience of working with trainee teachers over 20 years, I know that some of the basic facts about Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world and how we manage race relations here are not well known, so at the risk of teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, I am going to give a brief overview here. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">A brief history of Empire</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The basic facts of the British Empire are well documented and tell the story of imperial exploitation and plunder that enriched Britain and left the exploited worse off. However, this is not the way Empire is perceived by the majority of the British public. In 2014 a YouGov poll found 59% of respondents thought the British Empire was “something to be proud of”, and only 19% were “ashamed” of its misdeeds. There is clearly a mismatch here between facts and opinions. Let’s therefore begin with a brief overview of Empire starting with slavery. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The first British slave voyage was led by John Hawkins in 1562 in the reign of Elizabeth 1. Africans were captured and sold as goods in the Spanish colonies in the Americas. The Slave Trade was finally ended in 1827 and historians estimate that British ships carried 3.4 of the 12 million slaves as part of the triangular trade. Ships left the ports of London, Bristol and Liverpool carrying goods made in Britain. They arrived in West Africa and exchanged these goods for slaves. On the third part of the journey they would arrive in the West Indies (Caribbean) where they were sold to plantation owners. The profits made from slavery financed the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the Caribbean Islands became the hub of the British Empire. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Imperial expansion began with the acquisition of Newfoundland as a colony in North America (1583-1818) and then moved into Central America and the Caribbean beginning with Barbados in 1628. Britain moved into South America and Asia in the 18-19<sup>th</sup> century, Australasia and the Pacific from 1832-1907. The first African colony was Natal in 1856, and Britain colonised most of South and East Africa and much of West Africa in the 19<sup>th</sup> century. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">By 1913, Britain controlled 23% of the world population and 24% of the total land area. At the peak of its power, the phrase ‘the empire on which the sun never sets’ was used because Britain’s expanse around the globe meant the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. After the second world war Britain divested itself of its colonies and since 1948, 59 countries have gained independence from British rule. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The impact of Empire on the colonized took myriad forms. In some places like Australia, North America and New Zealand conquest was so successful that an estimated 90% of the indigenous peoples of those lands died and are today small minorities whose lives are frequently blighted by poverty and discrimination. Those of white European descent dominate, racism towards these first nations’ peoples is well documented and verifiable discrimination abounds. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Other forms of empire took the form of conquest followed by ruling from a distance, usually with the cooperation of local people who worked as civil servants and tax collectors. In this way Britain controlled India, much of Asia and the Middle East during the 19<sup>th</sup> century and conflict over land and between peoples today can often be traced back to the straight lines drawn on maps by Britain and the other European colonizing powers as they fought each other for domination. In Africa there were different approaches to colonization from the widespread settlements of British immigrants in East and South Africa, to the rule from a distance in West Africa. Empire is nothing if not complex. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">History attests that the colonial enterprise was for the benefit of the colonizers, the flow of people under slavery, resources and raw materials under colonialism, from the territories to Britain made it the wealthiest country in the world and resulted in impoverishment for the colonies. Some of the worst atrocities against people were committed by Britain under colonialism. This included the creation of concentration camps in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-2002); the massacre of 379 Indians carrying out a peaceful protest against British colonial rule in Amritsir in India in 1919; the partitioning of India into India and Pakistan that displaced 10-12 million people and created an overwhelming refugee crisis in 1947 where 1-2 million died in the violence that erupted. Hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan are a legacy of partition. In 1757, when the East India Company established company rule in India, Britain was producing just 1.8% of the world’s GDP, while India was generating 23%. By 1940, Britain accounted for 10% of world GDP, while India had been reduced to a destitute country with millions starving. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">During the potato famine in Ireland (1852) 1 million died of starvation and another million became refugees; between 12-29 million Indians died of starvation under the British Empire between 1765-1947). In 1943, up to 4 million Bengalis staved to death when Churchill diverted food to British soldiers during a famine in Bengal. Today thousands of Kenyans have launched damages claims against the UK government for the mistreatment, rape and torture of 100s during the Mau Mau uprising against colonialism (1951-1960). We cannot tell the story of Empire without including slavery, partition, torture, famine, concentration camps and massacre. The roots of our current environmental crisis were laid down during the colonial era according to Lewis & Maslin (2019), </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #121212; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">“The Anthropocene began with widespread colonialism and slavery; it is a story of how people treat the environment and how people treat each other.”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">End of Empire</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Over a million Indian soldiers fought for Britain during the first world war and over 74,000 died. Caribbean soldiers were deployed to do the spade work for white soldiers – digging trenches, building roads, bearing stretchers. Two million Africans died during World War I. Britain forced 600,000 African troops to fight during World War II and treated them very badly. These mistreated soldiers returned home and when Britain didn’t deliver on their promise to free the colonies, anti-colonial movements gained momentum. Rebellions in Ireland, India, China, the Caribbean, Egypt, South Africa, Malaya, Kenya, Iran and other places in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century were subjugated but could not be contained. The victory of the second world-war left Britain bankrupt and unable to continue operating as a colonial power. First to divest was India. Always considered the ‘jewel in the crown’, the people of India had engaged in sustained resistance to British rule for much of the 20<sup>th</sup> century and finally won its independence in 1947. Britain partitioned India to create Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan was divided into East and West Pakistan, separated by the Republic of India. Unsurprisingly this arrangement proved disastrous and resulted in revolution following West Pakistan’s genocidal attacks on the East that ended with the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. For over 200 years Britain took what it wanted from India and when they left 90% of the population lived in poverty, life expectancy was 27 and literacy was only 16% (Tharoor, 2017). Other places colonized by Britain and Europe includes Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine referred to as the Middle East today and important places such as Hong Kong and Malaysia. This history of conquest is complex and important but the focus of this blog is those peoples who were actively recruited to come and live and work here, so I am not going to try and summarise the rest of Britain’s colonial history here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">By the mid-60s the bulk of the British Empire had been decolonized, frequently through armed resistance with resulting bloodshed. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Events at home</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Having provided this extremely brief overview of part of Britain’s Empire, I turn to events at home. Members of the British Empire were considered British and in 1948, the British Nationality Act gave the right to enter, work and settle in Britain to all colonial and commonwealth citizens. Following this, in 1949, a Royal Commission on Population identified a significant shortage of labour in Britain. The Commission thus paved the way for active recruitment from the former colonies to the labour market in Britain. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Following this, British Rail, the NHS and London Transport deliberately targeted labour recruitment from the commonwealth and hundreds of thousands of people were recruited, initially from the Caribbean and India, to fill labour gaps in the economy. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">In 1948, the first migrants arrived from the Caribbean on the good ship Empire Windrush. It is important to remind ourselves slavery had transported Africans to the ’West Indies’ over the three centuries that Britain was involved in the slave trade and one could argue Britain had obligations towards these descendants of former slaves who, following decolonization, had few means to create viable economies. Britain was ‘the motherland’ and the motherland said it needed them. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">How would this much needed labour be received in the ‘mother country’? How would government and media respond to their arrival? At this time the vast majority of the population in Britain had never seen a person of colour and information about the new arrivals and why they were here was largely drawn from the media. How the media, in particular the tabloid press, chose to represent these people was overwhelmingly negative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The newcomers had been actively recruited to fill Britain’s labour shortage and surely had a right to be treated fairly. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Neither government nor the press did anything to ensure the general public was properly prepared for immigration. Rather, the period 1948-1970s saw the racialization of British politics whilst governments of both parties stood back and watched it happen. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The new post-war Labour government introduced the NHS that needed to be staffed, they committed to a large house-building programme that needed workers, they established a comprehensive transport system in London that needed recruits. The need to recruit workers was especially necessary as many of the indigenous white population were migrating to Australia, Canada and New Zealand – this was in fact a time of net migration. Labour was recruited to support the economy, but the British people were not prepared to support the migrants. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Mediation of history</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">A pattern began to emerge that established how Britain responds to migrants that is true to this day. Now we shift from the facts to the way those facts are presented to the public. We see how government and media present the truths of migration to the country. As stated above, the state sought to recruit labour to meet the needs of the expanding capitalist society. Labour came not only from the former colonies including Ireland, but also included hundreds of thousands of displaced Europeans. The presence of the white migrants was largely ignored by the media who focused instead on those who were visibly different because of the colour of their skin. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">At this time a group of white racists, both inside and outside the government, began to ferment fear over competition between the indigenous population and immigrants for limited resources: jobs, housing, education and health care, and thus started what has become a familiar mantra – the immigrants ‘take our jobs’ and ‘cost the country too much’. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Soon this repeated mantra manifested itself in trouble and here we can identify biased reporting in the media. In 1958, when groups of white youth attacked black youth from the Caribbean, the media named this racist event as ‘The Notting Hill Riots’, that disguises the reality that white working class males, inflamed by far-right groups had instigates violent attacks on black people. Reported by the media as evidence that there were just ‘too many’ ethnic minorities, the British government responded not by challenging the racist claims made by the press, not by naming this as ‘opinions’ which were not supported by the facts, but by pandering to the tabloids and restricting immigration. And so, cycles of racist attacks and media misreporting stimulated cycles of immigration restriction. We have here the fact of migration, but the decision to focus on ‘coloured’ migration as problematic. Instead of challenging this and making the case for migration from the former colonies the British government set about a policy of restricting such migration. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Restricting migration </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">In 1962, the Conservatives introduced the Commonwealth Immigrants Act that restricted black and Asian migration, not people from the white Commonwealth, the thousands of Canadians and Australians that came here, just people of colour. This could have been an opportunity for government to start making the case – to help the British white population understand our colonial past, our obligations to our former colonies, our need for labour, the perceived necessity of migration, but they did not. This decision was shared by both of the main political parties; when Labour came to power in 1968, they introduced an even more restrictive Commonwealth Immigrants Act. The Acts specifically denied the automatic right to entry and abode of black and Asian British citizens from the Commonwealth. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">It became apparent that both parties in power wanted to present themselves as responding to public fears of black immigration that had been stirred up by politicians, other public figures and especially the media. Rather than make the economic case for policies of labour recruitment or the moral case of obligation to those whose resources and labour had been exploited under colonialism, exploitation that had made Britain the wealthiest country in the world, they chose to fuel fear and resentment.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Managing Race Relations</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Alongside restrictions on immigration came three Race Relations Acts in 1963, 1968 and 1976, requiring the state to ban discrimination on grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin. This was important, however, the Acts made little difference to ongoing discrimination and racist attacks. Race relations in Britain had become a significant political issue that would be a feature of every election to come. The opportunity for government to challenge media representation had been lost. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The media had done a good job – the majority of the indigenous white community in Britain believed there were too many people of colour in Britain. Despite the 1991 census that showed only 5% of the population came from minority ethnic backgrounds, polls asking people to estimate numbers of Black and Asian migrants consistently found people over-estimated the actual numbers by massive amounts. And yet, successive governments did nothing to challenge these misconceptions and study after study through the 1980s and 1990s showed that ethnic minorities were systematically excluded from equal participation in Britain because they were discriminated against. ‘Coloured’ immigration was constantly on the front page of the tabloid press. Gallup polls in the 1960s consistently showed over 70% of the population wanted further immigration control and the government responded with further restrictions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The National Curriculum</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">And how did education respond? This is a huge topic, my focus is history and prior to the 1988 Education Reform Act, there was no written curriculum in the UK and therefore no obligation to teach about Britain’s colonial past. The first National Curriculum was introduced in England and Wales in 1988 and for the first time, history was a compulsory subject. This was an opportunity to ensure everyone was taught about the British Empire to understood migration to Britain, unfortunately the opportunity was lost – the new curriculum did not include the history of Empire. Opinion polls have consistently shown that the majority of British people think the Empire was a good thing, something to be proud of. Considering the brief history presented above, the polls indicate that the general public have very little understanding of the true nature of Empire where Britain used violence to rule other people, deny them independence, exploit their labour and take their resources. And without proper teaching why would they?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Academic historians have called for honest history teaching if our children are to understand our past. Dr Andrea Major at the University of Leeds, for example, has called for improved teaching about the British Empire, claiming there is “a collective amnesia about the levels of violence, exploitation and racism involved in many aspects of imperialism”. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Education about all aspects of British colonial history can’t be the sole responsibility of schools. The media has to take some responsibility to generate more open debate to ensure all the public gain a better understanding of the world around them and in particular our fellow British citizens whose heritage lies in the countries of our colonial past. As Dr. Esme Cleall from the University of Sheffield says, “The violence of the British Empire has long been forgotten. We need to face up to this history and education is crucial if we are to do so.” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Teaching of course can only do so much. Young people deserve to know the facts of Empire, but they need also need critical skills to understand how a lack of open and honest appraisal of the past creates false facts and biased opinion. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Public figures </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">We cannot lay the blame for the misrepresentation of history and in particular of immigration entirely at the door of the media. Politicians are also culpable. In 1968 the now infamous Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West, Enoch Powell made what has come to be referred to as his ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in which he criticized Commonwealth immigration and the government’s anti-discrimination legislation. Powell was a powerful speaker who voiced fears that immigration would lead to bloodshed and it caused a political storm and his dismissal from Edward Heath’s shadow cabinet. But his rhetoric also caused a media storm and is considered a significant turning point in race relations. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">He was not the first Conservative MP to use race relations as a means to gain popularity. The 1964 General Election saw Labour come to power, however in Smethwick, the Conservative candidate gained the seat using the slogan, "If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour". </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Events such as these influenced the decision by the Policy Studies Institute in 1968 to carry out research into racial discrimination in Britain and found it was "from the massive to the substantial". The tabloid press was found to play a large part in this, particularly with a campaign during the 1960s to criminalise black youth. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">They consistently presented street violence with scant regard to the truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Much research has been done into media representation of ethnic minorities and there is a consensus that representation has been distorted and has reinforced existing prejudice among the public. The presence of media bias has been established through painstaking analysis of headlines, articles and space given to minority issues in British newspapers. The media, particularly the Tabloid press, use stereotypes to portray minority ethnic groups and over-report black crime fueling fears about threats allegedly posed by blacks to the white majority. In contrast, black experience as victims of crime and police harassment of black families has rarely been reported. Ethnic minorities are more frequently associated with negative personal characteristics and tendencies to crime and violence, not as victims of discrimination. This misrepresentation has been shown to be consistent over time and has made a huge contribution to Britain’s endemic racism. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Governments must take their share of the blame for deciding to exploit the public’s fear of immigration for their own gain. In 1968 Enoch Powell’s rhetoric inciting fear of people of colour and streets running with blood won votes. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher suggested </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1e1e1e; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">“People are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture,” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">and in 2014 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Michael Fallon repeated it by claiming British towns are being</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/26/british-towns-swamped-immigrants-michael-fallon-eu"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;">“swamped” by immigrants</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> and their residents are “under siege [with] large numbers of migrant workers and people claiming benefits”. The Conservative anti-immigration rhetoric surfaced again when David Cameron (2016) described refugees fleeing from persecution as “a bunch of migrants”, or the numbers of people seeking refuge in Europe as a “swarm”. Cameron took the rhetoric further by claiming the “traditional submissiveness of Muslim women’ put them ‘at risk of radicalization”, or when he announced Britain could deport people who fail to learn English – all grist to the mill of a racist press and an ignorant public. Our present Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has referred to black people as ‘piccaninnies’ with ‘watermelon smiles’ and compared Muslim women who wear the burqa to ‘letterboxes’ and ‘bank robbers’. And so it goes on.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Politicians and government are part of the problem and the press should be holding them to account. Parents and teachers have to be able to recognize how prejudice expressed by politicians and repeated in the media influences how children and young people see the world and make a determined effort to challenge racist rhetoric. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Change for the better</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">That is not to say things have not changed, there is evidence that responsible journalists have tried to change attitudes related to ethnic minority issues and there is evidence of more positive reporting in the 1990s, particularly in the quality press where the voices of ethnic minorities are heard and the problems they experience given a hearing. It is true that Black African and Asian minorities are now treated in the media far better than in the 1970s and 80s. That doesn’t mean negative portrayals have stopped, they have simply shifted their focus towards newly arrived groups such as asylum seekers, Muslims and some EU members. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The real increase in immigration however, came not from the Commonwealth, but with our membership of the European Union and the free movement of people. Today the immigrant population is mainly white, but despite this, prejudice, discrimination, violence and hatred against people of colour prevails. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The election of New Labour in 1997 saw a stated commitment to social justice for racial minorities for the first time. Following the murder of Black African student Stephen Lawrence, stabbed by a gang of white youth whilst waiting for a bus, Labour established The Lawrence Enquiry and the subsequent report by Macpherson (1998) did help shape Labour’s thinking about institutionalized racism and led to changes in police training. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The subsequent Race Relations Amendment Act (2000) signaled a commitment to ending institutionalized racism in our public services, especially the police and the parallel ‘duty to promote’ racial equality was established by the Commission for Racial Equality in 2003. However, Section 19 of the RRA 2000 excluded asylum and refuge. This is significant as restrictions on immigration now meant the majority of people of colour entering Britain are asylum seekers. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Macpherson report uncovering institutional racism was our best opportunity to start a national conversation about eliminating racism but it didn’t happen and a few years later the events of 9/11 in New York and 7/7 in London changed the terms of public discourse about race forever, leading the tabloid press to shift towards a focus on those of the Muslim faith. Today alongside racism based on skin colour is cultural racism identified as Islamaphobia. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Where are we now?</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Race Relations Act (1965) outlawed racist discrimination that was the daily experience of migrants from the Empire during the 50-70s. It certainly did help to reduce prejudice. Today we have measures in place so the state can act decisively to challenge racism, but little has been done to actively challenge the expressed racial prejudice of very large and significant sections of the white British population or to condemn the tabloid press. Report after report (usually following significant racist incidents) has found that racism is endemic and discrimination is pervasive (see, for example the Scarman Report (1981) following the Brixton riots; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">the Burnage Report: Murder in the Playground (1989) following the murder of an Asian youth in a Manchester school playground; The Macpherson Report (1998) following the murder of Stephen Lawrence). <span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Government has done very little to challenge racist views and instead has gone along with the idea that immigration is inherently problematic. Extreme far-right racism embodied by such organisations as the National Front and the English and Welsh Defence League continue to exist and racially motivated attacks are common. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Most recently in 2018 the Windrush scandal erupted. Many of the 500,000 Caribbean people resident in the UK today arrived between 1948-71. Many were children travelling on their parents’ passports and never applied for travel documents. The Immigration Act of 1971 ended further immigration and gave those already here, indefinite leave to remain. However, without paperwork it is difficult for Windrush arrivals to prove they are in the UK legally and they never expected to have to do so. In 2010 their landing cards were destroyed by the Home Office. Under Theresa May’s ‘Hostile Environment’ policy many of these now grown up children were told they could no longer work, some were arrested, some deported. On Monday 8<sup>th</sup> June a BBC drama ‘Sitting in Limbo’ tells the story of Bryan who arrived in the UK when he was eight and at 58 was arrested and detained awaiting deportation. He was caught up in the Windrush scandal where many have lost their jobs, been made homeless, have been refused vital healthcare or social assistance, arrested and even deported. We don’t know how many have been forced out of the country. This is institutionalized state racism in action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">It can’t be denied that the lives of many ethnic minorities have improved, they are represented in parliament, in the media and the professions, this is all good, but the main point is that it is one thing to tackle prejudice that restricts opportunities for people of colour, it is quite another to tackle the endemic racism that still exists in Britain that has come to the fore post-Brexit. Racism is still a systemic, structural problem in Britain. The unemployment rate for all ethnic minorities is twice as high as for whites – these are verifiable facts. Whatever issues we look at – health, education, housing, over-representation in the criminal justice system, deaths from Covid19 – things are worse if you are a person of colour. Racism is alive and well and rooted in our colonial past. As a nation we have avoided dealing with it. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Media ‘truths’</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Immigration and race relations have always been and continue to be framed by the media; their focus on the problems of people of colour, on the competition for health, education, housing and jobs between the white population and people of colour sets the tone. BAME people are presented as having problems – they don’t speak English; they prefer to live in ghettos rather than assimilate. The tabloid press fails to report widespread racial discrimination that empirical studies have consistently found – from employers, housing agencies, Trade Unions, local government or to condemn the physical and verbal abuse BAME people frequently experience on the street. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Today with the successful reduction of immigration from the former colonies, most BAME people in Britain are second or third generation and the press have shifted their focus towards problems of cultural adaptation, intergenerational differences and disagreements, gender roles, religious extremism, dangers of radicalization etc. The issues are presented as arising <i>from</i> the minority communities and not <i>with</i> the racial prejudice of the white majority. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">No government has ever taken seriously the problem of tackling white racism; rather it has encouraged and exacerbated it. Rather than challenge racism, successive governments have opted for multiculturalism to emphasis difference and separateness, to ‘celebrate’ cultural diversity and despite a brief flirtation with anti-racist education in the 1980s with the publication of The Swann Report (1985), multicultural approaches prevailed and have done nothing to challenge white racism. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">In his 2012 speech Cameron also claimed, ”…when a white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we rightly condemn them.” And yes, the law does condemn, but when government provide grist to the tabloid press mill with its racist rhetoric it is hard to take it seriously. The media consistently presents one-sided, distorted or alarmist stories about BAME people, and recently in particular, inaccurate stories about Muslims and asylum seekers have prevailed.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">We live in a country where a sizeable portion of society, maybe the majority, is hostile to BAME people and most recently this has been extended to our fellow Europeans, many of whom don’t feel welcome here anymore. Victims of prejudice find their exercise of freedom of opinion and expression reduced – a supposedly fundamental British value. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">False news?</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Reporting in a truthful and balanced way has always been an important professional goal for journalists. Today the integrity of journalists of all persuasions is being challenged. Journalists who in the past have expressed opinions by describing black youth as ‘thugs’ or ‘criminals’ or Muslims as ‘terrorists’ have created stereotypes and reinforced prejudices that have contributed to the endemic racism that is present in Britain today. When opinions held by the majority of the public are actually based on ignorance, or false facts that have been fostered by politicians’ rhetoric or tabloid opinions, then it is hard for any of us to sort out truth from falsity, and in the field of immigration and race relations trying to distinguish fact from fiction is a minefield. As parents, teachers and citizens we have a responsibility to ensure young people know the facts and can sort out the difference between fact and opinion. If we are to prepare our young people for democracy, (now extended to 16 year-olds in Wales), this task has to be built into everything we do. And we must start by ensuring we have the knowledge, skills and understanding to do it. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">We can start by acknowledging white privilege. In a nutshell this is the automatic, taken-for-granted advantage given to white people as a result of living in a society where white is seen as the norm and BAME people are seen as other than the norm. That is not to say that many white people don’t struggle or face barriers in this society, but they don’t struggle with racism. By being white in this society you won’t be called names in the street because of the colour of your skin, you are far less likely to be a victim of crime, unemployed, in prison and generally have a better chance of getting ahead. To be born BAME in this country is to spend your life being asked where you come from, to be made to feel alien in the country you were born in, to be up to 17 times more likely to be stopped and searched, more likely to be excluded from school, less likely to get into a Russell group university, less likely to be called for interview if your name isn’t white-sounding, more likely to face austerity, unemployment, and more at risk for admission to a psychiatric hospital. Less likely to find a book, a magazine or even a birthday card that reflects your colour or experience. Why? Because as the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Macpherson<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> report found, our society is structurally racist. To be born white is to be born into privilege, white privilege is an “absence of the negative consequences of racism…. an absence of your race being viewed as a problem… an absence of funny looks directed at you… an absence of violence enacted on your ancestors because of the colour of their skin, an absence of subtle marginalisation and othering”(Eddo Lodge, 2018). Regardless of class or gender, “being born white will almost certainly positively impact your life’s trajectory in some way. And you probably won’t even notice it” (Eddo Lodge, 2018). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">To conclude, many people see what’s happening in America following the murder of George Floyd as ‘not our problem’. I hope that this blog will be helpful to anyone who wants to understand why it is and should be our problem. We live in an institutionally racist country that supports white privilege and has exported this all over the world. Such privilege is so normalized that most of us don’t see it. And being a beneficiary of white privilege does not mean you are racist, but it does mean you probably benefit from the oppression of people of colour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Back in the 80s I was lucky. That TV series on <i>Africa</i> started the long process of self-education. On my journey I have read a lot over the years and more recently Black British writers are articulating what it means to be black living here. I recommend Reni </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Eddo-Lodge (2018) <i>Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race</i> and Afua Hurst, <i>Brit(ish) </i>as are good places to start. <i>Black Bodies, White Gazes The continuing significance of race in America </i>by George Yancey is for those who wish to understand white racism in America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">However, without doubt the only way to really feel empathy and compassion and understanding is through narrative. In 1990 I wrote a teaching pack, “Understanding Through Literature” on the experience of prejudice and racism in Wales, Africa and the Caribbean. I used poetry and prose to help young people understand the impact of colonialism through real voices. For me, novels have been my constant companion and I’ve learnt so much from them. Seeking to understand racism intellectually is necessary but not sufficient. We have to feel it. I’m including a list of novels that has given me insight and a deeper understanding of how racism impacts on us all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Recommended novels<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">I’ve selected ones I have particularly enjoyed and tried to cover some of the key topics of slavery and colonialism and the immigrant experience. I’ve included Africa and South East Asia, the Middle East as well as Britain and the US. All cover historical events. Some are biographical, others are memoirs, all are well researched. The list is in reverse order that I read them, with the most recent first. Most are by writers of colour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Homegoing</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Yaa Gyasi follows the lives of two sisters with very different destinies, one sold into slavery, the other a slave owner’s wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Underground Railroad </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Colin Whitehead. This is a novel, but it provides an accurate and chilling narrative of slavery drawn from the slave narratives collected in the 1930s and it links us to the present. The book gives white people a chance to learn from the experiences of slaves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Feeding the Ghosts </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Fred D’Aguiar tells the historically true story of the slave ship Zong and shows slavery as the cruellest trade ever conducted that both created and justified racism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">A Beautiful Lie</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> Irfan Master. Set on the eve of the creation of India and Pakistan it tells the story of one Muslim boy and his friends. Suitable from year 6 onwards it helps children and us know the history of partition through a child’s eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Hidden </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Miriam Halahmy. A teenage novel that tackles current issues around asylum seekers and refugees in a way that creates empathy for the Iraqis struggling to survive here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Losing Israel </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Jasmine Donahaye, a local writer traces her journey between Wales and Israel as she discovers the truth about the displacement of Palestinians in 1948.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Mornings in Jenin </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian biography that helped me understand what is happening in Israel and Palestinian occupied territories.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Shirin Ebadi. If you want to understand modern Iran through a personal memoir and the colonial legacy this is a good place to start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">On Black Sisters Street </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Chika Unigwe tells the story of the African women who are modern-day sex slaves trafficked between Nigeria and Belgium, another legacy of colonialism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Map of Love</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Ahdaf Soueif. The story is set in Egypt, a British colony in 1901 and in America in 2001. It unravels a love story from the past and I learnt so much about British and French involvement in Egypt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk/Palace of Desire/Sugar Street </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Naguib Mahfouz. A family saga set in colonial Egypt and spans the 20thC until after the second world war.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Half a Yellow Sun </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Set in Nigeria, this is the story of Biafra’s struggle to establish an independent republic shortly after independence from Britain through the eyes of a house boy, his mistress Ugwu and English Richard, her sister’s lover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Buddha in the Attic </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Julie Otsuka. This book about the Japanese internment during the second world war in the US is relevant reading as xenophobia reaches new heights among White Europeans across the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">A Fine Balance </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Rohinton Mistry. Set in India, an historically accurate novel of four characters struggling to live on our broken planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Honor</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Elif Shafak. A must if you want to understand the migrant experience. It exposes all the challenges of living in a globalised, intercultural world and the lives of women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">A Thousand Splendid Suns </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Khaled Hosseini. Set in Afghanistan’s last thirty years from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban through the tales of 2 generations of family and friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">What is the What</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Dave Eggers. Based on the true story of Valentina Achek Deng who was forced to leave his village in Suden at the age of 7 (along with 1000s of other children) and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers and while animals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Ishmael Beah. Ishmael lost his entire family in the war in Sierra Leone and becomes a boy soldier, one of 300,000 child soldiers currently fighting across the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> <i>Brixton Beach</i> by Roma Tearne. Set in Sri Lanka and Brixton – insight into the migrant experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Help </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Kathryn Stockett. Now a film, the book exposes the depth of inequality between black and white in the USA in the 1950/60s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Small Island </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Andrea Levy. The post-war experience of Jamaicans in London from 1948. It encapsulates the immigrant’s life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Poisonwood Bible</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Barbara Kingsolver. The story of the missionary to Belgian Congo in 1959 told through the eyes of 5 women with very different views of life. I love it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Anil’s Ghost </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Micheal Ondaatje. Set in Sri Lanka it provides insight into this ancient civilisation and the civil war that tore it apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Maya Angelou. Anything by Maya should be read. This is my particular favourite in her biographical series. It tells how she joins a ‘colony’ of Black American expatriates in Ghana – only to discover no one ever goes home again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Petals of Blood </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. On the surface a murder mystery it paints a devastating picture of independent Kenya that led to the author’s imprisonment. I first learned about the Gikuyu Not in this book and realised the Welsh Not had been imposed across the Empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Brick Lane</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Monica Ali. The novel brings the immigrant milieu of East London to life through the eyes of two Bangladeshi sisters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Infidel </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A powerful biography of an amazing women who began life in the Sudan and became an MP in Holland and is an academic in the US today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Anita and Me</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;"> by Meera Syal. Biographical account of her childhood growing up as the daughter of the only Punjabi family in a British Village in the 1960s. Funny and informative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">by Tim Butcher. A journalists’s account of his journey through the Congo in 2000. If you want to see what colonial misrule and abuse looks like once the Belgian colonists have gone this is the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">References<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Cameron, D. (2012) Speech at a conference in Munich. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Cameron,D. (2016) Prime Minister’s Question Time, 27.01.2016. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Eddo-Lodge, Reni, (2018) Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race. London: Bloomsbury.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">DfE (Department for Education). (2012). Teachers’ Standards. London: HMSO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">HMG (Her Majesty’s Government) (2015) Prevent Duty Guidance: For England and Wales [online}<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Fallon, M. (2014) Interview with SKY news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Lewis, S., and Maslin, M. (2019) <i>the Human Planet: how we created the Anthropocene.</i> London: Pelican books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Macdonald, I. A. (1989) Murder in the Playground: The Burnage Report. Longsight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Macpherson, W. (1999), The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, London: Home Office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Scarman, Lord J. (1981), The Brixton Disorders, 10–12th April (1981), London: HMSO. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">The Swann Report (1985) Education for All: Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Children from Ethnic Minority Groups. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Tharoor, S. (2017) Inglorious Empire. Hurst & Company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri light", sans-serif;">Thatcher, M. (1979) In a TV interview on ‘World in Action’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-60385984164126401102016-08-26T11:54:00.001-07:002016-08-26T11:54:29.945-07:00Teaching art to the early years? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When I visited Swedish
kindergartens this year I was struck by the quality and depth of the children’s
artistic expressions. This led me to ask questions about the work of the Atelierista
in the school. An Atelierista is a teacher with a visual arts background who
works with the other teachers and the children to develop arts-based projects
to summarise children’s learning experiences. Each kindergarten had an atelier
(workshop or studio area) with its tools and art materials and the children
spend one day a week in the studio. Art is a vehicle for enquiry in the
kindergartens and the learning taking place is very different to what I usually
see in the UK. The children are taught to use art tools and are given the space
to express themselves not for art’s sake but as a source of development. The
adults help the children to express their ideas because they respect them as
capable of artistic expression and they have respect for the young child. This
got me wondering. Why in the UK we don’t hesitate to engage in direct
instruction in the basic tools of literacy and numeracy, but not in using art
tools? Part of this can be explained by the problematic relationship we have
between the creative arts and education in the UK that starts in the nursery
and this made me think about an experience I had recently when I visited a
morning playgroup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I joined the other adults
accompanying the range of 1-4 year olds for the morning story. After the story
the young woman running the group pointed us to the refreshments and the
carousel of art and craft activities on offer. The theme of the morning was
transport.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Do you want to make a bus?” an
enthusiastic young helper asked as she led children to a craft table and
proceeded to guide them through the process. Each child was given a red paper
plate and watched while she demonstrated how to find the pre-cut-out black
circles she had placed on the table and attach them to represent wheels. Other
pre-cut shapes were squares and rectangles for windows and the door. The
children were encouraged to look for the “circles, squares and rectangles”
(shape recognition is deemed to be an important learning outcome for 3-4 year
olds and a recognized school-readiness skill). She demonstrated how to use a prit-stick
(glue) to attach the shapes to the plate and – hey presto – a bus! The children
were clearly used to this kind of craft activity and proceeded to pick up
shapes and attach them randomly on the plate. The young woman came up to ‘help’
children get the right shapes in the right place, adjusting those they had
already attached to the ‘correct’ position. Before it was finished many of the
children were up and away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The next port of call was a table
where children were told they could make “traffic lights”. Here the children
were shown how to attach one black rectangle to another longer and thinner
rectangle and were given three coloured circles – you’ve guessed it – a red,
orange and green circle to stick on the larger rectangle to represent traffic
lights (knowing your colours is another important school-readiness skill). The
model for the traffic lights had already been made and the children were
encouraged to copy it. Some children were told gently they had the red and
green in the wrong place, clearly the helper expected them to know that these
shapes weren’t really coloured circles but traffic lights, and everyone knows
that red comes first etc., etc. Some didn’t stay long enough to stick anything
on to anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I watched as a child seeing a
friend at an easel and went over and began to paint alongside him. There was no
direction from helpers and paint, brushes and water were freely available. This
held his attention for about 15 minutes and his painting was accompanied by
descriptions of what he was doing to his friend. The mass of swirling colours
certainly meant something to him and he wanted to take his painting home (there
was no such enthusiasm for his bus). He then moved towards the blocks’ area to
do some building and played happily for about 10 minutes, again without
direction apart from some altercations with other children over who could use
which blocks that was mediated by one of the helpers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I reflected that my experience in
this drafty church hall with around 30 children and their carers could probably
be found in playgroup settings and nursery placements in many places in the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what is going on here? What does it tell
us about adult ideas about children’s creativity?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Firstly, the activities reflected
an adult-imposed agenda and a notion of what the age group is capable of doing.
The product was clearly important to the organisers. The adults cared where the
children stuck the ‘wheels, windows and door’ of the bus; they wanted to make
sure the children got the traffic lights ‘in the right order’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The process of creating definitely came second
place to the product to be made. To be fair this was a drop-in playgroup, I
know that in most nurseries the process is valued as well as the product, but
that doesn’t stop them focusing on the product dictated by a calendar event:
Easter, Christmas, Mothers’ Day, or time of year, Spring, Autumn etc. Or maybe
inspired by a book; imagine what egg boxes and pipe cleaners have done for the
sale of Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. And whilst the regular
nursery teachers might be less concerned about getting the pipe-cleaner
antennae attached in the right place, these craft activities are definitely
products aimed at parents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">At a time when choice for
children is highly valued no one was going to force a child to ‘make a bus’ and
no one objected when children opted not to make a traffic light. No one came
and interrupted the play at the blocks to come and complete a craft activity. Unfortunately,
in my experience of nurseries this is often not the case, craft activities are carefully
planned, with all the paraphernalia involved for the nursery assistant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The assembling of materials, the cutting of
shapes, the availability of glue etc. takes on a, “I’ve started, so I’ll
finish” urgency as every child has to complete the task in an allotted timespan
– “have you made your Easter chick yet?” – and it is not unusual for a child
to be taken away from their play to “come and make a card for mummy” or “a pot
for daddy”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Reasons why staff are so keen to carry
out these craft-orientated tasks are carefully explained by posting a set of
learning outcomes on the door to the child’s room in the nursery so parents know
what the child will be doing and why. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Staff
monitor the targeted learning outcomes whilst the task is carried out, often by
filling in pre-prepared tick-boxes. The tasks are time-driven – a whole term’s
worth of tasks will have been planned and each one has to be finished in time
for the next one to start. Getting all the children in the setting through the
task is a triumph of time management. After all, who wants to complete a
Christmas card in January?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The time factor also comes into
play as children are doing the tasks and praise comes for children who can
execute tasks quickly and produce something that resembles the model they are
working towards. All the finished cards, pots, caterpillars etc. will be put on
display with the child’s name so anxious parents can compare their child’s work
with everyone else’s; if one of the children hasn’t completed the task parents
will likely complain. It’s an elaborate fiction of course – parents know their
child didn’t complete the beautiful snowman calendar by themselves, but that
doesn’t stop them showing off their child’s work to admiring friends and
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nursery and preschool workers,
especially in private day care, work hard to please parents and they expect to
be judged by what the child produces to take home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I have often thought the
production of products by 2-4 year olds is an early version of an assembly line
in a factory (although its unlikely any human will be carrying out repetitive
line assembly tasks in the robotic age – so not work preparation then!) And to
be fair in recent times quality control has lightened up and children have been
given permission to deviate from the model presented to them, but the focus on
making things in the name of art and craft is still strongly present in many
nursery schools as attested by what is displayed on walls and surfaces. If
there are 20 of anything that looks vaguely the same then alarm bells ring for
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But in an era of tick box
developmental outcomes how can we monitor the skills children must develop if
such tasks are not planned against the required learning outcomes? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">No-one but me was observing the
child when he was painting, and as I watched I could see he was finding out
about colour and shape as well as gaining fine motor control from holding the
paintbrush. He learnt that too much water or too heavy pressure from the brush tore
the paper (that caused tears); that too many colours on top of each other
produced a sludgy grey (that produced puzzlement). But this task was just for
‘fun’, it hadn’t been designed as an assessment task so no one was ticking any
learning outcome boxes. Instead I asked him to tell me about his painting and
this invitation to be reflective gave me a chance to learn from him and have a
conversation. And I thought at the time how important this kind of open-ended
observation is and how much richer than a pencil hovered over a list of boxes
to tick. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As I said my visit to Swedish
kindergartens prompted this reflection. Here, rather than planned tasks with
specific learning outcomes, the Swedish teachers observe and document the
children’s interests and outcomes of their learning, or what they prefer to call
‘meaning making’. Portfolios containing photos, captions, transcriptions of
children’s words, paintings and drawings are collected over the six years the
child is in kindergarten as a record of what they are interested in, what they
think about what they do and over time the portfolios provide an insight into a
child’s progress. The portfolios are always available for children, parents and
teachers to look at and talk about and so the portfolio is also a way of
building relationships between the teachers, the children and the parents as
they generate conversations together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This brings me back to the bus
activity. Had anything meaningful gone on in the execution of this activity?
What did the person who had probably sat up for a couple of evenings cutting
out the shapes and planning the task think it was for? What does it tell us
about attitudes towards the children? Did it help the adults get to know the
children better?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I have to conclude that these kinds
of craft activities, which are on offer in many nursery and preschools, reflect
a deficit model of the child, one that needs direct instruction to meet the
learning outcomes of the early years curriculum. In contrast, teachers in the Swedish
kindergarten see the child as intellectually capable and therefore deserving of
a carefully prepared, enriching environment, where the art materials on offer
invite open-ended responses, rather than the closed response of the bus and
traffic lights activities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a previous blog on “Childhood
and Play” I quoted psychologist Peter Gray who suggests our schools reflect the
view that “children can only learn and progress if they are doing tasks that
are directed and evaluated by adults, and that children’s own activities are
wasted time”. I still largely agree with this, but my visit to Sweden has shown
me the value of teaching children how to use art tools. Such instruction shows
respect for their capability and enhances their creativity. And whilst I know
that there are pioneering settings working towards this in the UK, the legacy
of product-focused practice is alive and well in many places. In some settings
the pendulum has swung to a focus on process giving complete freedom for the
child. This isn’t sufficient either. Having observed the outcome of instruction
in how to use art tools in Sweden I am re-thinking how we plan for art and
craft in our early years’ settings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In previous blogs I have written about
children’s creativity, particularly around storytelling and creative play. What
I have gained from my visit to Sweden is the importance of taking children’s
artistic expression seriously as well. I have seen what young children are
capable of when they are offered a wide range of creative materials and
experiences to help them express their learning. However, I have to acknowledge
that this doesn’t just happen, children need access to an adult who can teach art
skills and they need time to explore materials and pursue their own ideas, time
to think, to plan, to design, construct and experiment. And all this needs to
be supported by conversations with interested adults, ideally someone who has a
visual arts background. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We have all sorts of specialists
come into our schools; I think the time has come to acknowledge and appreciate the
contribution someone with an arts background could make to our 2-4 year
olds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If our young people are to
discover, engage with and participate in the arts we need to start by getting
our youngest citizens actively involved. The arts have been sidelined in state
schools as a disposable extra rather than taking its proper role as part of a
well-balanced education. If we take this seriously we could create jobs for
artists in education in the early years and ensure that all who work with our
youngest children have training in art skills. If we do who knows what
creativity could be unleashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-45112451054181358102016-08-12T05:57:00.003-07:002016-08-12T05:59:49.507-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-43782103348901507642016-08-12T05:57:00.002-07:002016-08-12T05:59:40.641-07:00The Marshmallow Test and Imagination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">There can be few teachers or for that matter parents who haven’t
heard of or seen a version of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: ProximaNova-Regular; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">the marshmallow test. In a famous and much
repeated experiment carried out by </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">the Stanford psychologist Walter
Mischel in the 1960s and 70s, and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: ProximaNova-Regular; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">most recently replicated
on TV by Sir Robert Winston, four year olds are placed in a room by themselves
with a favourite treat (originally a marshmallow), and asked to choose between
eating the sweet straight away or waiting for 10-15 minutes to get two sweets. Subsequently
the children are videod to see what happens. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some unable to defer gratification eat the
sweets straight away whilst others try various ways of distracting themselves –
singing songs, telling stories, covering their eyes, turning their back on the
sweet etc. It is a hard exercise designed to measure a child’s ability to delay
gratification, an ability seen as highly desirable as an indicator of future
success. And indeed, those who could resist temptation were shown in follow ups
to the original study to be statistically more liable to achieve higher SAT
scores, higher educational qualifications, earn more money and even have a
lower body mass index. But recently a further study has lead to some new and
interesting information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: ProximaNova-Regular; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Part of the original experiment included interviews with successful
children to ask them how they had resisted temptation. Mischel found that many
children deployed their imagination </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">by imagining the sweet was a cloud
or just a picture of a marshmallow instead of an actual edible treat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Recently Mischel decided to repeat the test but with a
difference. He decided to capitalize on the strategies that successful children
had used and told the children that they could try and resist the marshmallow
by using their imaginations, by pretending it wasn’t there. Low and behold most
of the children were able to resist temptation and wait the required 10 minutes
to get the reward of 2 marshmallows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">So what can we learn from this? Unlike the first and subsequent
experiments, this time children were told to use their imaginations. Successful
children did that without being told, but all children are capable of doing so.
I have been banging the drum of imagination for a long time. I have argued that
the young child’s imagination is the most powerful learning tool we have in the
early years-7 classroom. When we use imaginative, play-based approaches in our
classrooms, drawing especially on storytelling and fantasy play, children
respond eagerly and naturally. If we focus </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">our attention on the power of children</span><span lang="FR" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "calibri"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">s imaginations we find the children can fully immerse in
the abstractions of the fantasy world to the benefit of their development.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Rather than trying to induct children into adult ways of
learning which children frequently experience as drudgery, if we allow and
encourage children to use their imagination and give it free reign, the
classroom is transformed into a place of deep learning arising from powerful
experiences created from the children’s own ideas. Who would even dream of
telling children under 7 that Father Christmas doesn’t exist? Who isn’t happy
to encourage children to believe in the tooth fairy? Who hasn’t noticed that
young children delight in make-believe, in fantasy, super-heroes, fairies,
witches, dragons and so on. By bringing the power of the imagination into the
classroom children can achieve so much more – it goes with the grain of the
brain! By listening to the children who were successful at his test and
applying this to all the children Mischel has at last shown us that all
children are capable of finding ways to defer gratification by using their
imaginations. So we don’t we adopt imaginative approaches to learning and
teaching? Answers below please. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-58681532322575339652016-07-06T05:54:00.002-07:002016-07-06T05:54:14.379-07:00Reflections on Swedish preschools <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Reflections on Swedish Kindergartens.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In June, I joined a group of nursery
managers, teachers and an inspector to visit three Swedish pre-schools organised
by Tracy Seed</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, and on returning home I have been reflecting on my experiences. The
practice of early childhood education (1-6 years) in Sweden embodies different
ways of engaging with children in educational contexts when compared with the
UK. How adults plan and construct experiences for children is a complex
business that can reveal much about who we think the child in front of us is,
and by implication, who we think the adult organizing those experiences is and
what is the relationship between them. I have therefore been thinking about the
practices of the pre-schools and reflecting on the theoretical frameworks that
seem to inform how they organize and manage the settings. I hope to raise some
issues that everyone involved in providing educational experiences for young
children will be interested in. Recently I have been working with settings that
support 1-4 year olds and we have explored our thinking about child and
childhood and acknowledged how this influences our interactions with children
and shapes the experiences we make available to them. In light of this I was
particularly interested in finding out how the adults in the</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande";"> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Ä</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">ngbybarnens Preschools in Stockholm talked about the concept of
child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Before I go on to discuss what I observed and
talked about, it is important to say something about my own thinking about
child and childhood. This is important because the lens that we use to look at
practice will shape our interpretation of what we see. I bring to my
observations the idea that there is not a thing called childhood that all human
beings experience, but rather many different childhoods. My own experience of
childhood is very different from those of the Swedish pedagogues, partly because
of differences in where, when and with whom our childhoods took place. Our
individual experiences influence how we look at childhood from our adult
perspectives, and at the child inside us all. Childhood also varies according
to historical time as well as geographical place, which in turn are influenced
by social, political and economic circumstances. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Childhood is therefore a socially constructed
phenomena and I am interested to reflect on how ‘child’ is constructed in the
Swedish context and the impact this construction has on the practices in the preschools,
and on the relationships between adults and the 1-6 year olds they interact
with, whilst being aware that my own lens of experience influences my
interpretation of what I see. As a teacher, academic, educator, mother and
grandmother, I also bring theoretical and practical ways of looking at the
world and this influences how I interpret the settings I have visited. In the
Swedish preschools we discussed the theory that informs their practice and
those discussions also influenced how I interpreted what I saw as I tried to
see things through their eyes. Having said this, my reflections are my own, and
this is not an attempt to provide a truthful or accurate account of what goes
on in Swedish preschools from the snapshot I was privileged enough to experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Feeling
inspired!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The first thing that struck me was the
outdoor areas of the schools. They were much bigger than anything I have seen
in the UK, (not surprising as the Swedish government mandates 7 square metres
per child (almost double the amount the UK government requires) and the overall
teacher-child ratio is 1-5. Children are taught in age-groups, and each group
is led by a teacher who has a BA/BSc degree plus a childcare qualification that
involves a further three years study. I was slightly surprised at this kind of
grouping, it suggests that the pedagogues work with a developmental model of
childhood linked to ages. It influences what activities are available to the
children and impacts on the kinds of interactions they can have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Empathic
communication <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">How adults and children interact with each
other is central to how relationships are constructed in the schools and this
is certainly the case here, the communicative and relational approach followed
in Angbybarners is based on empathic communication. This means focusing on
listening to the child’s experiences rather than making assumptions about a
child’s meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“By using an
empathic approach inspired by Nonviolent Communication, we increase the
possibility of meeting each other with respect, understanding different needs
and desires, and interacting in a way that leads to a shared development”.
Preschool Brochure. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The staff assume that children want to
cooperate and be part of the community. When they ask the children to do
something, they tell them why so that it feels meaningful for them. They want
the children to feel free when they play and create, and not be hindered by the
fear of failing. Staff also express genuine appreciation for whom the children
are and for the things they do in order to build their self-esteem and
self-confidence. The staff do not assess or judge the children against
pre-determined criteria or compliment them on their achievements as they
believe this can block their ability to evaluate their experiences themselves.
They want them to be independent and not dependent on other people’s approval,
to feel good about themselves and their behavior. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This vision of the preschools is driven by a
commitment to strengthen children’s self-esteem so that the children have the
self-confidence to be happy with their actions. Empathic communication informs
all interactions and structures the relationships not only between children and
adults, but between the adults and between the children. The decision to follow
this approach comes from a commitment to non-violent communication as important
for achieving the lofty goal of world peace. Staff are all trained in empathic
communication and this influences how they theorize their role as pedagogues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are concerned to hear the child’s
voice and time is always found to listen to the children and their ideas,
aiming to be response-able in their communications with children and in their
recording of the pedagogical practice. I have deliberately hyphenated ‘response-able’
to emphasis that not all adults are able to respond to children empathetically
and staff here all has training.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The leader of the schools explained that empathic
communication works in a cycle. First of all the adult is concerned to make a
connection with the child. The underlying expectation is that the child wants
to cooperate and wants to be helpful. When they enter into dialogue with a
child they begin by observing what the child is doing and describe what they
see without feeling or judgement. They then try to recognize and connect with
the feelings of the child and from this consider what the need of the child is in
order to meet those needs by helping the child make a request to indicate what
they want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Teachers practice responsive listening by
asking themselves, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What is she
experiencing? What do I think she feels and needs right now?”</i> They believe
the children learn about consequences of actions when shown care and
understanding, and they use rational authority to explain why they want a child
to do something, for example, a child hits another child who is playing with a
car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">T: You can
be angry, but you mustn’t hit people because it hurts. Did you also want to
play with the car? You can try saying, “Can I have the car when you’ve finished
playing with it.”’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If a
child is doing something they consider dangerous the staff use rational
authority to explain why they want the child to do something else. In this
scenario a child is climbing on a tall stool:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">T: Do you find climbing exciting?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">C: Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">T: You can hurt yourself and I don’t want that to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Child cries<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">T: Come! Let’s find somewhere else where you can climb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">C: OK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
above illustrates how staff pay attention to children’s experiences, to show
them that they see and understand what they are doing and seek to understand why.
Empathic communication requires them to connect with the child and acknowledge
their feelings before they offer advice or teaching and in this way they show
respect for the learning process and reduce the risk of hindering the
children’s curiosity to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Reggio
Emilia inspired practice<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The preschools
are inspired by the practice of the early education approach from Italy that is
frequently referred to as ‘Reggio’. Like Lorus Malaguzzi, the founder of
Reggio, the teachers see their settings as a place for democratic practices and
conversations. Following the ideas of Reggio Emilia and the idea of the 100
languages of children, the school places great emphasis on the arts and its
capacity to promote creative learning. <a href="" name="_GoBack">The physical space,
both indoors and outdoors is a place that is expected to promote thought and
action in children through play. </a>The indoor physical space makes careful
use of light and colour augmented by light boxes, projectors, cameras, and all
kinds of artist materials to support curiosity and imaginative learning. The
adults seek to be present for the children, they listen and connect with the
children’s needs and take an active part in the exploratory learning of the
children. To support their creative endeavors, one day a week all the children
spend the day with a trained arts and craft specialist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Talking
to staff about day-to-day practice we were told that the environment is planned
so that the children have the chance to do things themselves and use their
abilities and skills as much as possible. They want the children to get the
chance to practice thinking and choosing for themselves within limited and safe
boundaries. There was an underlying expectation that the children’s thinking
would develop automatically and naturally as they engaged with the materials
and experiences on offer. Teachers I spoke to described children as naturally
curious and questioning, filled with the desire to learn, to find out and to
explore the world. Choice is important here; teachers believe children grow
when they get to choose what they like and what helps them develop.</span> <span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This extends to
eating. Children from two years old can decide to go on playing at lunchtime or
go and eat in the dining room. They serve themselves lunch and therefore choose
what they want to eat from the buffet and then choose where they want to sit. Even
very young children poured their own water from large water jugs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
Reggio approach was also evident in the pedagogic documentation that is used to
track each child’s journey into meaning-making. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The photographs and commentaries accompanying
children’s drawings, paintings and three-dimensional constructions were used to
document each child’s activities and provided insight into their interests and
learning pathways. The child’s interests were of paramount importance; we were
also told that children continue with whatever they are interested in as long
as it holds their interest without adult interference. The children’s work was visible
around the school as ‘work in progress’. Everything the child did was valued; there
was no emphasis on displaying excellence that is a common practice in UK
nurseries and preschools, children’s experimentation with all sorts of
materials was visible for all to see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Learning outside<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In Sweden there is a huge emphasis on
learning out-of-doors through children’s engagement with natural materials and
with living nature. As well as the outdoor areas around the schools, children
regularly visit the forest regardless of the weather. As we observed the
children playing outdoors and in the forest all of us from the UK were struck
by the apparent lack of attention to health and safety and risk-taking. Discussing
this with staff it became clear that the model of child held by the pedagogues was
of a robust child who needed to take risks and explore, who might get hurt, but
that was expected as part of the rough and tumble of growing up and necessary
for their development. The adults trusted that children were capable of
assessing risk for themselves and would learn from their experiences. The early
years practitioners from the UK liked what they saw and were critical of our system
with its preoccupation with health and safety which impacts on where children are
allowed to go in school settings and often results in children being indoors for
most of the time and wherever they are, always in sight of an adult. We saw
many things going on in the Swedish context that would have required complex
risk assessment if they were taking place in the UK. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Theoretical frameworks<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My discussions with the teachers suggests they
were influenced by constructivist theories of child development and Piaget was
mentioned several times. Piaget saw children as ‘little scientists’,
discovering the world for themselves through exploration and experiment. However,
this naturalist model of the child who unfolds naturally according to a
biological blueprint if in the right environment is not the only model that
influences practice. Staff are also influenced by the social-constructivism
associated with Vygotsky. This is apparent in their emphasis on empathic
communication which depends on the belief that a young child is capable of
empathy. Such a view is a direct challenge to Piaget’s conclusion that the young
child is unable to empathise with other points of view. At the heart of the
interactions between the staff and the children is the desire to support the
children to explore and to understand different points of view and ways of
seeing the world. The children are given opportunities to practice empathy in
situations that make sense to them because they arise either from their own
experience or vicariously through story. From what I observed and from
conversations with staff, it seems that the child is primarily seen as a social
child embedded in social relationships that are of central importance to the
pedagogic practices of the preschools. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The model of child is of a competent and
active meaning-maker with a voice of their own that needs to be taken seriously
and a 100 languages. Teachers had clearly embraced the Reggio model of the
child as rich, resilient and resourceful. In their engagement with the children
the adults told us they treated children as active and collaborative partners,
as subjects acting in the world. The rights of the child were respected, their
views were sought and taken seriously and this was expressed through staff
commitment to ensuring children’s rights to freedom of expression, which is
placed at the heart of what goes on each day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each child is valued as an individual with their own
capacities that needs time for exploration with the right to play, make choices
and participate. Despite this emphasis on the rights of the individual, the
need for rights to be exercised in relationship with others also underpins the empathic
communication approach, showing consideration to others is expected. Empathic
thinking is encouraged not just in the ways adults relate to the children, it
is also modeled through the use of puppets with an emphasis on feelings. To
assist this with pre-verbal children the staff use feelings emoticons that
depict key emotions: sad, happy, angry, grumpy, scared and proud. The role of
language in communication is so important to the staff that the children are
taught sign language as soon as they join the kindergarten at one year old. They
are introduced to signs to express feelings and children quickly learn how to sign
to each other and the teachers. This helps them to express their needs, e.g.
feeling hungry or tired, or their wants, e.g. food, to sleep, or their
emotions, e.g. sad, angry or happy. Expression of needs and emotions provides
the basis of empathic communication. The feelings cards and signs also accompany
stories that are shared with the children. In this way they give the children a
chance to acknowledge and identify the actions and emotions of story characters.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Language however, is not the only medium for communication or
knowledge construction. There are many opportunities for children to communicate
through play, through manipulating materials, through interaction with the
environment, through arrangements of artefacts. It was not just language and
the social that was important, but the material. I was particularly struck by
what I immediately thought of as an installation created by a group of children
who were thinking about travel. Following up on children’s expressed interests
the teachers had provided artefacts that could be associated with travel
including suitcases, shoes and clothing. The children had laid out fabric that
appeared to represent a road and placed pairs of shoes to indicate travel. This
appeared to be an example of children using one of their 100 languages to
express the concept of travel, of movement, of direction. I don’t know which
children created this representation as they had left the room for lunch and
had not been supervised during its creation. I was struck by how their
representation made their ideas visible to us as we passed through the room. I
think this indicates children who are confident in their own ability to make
sense of the world and to share this with others. Empathic communication
requires adults to look at children’s creations and think about what they might
be expressing, whether it be through body language in their play or through the
artefacts they create. The teachers we spoke to fully expected to learn from
the children, as much, if not more than they expected to teach them. The
important thing was to follow the children’s interests. Opportunities for this
to happen abounded in the schools. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Looking at the pedagogical documentation we
were shown and observing the children engaged in various representations of
their thinking through a wide range of artist and natural materials it was
clear that the children’s own creations were valued as part of their
meaning-making processes. The creation of opportunities for visual
representation of their thinking and seeing what they produced as a window into
the meaning-making process was at the heart of what goes on here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Things that surprised me<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I turn now to reflect on things that
surprised me. Top of this list is the lack of storybooks and of the poor
quality of picture books available to the children. Perhaps this is not
surprising considering there are much less that a million children under six in
Sweden so the audience for Swedish language books is small – not a lot of
profit for publishers here. This goes some way to explain why the libraries in
the kindergartens were not inviting and didn’t seem to attract the children.
During the three days I only saw one child sitting outside with books and no
children looking at books. That doesn’t mean children don’t engage with story,
there were story boxes with puppets and artefacts that teachers used to tell
stories to the children. I wondered if the fact that formal literacy in Sweden
doesn’t begin until children start school at age seven might explain why there
was no apparent emphasis on using books to promote literacy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Teachers I asked gave different reasons for
using books and this was mainly to support their commitment to empathic
communication. Stories were used to help children reflect on the feelings of
characters. Teachers use story boxes to tell traditional stories and then ask
the children to consider the behavior of characters, to think about the needs
of characters that behaved badly. The troll for example, in ‘The Three Billy
Goats Gruff’ was ‘probably hungry’ and ‘had a need for food’. The teacher
explained she would ask the children how being hungry would make them feel. As
far as I could see the main purpose of books was to support teachers who were
concerned to develop children’s self-esteem and extend their understanding of
emotions and needs and the role they play in behavior. It is this that they primarily
considered to be worthwhile learning when using books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A second area I found surprising was the lack
of intervention in children’s play and activities. I observed in one
kindergarten in particular a lot of segregated children’s play. Boys dominated
in the Lego area and in some of the outside areas, but teachers didn’t want to
interfere with their choices. More girls were engaged with craft activities
indoors than boys and there was little evidence of mixed gender play. I
discussed the issue with staff and got the impression that they didn’t see
their role extending to challenging systemic issues like gender inequality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What would I do differently?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A very important aspect of this visit has
been my reflections on what I would want to see introduced into the schools,
what I would do differently. Top of my list would be greater attention to
story-telling, role-play and imaginative responses to story. There was some
evidence that this was taking place in one classroom where </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">children, aged 5-6 had
created a world of imaginary people that lived complex lives, where all sorts
of unexpected issues cropped up and were resolved. The teacher, Veronica told me
that each day the children come up with more characters, more settings and more
problems to be solved. With her encouragement they created a miniature world in
a fish tank and many characters and artefacts they have drawn and made using a
variety of materials as the photographs show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Such
worlds of play can give rise to philosophical questioning and I would love to
see a community of philosophical enquiry established in the pre-schools so the
children can explore conceptual ideas together. Teachers in Sweden observe
children in play and have the opportunity to listen in order to identify the
philosophical and then plan a pedagogical intervention to facilitate children’s
thinking. In Veronica’s classroom the children are naturally theorizing about
the world they have created, it is a short step for the teacher to open up new
ideas and themes arising from their story-making and creating to facilitate further
meaning-making. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I have argued elsewhere as follows: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">1: </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Narrative
understanding is the primary meaning-making tool. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">2: </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Human beings
make sense of experience by imposing story structure on it and in fact </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">n<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">arrative is our way of experiencing, acting,
living and dealing with time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">3:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Story has a
unique power to engage all human beings both emotionally and cognitively. Unless
there is emotional engagement there will be no cognitive development. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">4: Narrative Understanding
depends on our imagination. Children live in their imaginations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If all these premises are true
then the implications are clear: we must create a curriculum that is shaped by
narratives and use story to engage children in learning. My research has been
interested in finding out <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">what happens
when children are immersed in stories – where their imaginations drive the
curriculum they create for themselves. Part and parcel of this approach is the
use of philosophy with children to support their play and meaning-making. In a
recent chapter my colleague Sara Stanley and I have argued that it is through
play that children experience in an embodied way concepts that are recognized
as philosophical problems. Furthermore, as children give shape to their selves
in the aesthetic space of play they can explore their moral selves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In my
practice and work with schools I use story to work with children’s imagination,
to promote emotional engagement and inspire fantasy play. Drama and role-play
provide further opportunities for children’s meaning-making and in the process
they explore concepts that abound in children’s stories, for example, fear, anger,
love, friendship, jealousy, kindness, cruelty, struggle, loneliness, deprivation,
courage, determination, persistence, triumph and so on. The concepts are
reflected in their play and Sara Stanley has identified a number those that
frequently arise in the early years classroom:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>It’s my turn</i> (fairness) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>You’re not my friend any more</i>
(friendship) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>Not now</i> (time) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>No that toy is mine</i> (ownership) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>You’re the baddy and I’ll be the goodie</i> (good/bad)
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>You’re not sharing </i>(sharing) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>Don’t scream at me. That’s not what friends
do</i> (friendship) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>The fairy is here but she’s invisible</i>
(proof) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>That’s going to be impossible</i>
(possibilities) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>The dragon is going to get you back</i>
(revenge) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>Only girls can play this game</i> (gender) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">These
are philosophical concepts and when teachers are trained to work
philosophically with children it has the potential to enhance the work that is
already being done in Swedish pre-schools. Staff are already very attentive to
the children and their needs, this could be extended to encouraging them to
play the stories they are told, to create their own stories and help them to
build on and develop them. Staff now are concerned to really listen to children
and to respect their ideas. I think this could be extended to include their
stories and exploration of the abstract concepts that are embedded in them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We all
know that the actions of adults shape the lives of children in preschool; the
space that is created for the children in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Ä</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">ngbybarnens<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> is one committed to the child’s interests
and seeks to bring each child’s unique being into the world. I think this
practice could be further enhanced with more use of story, supporting play
arising from story and through philosophizing with the adults around the
concepts that rise from the children’s story-play. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-4146426079784278492015-08-20T11:45:00.004-07:002015-08-20T11:45:41.309-07:00Challenging Childism through Narrative Self-reflection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In previous blogs I have argued that
childism is akin to sexism and racism, a prejudice against someone because of
what they are: a child, a woman or a person of colour. In the case of sexism
and racism the adults who are discriminated against are able to start the
process of resistance by campaigning, raising awareness and arguing their case
to convince those who perpetrate sexism or racism that it is unjust and
demeaning of humanity. We know from history that this process of getting sexism
or racism accepted as real phenomena involves great struggle and courage. The ongoing
history of feminism, for example, is the story of how feminists deconstruct the
patriarchal attitudes towards girls and women that creates a gendered
distortion of power to the disadvantage of females. Deconstruction by feminists
and anti-racists alike has led to calls for a reconstruction of society to be
more equal, to end the injustices inflicted on women and people of colour. The
struggle is ongoing and has gained support from those who are advantaged by
such inequalities because they want to live in a more just society. Men identify
as feminists and white people as anti-racist. How then do we recruit adults to oppose
childism?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It is important that we do, because
like women and people of colour, children are historically powerless and in the
case of childism it is unrealistic to expect children to initiate and lead
campaigns unsupported.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A positive
advantage is that whilst only women can truly understand sexism against women
and only people of colour can understand racism, when it comes to childism all
human beings are capable of understanding it because we have all been children
and all experienced childism at first hand. It follows that if childism is to
be recognized as a prejudice then we have to raise awareness of what it is and who
better to do this than adults whose lives have been shaped by it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I am arguing that an important
step on the journey to end childism is critical reflection by adults on their
own experiences as children who were oppressed by childism. I am calling for
adults to give their own testimony on the impact of childism on their lives
because I think that will contribute to the process of raising awareness of
childism and could lead to a change in the behaviour of adults towards children
now. As adults we have to take responsibility for our own attitudes and behaviour
towards children and we can start by reflecting on our own experiences of being
children and raise our own awareness of childism’s power. If our testimony is
made available in the public domain I believe it can help disrupt behaviours which
are childist in outcome, if not in intent, as a step towards transforming
existing social practices that impact negatively on children’s lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Childism renders children
susceptible to injustice; we can start to uncover that injustice through our
own stories of childhood. The stories will also contribute to the process of
uncovering stereotypes of children that are present in the social imagination
as well as being personally instructive. Narratives that help others understand
how prejudice against children structures our thinking is an important way of challenging
prejudice. If the stories are convincing then they will provide evidence to
support the case for dismantling childism and help to change the collective
social imagination which contains a myriad of prejudices and stereotypes of
children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If we wish to effect social
change then we have to start with raising awareness of childism and how it
affects our perceptions, attitudes and behaviours. If adults can be persuaded
to engage in critical auto-ethnographic reflection on their own childhoods then
it might foster a commitment to ending childism as well as helping to establish
a more principled understanding of the wrong that is done to a child by
childism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In this blog I want to begin that
process of critical reflection on my own childhood, how I experienced childism
and the impact it had on me. I hope it will inspire others to embark on their
own self-reflective journey and to make their narratives public. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Critical reflection on my childhood<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I was born in 1950, and brought
up in an aspiring working-class family that held values that were traditional
at the time. My father was a tool-maker and my mother had worked as a typist in
a typing pool before marriage. They were married for seven years before I was
born and my mother focused on what she saw as her housewifely duties: cooking,
cleaning etc. My father worked in a factory but had ambitions and rose to
foreman and then went into partnership to set up his own small tool-making
business and eventually owned his own business employing 8-10 people. He had
middle-class aspirations and sought to acquire the cultural capital his own
upbringing had denied him by learning French and joining MENSA and attending
elocution lessons. My mother aspired to a more middle class consumer lifestyle
and focused on expanding her repertoire of cooking to include ‘foreign’ dishes
such as spaghetti bolognaise and food cooked with wine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The eldest of two children, my
brother and I were brought up to defer to adults and authority. My natural exuberance
was frequently met with, “Children should be seen and not heard”; “don’t be
cheeky”; “respect your elders”; “listen and you will learn”; “don’t be rude”.
The key message was all about deference to adults. When I was naughty I
expected and received punishment. Although I was only hit two or three times I
was treated crossly; my mother shouted a lot and frequently threatened me,
“wait until your father comes home, you’ll be in trouble.” My father indulged
in heavy criticism of my character and behaviour and my appearance; I
constantly felt I fell short and wasn’t good enough. When I was naughty I was
sent to my room, denied food, not allowed to watch a favourite TV programme or
left behind with grandparents whilst the family went off for a much looked
forward to treat. The weight of disappointing my parents hung heavily over me. I
dreaded disappointing them. The atmosphere I grew up in was never relaxed, I
was unsure when my behaviour would be judged as ‘naughty’, but I grew up
knowing I was regarded as a ‘naughty child’, a disappointment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My father was verbally very
articulate and could be very cruel. I learned early on that it was impossible
to win any arguments with him. He laid down the law every day at the dinner
table and his word was always the last word. I grew up with a dread of conflict
and found it difficult to be assertive or to defend myself if treated badly. I
had a recurring dream as a teenager of being attacked and not being able to
defend myself, in my dream I would stand rooted to the spot, unable to respond.
Other dreams that continue to this day involve me being unable to speak. I am
in situations where it is vital that I explain something, but the words won’t
come out, they are trapped in my throat. Sometimes I can whisper, but so
quietly that no-one can hear me. I wake from those dreams feeling scared and
powerless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As long as I can remember my
response to conflict is to metaphorically take myself to my room, to run away
from it and hope things ‘blow over’. I am frequently convinced I have really
upset people when in fact I haven’t. I am super-sensitive to nuances of feeling
in others and try hard to please. To protect myself I avoid disagreement and
acquiesce too easily. I now believe this has limited my life. Feelings of
anxiety regarding confrontation is a strong theme of my life that often
cripples me, sometimes quite literally as I can’t even get out of bed. Fortunately
such intense reactions have lessened over the years but still have the power to
affect me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When I was 12, I started keeping
a diary in which I made lists of the kind of parent I would be. I remember
writing that I would listen to my children; I wouldn’t make them feel anxious,
guilty or unhappy. I wouldn’t punish them. I remember promising my unborn
children that I would respect their views and listen to them. As I child I
always felt that anything I had to say would either not be listened to or would
be dismissed because I was ‘just a child’. I had to bend to my father’s will or
reap the consequences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My parents, in particular my
father, used what I now see as a Childist discourse centred around giving
commands. He was authoritarian and required obedience, his was a punitive style
of parenting that relied on punishment and fear to control me. I wanted to
please him and tried to be good, but somehow always seemed to be judged as bad.
This style of parenting impacted negatively on me, but was certainly not
unusual at the time. My father never hit me; he had been subjected to physical
chastisement as a child and as a result, had decided never to hit us. However, he
had not abandoned the belief that children needed a punitive approach if they
were to be properly socialized and an authoritarian style of verbal interaction
and consequential punishment was deliberately adopted. His model of childhood
was that of the unruly child who had to be taught to behave appropriately,
which for him meant total compliance. I’m sure he regarded himself as a good
parent, particularly in contrast to his own father who was a drunken tyrant. I
remember him telling me I would thank him one day for instilling good behaviour
into me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My father regarded me as a
possession that he had the right to mold as he saw fit. Unlike his father he
did think I had the right not to be physically chastised, but still asserted
his right to punish me in other ways. As an adult myself, a parent of grown up
children and grandmother I firmly reject the right of adults to behave towards
children as if they are possessions, to ignore them, neglect them, silence or
punish them just because they are not adults and can’t hit back. I never had
close relationships with either of my parents and that was a definite barrier
to my happiness. My voice was always silenced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What have I learned from this reflection?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I don’t believe that coercion and
intimidation is helpful to a child, they cause anxiety and fear which has a
huge effect on how you grow up. Such an approach to a child is a barrier to
happiness. When your voice is silenced, when there is no chance for dialogue or
negotiation, only rules to follow and punishment for non-compliance then you
are devalued as a human being. I realise I was shaped by the normative
expectations of my father and of the times and I want to challenge those norms,
to change the social imagination so that children are accepted as full human
beings deserving of the respect and care adults take as a right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-71236525650320906592015-07-29T02:32:00.003-07:002015-07-29T02:32:44.307-07:00Childism at the Tate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I sat waiting downstairs in the Tate Gallery whilst my friend
deposited our coats in the cloakroom. A teacher was supervising a group of about
18 children between 8-9 years old. The children were standing in line wearing a
uniform that identified them as private school children: green tartan pleated
skirts and green Blazers. As I watched the teacher directed half of the
children to move in single file up the escalator and I overheard the following,
which was delivered in a loud, cross and authoritative voice with accompanying
hand gesticulation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Teacher
to the first group who were already on the escalator:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What did I say? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Already you're <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">not</b>
listening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">WAIT</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> at
the top of the stairs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Turning
to the second group<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Next group <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(loud
voice)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">(Pointing)
</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Go, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">GO!</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I wrote what she said down so I could think about it. As a
researcher interested in discourse I see this extract of dialogue between a
teacher and her pupils as indicative of wider social and cultural processes at
play. Power is being exercised here. The words and the authoritative tone of
voice reveal the power relations between the teacher and the children. There is
an asymmetrical distribution of the right to talk and to direct behaviour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the context of a public space, her voice has an audience
apart from the children. The teacher is performing authority for other adults
in the Tate gallery who might witness the event. It says, ‘I am a good teacher.
I can manage the behaviour of these children’. The space is important to the
children as well; they are expected to perform the role of ‘good pupil’ through
listening to and following the teacher’s instructions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The words of the teacher indicate expectation of compliance and
obedience, but I also detect fear that they won't comply and cause public
humiliation. Her words have to be seen in this context, she is not just
directing the children and ensuring they are safe, she is also producing social
relationships and social identities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This interaction between a teacher and her pupils is a situation
I am very familiar with. Her talk was 'teacher talk' and monologic in that her
charges were not expected to respond verbally, but only to indicate by their
movements their compliance. Teacher talk is a particular way of using language
designed to position children as pupils. By calling it 'teacher-talk' I see it as
an example of the kind of discursive practice that goes on in schools, a
practice that most people who have been pupils in the UK (and almost certainly
elsewhere) would recognise. It is an example of a strategic use of language to
get the children to behave in certain kinds of ways. It is also ideological as
it seeks to maintain accepted social structures and relations between teacher
and pupils.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This kind of talk disturbs me. I see this discursive exercise of
power as an example of childism. The teacher is exercising structural power
that comes from the way society is organized. She possesses power in virtue of
her place in a wider network of institutional power held by schools. And with
this power comes an expectation that she will use it to effect social control
of the children in her care. So the structural power of educational
institutions controls the actions of teachers and the teacher in turn exercises
power over the child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When the teacher asks the question, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘What did I say?’</i> we know it is rhetorical. No one is expected to
answer, it is an assertion of her right to be listened to and obeyed. When she
says, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Already you're not listening’ </i>she
implies her right to be listened to. She would be unlikely to say this to a
group of adults. It is the teacher who has the right to be listened to and to
be treated with respect because she is a teacher. I suspect that few adults overhearing
this discursive event would find any problem with it. Our society’s conception
of children’s social identity as subordinate to adults is so widespread as to be
almost invisible; it is part of the social imagination. Unless we can change
the social imagination with regard to adult and child an event such as this one
passes as unremarkable or may even attract praise for its success in
controlling and managing the children – here is a ‘good teacher’ in action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A key instrument to change the social imagination is
legislation. We know that changes in attitudes are possible, consider how
attitudes towards women, people of colour, homosexuality, disability and many other
things have changed in the last few decades. It is clear that legislation to
outlaw discrimination has been a necessary lever to change the lives of many
men and women, but it is not sufficient. The instrument of change we have with
regard to children is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989). The UNCRC is expected to be a catalyst for changes in the organisation
and culture of schools that is expected to lead to social and cultural change
in the relationship between adult and child. Over time we might expect to see
profound differences in the social relations and professional identities of
teachers and adults working with children. New discourse practices that reflect
respect for the child and values its voice should become evident and the
authoritarian and punitive disposition of our teacher in the Tate should
disappear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Such change will not happen unless we promote awareness of how
current teacher/pupil discourse is a barrier to promoting children's rights. We
need to raise critical awareness among teachers of how their current discourse
practices impact on children's rights and seek to change them. Legislation
alone is not enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This leads me to wonder, if we could change discourse practices between
adults and children would it contribute to a change in their social relationship?
Could such a change impact on adults’ beliefs and understanding of children and
vice versa that could lead to a change in the wider social imagination of what
is child? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What about the teacher in the Tate? I doubt she would see the
relationship between discursive, social and cultural change that I have read
into her words. My analysis seeks to uncover the function of her words and show
its dissonance as we consider it in the context of the UNCRC. Is the teacher
even aware of the changes in her discourse that is required if we are to take
children's rights seriously?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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society’s processes of producing social life, social relationships and social
identities. If this is to change, we need to pay greater attention to how we
speak to each other and seek to find, rights-respecting ways of managing the
relationships between adults and children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-64707654290070485042014-08-26T09:49:00.003-07:002014-08-26T09:49:45.201-07:00The Little Boy 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri;">Today I was reading a wonderful book by Bronwyn Davies, ‘Listening
to children’ (2014, Routledge), and this poem from ‘Don’t put Mustard in the
Custard’, by Michael Rosen came into my mind:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My mum says once I came home from nursery with a sulky
look on my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"What's the matter?" she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> I said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"What's the matter?" she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What's</b>
the matter?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"I had to sit on the naughty chair."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"Why did you have to sit on the naughty chair?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> I said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"Why did you have to sit on the naughty chair?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"Cos I was being naughty."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"Yes, yes, I guessed that," she said, "but
what were you doing?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"I was playing about at singing time, I wasn't
singing the right things." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"What was everyone singing?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"Baa baa Black sheep."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"And what were you singing?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> I said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">"What were you singing?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“Baa Baa Moo Mooo.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I am going to unashamedly use the
ideas Bronwyn Davies lays before us in her book and apply them to think about
why this poem came to my mind and how reflecting on it can help me better
understand Davies’ ideas about listening to children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The child represented in this
poem is standing on a “familiar, safe plot of land (the nursery rhyme, the
ritual, the place)” yet at the same time he takes off on his own ‘line of flight’.
He takes a risk in being different. He experiments with his own identity as a
humorous being. But being different is not allowed in this classroom and so he
is sent to sit on the ‘naughty’ chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A nursery rhyme in a British
school is a collective cultural event – familiar to some children from their experience
at home, and unfamiliar to others whose cultural space, whilst almost certainly
containing songs for children, probably doesn’t have this particular one. The
boy has disrupted this space designed to bring all children into the dominant
culture. As he explores being different, he finds out that different ways of
being are not welcome here. We – the readers of the poem – appreciate the humor
of his disruption, but not apparently his teacher. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The teacher’s action has stopped
his ‘line of flight’ and turned it into a ‘line of descent’. The boy has
challenged the striations of the space (we can all imagine what this looks like
– a group of 20+ children sitting on a carpet, joining in with the nursery
rhyme that is orchestrated by the teacher) and therefore challenged the
authority of the teacher. The teacher can’t let him ‘get away with this’, he
has to be publically labeled as ‘naughty’ – a lesson to others not to challenge
the capability of the teacher to manage the class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I can imagine that the teacher was
irritated that her careful lesson plan had been disturbed; the nursery rhyme had
probably been chosen to support the small child’s love of rhythm, pattern and
rhyme; she probably wrote in her lesson plan that this helps prepare the
children for literacy. She has clear learning outcomes in mind and is not going
to be sent off-course by a small child. Is this I wonder, why she is so closed
to hearing the child as he plays with words and makes a joke? She wants an
orderly environment where the boundaries are made clear to the children and
this overrides the child’s creativity, which bounces against these boundaries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The teacher is part of a system
of childhood education that is driven by its will to manage and to measure. How
can she ‘measure’ the child’s engagement with the nursery rhyme if he plays
around with it like this? What she understands of the purpose of her job in the
classroom interferes with her capacity to hear the voice of the child. An
opportunity for knowing the child is lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What has the small child learnt
from this? He has to face the fact that rules and procedures are the
structuring forces of his day; the teacher is in charge – and he must conform.
His own thoughts and ideas are not welcome here; if he dares to express them he
will make the teacher cross and he will be punished. Through Rosen’s poem we
feel his shame and humiliation as he struggles to tell his mother why he had to
sit on the naughty chair. He will never experience the exhilaration of
exploring different and new modes of thought. He will learn to listen to the
teacher, to fit in with her agenda and forget his own ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">And what will the other children
in the class learn from witnessing this event? They too will quickly learn that
the classroom is not a space for experiment, for thinking and doing for
yourself. There is no time for ‘lines of flight’ – they will distract from the
learning outcomes already planned by the teacher and incur her displeasure. They
will learn compliance to the teacher’s will and never even consider that they
could contribute new ideas that could help to build a community of learners in
the classroom. They will see that the teacher will judge them against her ideal
of how a pupil should be and if they don’t match up they will be punished. And
punishment incurs public humiliation. They will soon learn what it means to be
competent in the teacher’s eyes and most will want to conform to her judgements.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Can the teacher be blamed? Isn’t
she merely enacting the status quo – just putting into practice the rules and
procedures of the school? She has a need to regulate and to control, and if she
fails how will she ‘get through’ all that stuff the government expects her to
accomplish? She must, at all costs, be productive – there is no time for
diversion, she must stay on track if she is to fulfill the role of ‘a good
teacher’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When I first came across this
poem decades ago it made me smile and it made my children laugh. Now I wonder
why did I smile? I like to think it was the humour that made me smile. Yet I
can’t help wondering why I stopped there, why wasn’t I outraged at this
treatment of a small child? Why couldn’t I name this as closing down the
child’s voice and failing to truly see him? I think this is all part of
childism, the unquestioned assumption that the adult knows best and it is the
child that is at fault that I am struggling to overcome. And why did my
children laugh – I think they recognized only too well the scenario in the poem
and had probably experienced it for themselves and of course they delighted in
the child’s humour. Our responses are never straightforward and back then I was
much less aware than I am now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Finally I can’t end this blog
without considering in what alternative ways the teacher might have responded. Davies
calls on us to see that the alternative is to open oneself up to questioning the
status quo, to actively seek ways of questioning the meta-narrative of ‘schools
as performances’ to question the drive to ‘raise standards’ by driving up the
test performance of pupils in relation to national benchmarks. Instead we need to
open up to new ways of being with children, to join children in their ‘lines of
flight’, to truly listen to them – not in order to manage and control them, but
to become open to their differences, to allow multiple ways of behaving and
doing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What might have happened if the
teacher in the poem had been able to see the boy as an individual, to enable
‘the not-yet-known’ to emerge in her classroom instead of shutting it down, to
instead ‘open up the capacity for thought and being’? To not be bound by what she
already knew – to be open to “Baa, Baa, Moo, Moo”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-21783078765375651982014-07-02T14:06:00.001-07:002014-07-02T14:06:32.835-07:00Finding a voice - valuing children's communication<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri;">Last Friday morning when I woke up in my daughter’s house, my
grandson Edward greeted me by stretching his arms to the ceiling and bending
over to touch his toes. It was a wonderful moment of communication. Last time I
had visited he had accompanied me when I did my morning stretches; his bodily
gestures told me he remembered my visit and had an expectation of what we might
do together. I have thought a lot about that this week and what it tells me about
language development in a small child. It is one of the best things about being
a Nana when my grandsons do something that sparks off a train of thought. In
this blog I want to record my memories of Edward finding his voice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I was visiting to share the celebration of Edward’s second
birthday. Just two years old, he talks a lot but as yet the sounds that come
out are not recognizable as words to the adults around him. I arrived on
Thursday evening just as he and his four year-old, brother Charlie were having
their bath. Charlie started to tell me about the bird of prey sanctuary they
had visited that day and Edward tipped his head back and made open and shut
gestures with his mouth. His dad explained he was showing me how a particular
bird of prey had caught the food thrown to him by the staff at the sanctuary.
His desire to communicate is strong; he wants to share and explain and inform
the same as his brother. However sometimes this is frustrating for him. The
next day in the car he wanted something and we couldn't work out what it was.
We offered food, drink, a toy – we just couldn't get it right and he was so cross
with us. I really felt the frustration of being a small person wanting to
communicate and the big people just don’t understand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Edward however, doesn’t need spoken language to know exactly
what is going on around him. And there is a lot going on! He is surrounded by
language and observes it being used to achieve all kinds of things and fortunately
for him, all the adults include him in their talk. We see Edward as capable, we
believe him when he is struggling to communicate and we expect him to be able
to communicate in many different ways. We treat him as an understanding being
who wants to make meaning out of what is going on around him. We have noticed
with interest how he uses lots of talk to accompany whatever he is doing and do
wonder what he is saying but can see that out of the big buzzing swarm of words
that surrounds him he is finding his voice. And this voice is expressed using
gestures as well as sounds; his whole body is involved in communicating. We pay
attention because we assume intent when he addresses us, we respond to his
gestures and sounds and recognize he has his own agenda and purpose and do our
best, sometimes with limited success, to correctly interpret his signs. Of
course he wants to communicate and we value language and immerse him in
language related activities all the time. He is very responsive and shows his
interest in words through his love of books and nursery rhymes and singing. We
sit with him and read the books he chooses and love the way he actively engages
and shows his enjoyment in sounds and gestures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In a single day the activities Edward engages in at nursery and
at home are all accompanied by language. He hears language being used for all
sorts of different purposes to achieve different things. Sometimes language is
directed at him, he is asked if he wants a drink or if he is hungry; sometimes
he is given instructions, ‘sit down to eat your dinner’; sometimes he is told
off, especially when he does something anti-social; sometimes language is used
to try and persuade him to do something he doesn’t want to do. Language is used
to describe what is happening or to tell him what is going to happen. When he
shows emotions language accompanies it, ‘I know you are feeling angry, tired,
frustrated etc.’; ‘You’re really enjoying that aren’t you?’ His expressions of
affection are heartily returned and appreciated with words and gestures. Apart
from the language directed at him he also hears his parents using language to achieve
things, to plan, to speculate, to agree and disagree, to reflect and wonder, to
explain and to share. It is a rich language environment and he clearly understands
so much of what is going on and wants not only to be part of it, but also to
influence it, to make a contribution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When he does contribute he is definitely working within his own
style; it is different to his brother's style and we know how important it is that
we strive to understand him so we can support him. Watching his language
development reminds me that one of the most important things about us as adults
is our style of speech. Each one of us has a unique style of speaking and
communicating and it is this more than anything else that gives us our particular
individuality. Edward has helped me see how important it is to acknowledge this
uniqueness in him and by extension get a firmer grasp of something universal in
all of us. He has renewed my commitment to strive to understand this
interesting and particular human phenomenon, the drive to communicate, to make
meaning, to influence and control, to set our own agendas and make our voices
heard. His older brother Charlie tells me, “Nana, he hasn’t got his words yet
so we can’t understand him.” It is true, he hasn’t got many words we recognize
as words yet, but Edward is a powerful communicator and certainly knows how to
make his voice heard. And he makes me think and wonder – what an achievement! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I have written a number of blogs about childism and most of
these have highlighted the prejudice adults show towards children simply
because they are children. And it is true, dismissive and patronizing attitudes
abound; respect for children as knowers is not high on the list of values our
society espouses. Instead adults frequently approach children with a ‘we know
best’ attitude and expect them to learn <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">from</i>
us rather than the other way round. My experience as a grandparent has given me
a chance to be in a position to know and experience the world in ways that are
otherwise unavailable to me. And as I watch and interact with my grandsons I
find it helps me learn and grow. In writing this blog I aim to challenge
societal narratives that see children as less than adults and contribute to a different
narrative them sees children as ends in themselves, fully worthy of moral
respect that we can learn from as well as teach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-36065067293236218562014-06-01T13:43:00.000-07:002014-06-01T13:43:09.033-07:00Hospital Memories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I was reading a book today and
the author referred to a time she had spent in hospital as a child and this
started me thinking about my own childhood experiences of hospital in 1960. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I was nine years old and it was a
Monday morning when I was taken by ambulance from my home to a hospital. I
remember the doctor was very cross with my mother. I knew I was ill; I couldn’t
walk. I knew my father had not taken me seriously, had not listened to me when
I said walking was difficult. It was at the end of half term and I had spent a
lot of time that week reading in bed. This had been interpreted as laziness and
on Saturday my father had made me walk the three miles to the library. I
remember crying and on the way back my legs wouldn’t work properly and I had to
crawl. My father thought I was making it up and kept telling me to stop being
silly. That evening after tea I was expected to clear the table. I had to do it
on my hands and knees – still they didn’t believe me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It was on Monday morning when I
couldn’t get out of bed for school that my mother called the doctor. When I got
to the cottage hospital I was alone; my mother had not come in the ambulance
with me and I was put me in a ward with mainly elderly women. There was no
separate children’s ward. My clothes were taken away and I was put in a
hospital gown. Without a word of explanation I was put in a bed and denied a
pillow. I was to lie flat. I was not allowed to get out of bed or even sit up
for the next two months. No-one ever explained why I was there or why I had to
lie flat. My brother was not allowed to visit me. My parents were allowed to
come at visiting hours only which was 5.00 – 6.00pm. My father could not get
away from work and my mother would need a sitter for my brother, nevertheless
she did come most days and my father came at weekends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Apart from my family, I was
deprived of the company of other children except for a short time when another
child was in the bed next to mine but she was very ill and didn’t communicate
very much, but I still have a vivid picture of her in my mind. I have no idea
what happened to her. Each day was the same hospital routine. I had nothing to
do. There was no hospital school, no work was sent from my school. I loved
books but found it very hard to read flat on my back and they wouldn’t let me
turn on my side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Over the next two months I never
had a bath, only a bed bath once a week. They couldn’t wash my hair so they cut
it very short and I had dry shampoos. I still remember the itchiness. I tried
to amuse myself by day dreaming. The highlight of my stay was when I received
letters from every child in my class, they were almost identical – it must have
been a writing exercise on the board. I remember longing to be back at school
and so grateful they hadn’t forgotten me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Each day I was made to eat the
hospital food, which was awful, but the worst was every Friday when Coley fish
was served with lumpy mashed potatoes and parsley sauce. The smell was awful –
my mother always cooked Coley fish for our cat and I was convinced they were
making me eat cat food. Most evening and at weekends my mother brought me food
– I wasn’t hungry but she made me eat it. She didn’t trust hospital food
because it didn’t have any goodness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In fact the ward I was on was a
geriatric ward and unsurprisingly people died. They never told me they had died
even though, awake and scared in the night, I saw them taking the body of an elderly
lady away on more than one occasion. Once I asked after her and they said she
had gone home. I knew they were lying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">There were rituals in the
hospital and some I never got to the bottom of. Every evening the nurse would
fill in my chart and ask: “Yes or No?” I didn’t know what she was asking and
never knew what to reply. It didn’t seem to matter what I said as I don’t
remember any consequences. It was only later I found out that the question
related to the opening – or not – of my bowels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">After two months I was allowed to
sit up and for the next month I gradually learnt to walk again and was able to
visit some of the other wards. I remember a strange mixture of women and men
with what I now realise were mental illnesses and I was scared, but knew it
would be wrong to show I found them repellant. I steeled myself to visit them
and be polite but, following one horrible incident where an elderly, toothless
woman grabbed me and pulled me close, made sure I stayed out of their reach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Even when I eventually left
hospital, I was not allowed to return to school for several months while I convalesced
and regained my muscle power. It was then I found out I had had rheumatic
fever. Later I was surprised when on returning to church I heard them say
prayers for a child who had nearly died and been brought back to them. Who was
it I asked, only to be told it was me they were talking about. I had nearly
died – surely not, I hadn’t been that ill! I always believed they were
exaggerating. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I had put on a lot of weight in
hospital and my hair had been kept cropped. There were no mirrors and I
remember seeing myself for the first time when trying on the new clothes my
mother had bought for me. I remember staring at a chubby girl with cropped hair
and looking over my shoulder for my former athletic self with a bob haircut and
ribbons. It was a shock. I didn’t recognise myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When I returned to school no one
recognized me either, but they soon found a name for me – ‘fatty’. My former
friends had found new friends in my absence, I couldn’t blame them – they
probably hadn’t been told I would eventually come back. My mother always
insisted I went home for dinner (she didn’t trust school dinners either) so there
was no opportunity to make friends during lunchtime. My final year in primary
school was miserable and made worse when I discovered I had failed the 11+ and
would not be going to grammar school. I had been away from school for months
but no one had thought to make sure I kept up with the preparation for the tests
and not surprisingly I failed. However, I was apparently a borderline fail, and
my family were brought into school for an interview. My father told me afterwards
they had decided I wouldn’t get a place in the Grammar school because another
girl, Jennifer, whose father was a policeman had been given the place.
Apparently they thought she, rather than me, daughter of a factory worker,
albeit a skilled toolmaker, would have more support from her family and so I
went off to one of the very first comprehensive schools in the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My school report said, “If Marilyn did less
daydreaming and concentrated more she would do much better.” Daydreaming had got
me through the day in hospital – I had become very good at it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I spend a lot of my life now
thinking about children’s rights and what needs to be done to persuade adults
that children’s voices should be listened to and then acted upon. I have no
doubt that my hospital experience was pivotal in my life; it was a benchmark, I
saw my childhood in two halves, before and after I was in hospital. Some things
I learned in hospital I am grateful for – I learned how to make a bed with
properly mitered corners that before the widespread use of fitted sheets stood
me in good stead and still comes in handy occasionally. I also learned that I
was resilient, I didn’t complain, I made the best of things and realised I
could cope without my family and maybe it did equip me to cope with problems in
my life, I’ll never know, but learning how to daydream probably prepared me to
be a reflective person. Things I am not grateful for are what I now see as my
invisibility. No one saw me, I felt powerless and lonely, no one was interested
in what I thought; no one considered that I should be told anything – I was
only a child. To be a child in 1960 in England was to be a non-person. I had no
rights. I had no power. I had no voice. I had no chance to ask questions about
the things that were happening to me. I don’t remember nurses being kind to me,
I do remember being made to eat my Coley fish even though I was crying; I do
remember the pain of having blood taken every week and dreading the moment when
the needle would be stuck in my arm and hoping the nurse would find a vein and
only have to do it once. I remember being told not to be silly when I showed
fear, to be a brave girl ‘for Mummy’. I remember not being treated as a person
because I was a non-person – a child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As I recall these memories I
wonder what would have been different if the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child had been passed at that time. I think first of all my
parents would have had open access to visiting and may even have been allowed
to stay with me over night if I was really scared. I think my brother would
have been allowed to visit me. Surely I would have been in a children’s ward
with staff trained to work with children and they would have been sympathetic
and explained what question ‘Yes or No’ was the answer to, as they filled in
their charts and they wouldn’t have made me eat that Coley fish! I think they
might have found a way to set up a prop for a book so I could read. I would
probably have had a tutor and the school would have set work and I would have
passed my 11+. Most of all someone would have explained what was wrong with me
and why they had to make me lie flat, and why they had to take blood and why
they were so interested in the workings of my bowels. They wouldn’t have cut my
hair off and they would have found a way to wash it. I like to think I would
have been given some choices and a chance to discuss the rules of the hospital
rather than just be made to obey them. I would have been allowed to have my own
pyjamas and not the silly hospital gown that was too big and constantly rucked
up under me (I still can’t bare to wear a nightie in bed). My mother would have
told the hospital not to feed me as she was bringing food and I wouldn’t have
got fat. Maybe they would have found a way to push my bed outside so I could
see the sunshine and feel the wind. I wouldn’t have been excluded from any
sense of control over my life; I would have had some personal autonomy. They
would have explained what death was and helped me understand what was wrong
with the other patients. On returning home my mother would have let me choose
my new clothes and let me grow my hair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I see now that to be ignored as I
was is the ultimate in powerlessness. I felt as if I didn’t count, worse I
believed I was a nuisance because the nurses told me I was. I felt guilt for
all the trouble I caused my parents in coming to see me. My mother had to catch
two buses each way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">These memories were stirred as I
read another account of a child’s experience in hospital and for the first time
I realised that my experience was not just my experience; that other children
had been treated in similar ways, that others had felt the same as I had, I
felt a sense of solidarity. My generation of children were frequently treated
as non-persons, were frequently ignored, were seen as not competent enough to be
able to process our experiences, let alone be involved in decisions about our lives.
Our voices were silenced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A lot has changed, but not
enough. The rights of the child have been recognized officially, but few adults
recognize all the issues that need to be addressed to properly enact those
rights. Most important of all is children’s voice. We must value children’s
experiences, listen to what they have to tell us and act upon it. This means
the relationships between children and adults have to continue to change; we
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children is to get better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Changes in
the ways children are treated in hospital today compared to my own childhood
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lives and wonder at how little power they had compared to their own children –
that would be progress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-69122200705010432742013-07-16T01:54:00.002-07:002013-07-16T01:54:10.988-07:00The Little Boy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">Once
there was a little boy and when he was four it was time for him to start
school. Each day when he went to school the teacher would tell him stories. He
loved the stories – stories about dragons and knights, about giants and wolves,
witches and fairies. Stories about goodies and baddies, about brave people and
cowardly people, about greedy people and generous people. Stories of love and
hate, jealousy and cruelty, friendship and loyalty, betrayal and trust. His
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<br /></div>
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dragon, a castle or a ship, a story or a poem? And each day he would think
about it and put his name card beside his choice and the teacher would ask him –
why do you like dragons best, or story or castles? He would think about his
answer and tell her. He learnt to give reasons for his choices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">Then
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their choices. He liked hearing the ideas of the other children in his class
and sometimes after he had listened to them he changed his mind and made a
different choice. All together they would think of ideas for stories and then
he would go and play the stories – he would dress up and play being the monster
or the hero, he would take small figures of dragons or witches or Fireman Sam
and create a story, he might use puppets as characters in his games, he might
make props and characters from playdoh. And after he had played the teacher would
bring the class together again and read some of their stories that she had
written down while she watched them play. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">Then
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tell her a story could come to the table and she would write the story down.
The little boy was excited – he had lots of ideas for stories so he went to the
table and he told the teacher a story and she wrote it down. His story had a
dinosaur and a boy and Fireman Sam – it wove together ideas from all the stories
he had heard and played. And the next day the teacher read his story to the
class and invited the children to act it out as she read it again. And the
little boy looked at his words and was happy. He liked acting out his story
with others in his class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">Then
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teacher. This teacher didn't ask him to make any choices at the beginning of
the day, she just read out the names from the register and asked him to listen
for his name and say 'Yes, Miss Jones' when she called him. He missed his old
teacher and wondered what the children in her class were doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">Then
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books. The teacher called him up and gave him his reading book. It didn't look
very exciting. She slowly read the book to him. It didn't have many words and
the teacher stopped to sound out the letters in the words. It wasn't a story
like he had had before where he could imagine himself as a knight or a giant
slayer or a big bad wolf. The little boy was disappointed. He missed the
stories he had had in his old classroom. He didn't want to take this book home
to read, he longed for his old teacher who wrote his own stories down for him
to read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">Then
one day the teacher said, 'today we're going to write a story'. 'Oh good'
thought the little boy, he loved to write stories and he picked up a pencil and
began to draw his story. 'Wait' said the teacher. 'I haven't told you what to
do yet.' The little boy was full of ideas but he stopped what he was doing and
listened to the teacher. The teacher gave out a sheet of paper with pictures on
it. She told the children to look at the pictures and write the words to make
the story. The little boy looked at the pictures – he didn't like the story
they told about a boy who walked along the road to the shop to buy some
something. His mind was full of tales of castles and knights, magic and
mystery, but the teacher didn't ask him about his ideas. She sat all the
children down and asked each of them to tell the story to go with the pictures.
The little boy wondered why they all had to write the same story, but he didn’t
say anything. He sat there and looked at the pictures, but he didn't want to
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">And
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what the teacher asked him to do. He stopped looking forward to having
his stories written down for him, he forgot how he loved to act out his stories
with his friends; he got used to the reading scheme and learnt to do what the
teacher asked. He read the books in the reading scheme and wrote what the
teacher told him to write about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #37103e; font-family: Arial;">This story was inspired by the work of
the late Patrick Whitaker, a wonderful educator, Sara Stanley, an inspirational
early years practitioner and Vivian Paley, the renowned American kindergarten
teacher, now retired. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-58514912279148186452012-10-20T02:32:00.001-07:002012-10-20T02:32:35.474-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What did you learn at nursery today?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In this blog I reflect on four
incidents in the life of Jack, aged 2 years and 4-6 months and raise important
issues about how we engage with small children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Incident 1: Jack aged 2 years and
4 months comes home from nursery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Hi Jack, how are you? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I sad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Why are you sad Jack?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">No see Janey no more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Janey has been Jack’s key worker
at the Sure Start Nursery he has attended two-three days a week since he was
six months. Local authority provision of childcare for babies and small
children is no longer statutory, and the local authority in question decided to
close the nursery. The quality of
provision had been outstanding. Jack loved Janey, his key worker, and now he
couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t see her anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Jack had brought home a book
which recorded highlights from his experience in nursery. He sat with his mummy and looked through the
book. She didn’t want to make light of
his sadness, she explained that the nursery was closing and Janey had a new job
to go to. Jack would be starting a new
nursery and it was OK to feel sad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Incident 2: Jack, aged 2 years 6 months seems to be
settling well into his new nursery, which is based on the site where his daddy and
mummy work. He particularly enjoys putting on his helmet and cycling to and
from nursery each day with daddy. He’s
stopped talking about Janey and his old nursery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">One day when he was dropped off
at nursery he burst into tears as his daddy left. “Don’t cry Jack”, said a nursery worker, “if
you don’t cry, I’ll give you a sticker.”
Jack’s parents were very unhappy about this and let the nursery know
they didn’t want this kind of response to his distress, they didn’t mind if he
cried, they knew he would soon settle as he became distracted by the activities
on offer, but in that moment of tears they wanted his feelings validated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Incident 3: The next day Jack’s
daddy was getting him dressed for nursery and Jack said, “Go to Janey nursery today,
daddy.” His daddy told him that Janey’s nursery was closed and so he couldn’t
go there, he would be going to his new nursery.
“No” said Jack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">That day Jack’s mummy took him to
nursery in the car. On the way he was chatting happily, then just before they
arrived his voice reduced almost to a whisper, it was impossible to hear what
he was saying. “You’ll have to speak up Jack,
we can’t hear you when you whisper.” He
carried on whispering. Finally on being asked again to “speak up”, he said,
“Not cry at nursery Mummy.” His mummy
reassured him, “I don’t mind if you cry Jack, it’s fine to cry if you feel sad.
I cry if I feel sad.” They arrived at
nursery and Jack ran to look at the guinea-pigs and then outside. He began to
climb up a small A-frame climbing wall showing dexterity and confidence. It was something he had done a number of
times before and he clearly enjoyed doing it.
The nursery worker came over and alternatively commented, “be careful Jack,”
and “brave boy, Jack”. Why did she say
this? He was not in any danger, he clearly didn’t feel scared and he certainly
wasn’t being brave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Jack got off the climbing frame
and the nursery worker smiled at him. He
didn’t smile back. “Oh come on Jack, you
promised me you’d smile today.” Jack burst into tears. She scooped him up and took him over to
another play area to distract him and his mummy said goodbye and left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">She both felt very unhappy with
what had happened and in telling me about it, I wondered what Jack was learning
from the nursery’s response to him: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If you are
sad you mustn’t cry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If you don’t
cry you will be rewarded with a sticker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">3)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If you do
something that demonstrates your physical agility you will be praised for being
‘brave’, even though you were clearly not afraid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">4)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mummy says
it’s OK to be sad, but nursery workers don’t agree – they want you to pretend
to be happy when you are feeling sad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What does a parent who wants her
small boy to be able to express his feelings and have them validated do when
faced with this situation? I told
another mother with a two year old and she didn’t understand why I was
upset. She said parents don’t want their
children to cry when they leave nursery and want the workers to have strategies
to stop this. She also thought that her own daughter copied other children who
cried and pretended to cry when she left because she thought she was meant to
cry, she was only pretending to be sad. This led me to reflect on the situation
over the next few days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What provision do we want for our youngest children?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We know that a child’s experience
in their early years is fundamentally important for their flourishing, so in
providing care for small children we expect much more than provision of a
service so that parents can go to work. The central focus of a nursery is to
meet the needs of the children through offering appropriate activities and ensuring
a safe, caring environment. The relationship between a small child and the
adults at nursery is central. In providing care the attitudes shown towards
children will influence the building of relationships for their whole life and
it is ethically important what the quality of those relationships are like. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Caring for small children is a
moral activity and moral issues will be constantly raised in the practice of
childcare – we have a right to expect sensitivity, trust and mutual
concern. Caring should therefore involve
close attention to the feelings and needs of Jack and his parents. Validating a
child’s feelings is vital for the relationship between the child and the adult
caring for them – it is hard to trust someone who doesn’t validate our feelings
and trust is fundamental if a child is to feel cared for. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The last thing any parent wants is
hostility between them and those who care for their children. We expect the nursery to see and to hear
children’s needs and make sure they are met, the parents have their preferred
ways of responding to their child – it is therefore essential there is dialogue
between home and nursery. Should they
raise the issue with the nursery?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This raises some questions: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If they
raise the issue with the nursery what should they say? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If, to get the kind of behaviour they want, the nursery
uses rewards in the form of stickers isn’t this encouraging deception? </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What if this induces fear in the child who knows he can't
comply – the small voice Jack used in the car was in my view an expression of
fear, or perhaps shame that he wouldn’t be able to comply – ‘big boys don’t
cry’. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What kind of world are we preparing children for when
adults tell them how to feel and how to behave? </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Let’s consider the incident from Jack’s perspective. That morning he had asked his daddy if he
could go to his old nursery – why did he do that? I think he had noticed differences between
the way his old nursery interacted with him and the new one. The Sure Start
nursery had had extensive training in emotional literacy, they often discussed
Jack’s emotional reactions to his day and reference to his developing emotional
literacy was frequently the subject of comment in his daily diary that was
passed between home and school. Parents
were encouraged to write in the diary and let the nursery know what feelings the
child had been expressing at home. Their
policy was to acknowledge and welcome children’s feelings, to believe the child’s
expression of emotion was genuine and to respond with empathy and encourage each
child to talk about their feelings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Jack’s parents made an appointment to see the manager at the
new, private nursery to discuss their concerns and to raise questions about
policy with regard to responding to the children’s feelings. They had a very productive meeting, however
they found out that the staff had not had any training in emotional literacy
and had no strategies for promoting it.
Their focus was the parents – they were told that parents don’t want
their children crying when they drop them off in the morning and so the nursery
did their best to make sure this didn’t happen. It would seem that the parents’
needs, not the children’s are being prioritized – she who pays the piper calls
the tune. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Let’s consider it from the nursery worker’s point of view. She (and sometimes he) is trying to maintain
social order in the nursery where it has been decided that happiness, not
sadness should be shown by children when they enter the nursery. Children who
smile are given stickers – children who cry are promised stickers if they don’t
cry. This raises the issue of what kind
of society will be created when children are told to pretend about their
feelings in this way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Why was Jack afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself crying?
I don’t think it was because he wanted a reward in the form of a sticker. I think it was because he didn't want to
upset the nursery nurse. To a small
child having the approval of your care worker withdrawn because you don't smile
is devastating and of course he was worried. If children are given stickers if
they don't cry this will shape their emotional development. Surely using
rewards to regulate behaviour when it requires a child to deny their feelings
is indefensible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What kind of environment is being created if Jack gets a sticker
for not crying? The sticker represents ‘praise’ for not crying and is therefore
a moral judgement: those who don’t cry are the ‘good’ children. Young
children's moral learning arises from the sum total of the responses of others
to what they do – this is not an appropriate response to a child’s sadness. Through
her use of language, the nursery worker is imposing on Jack the identity of the
‘good child’ who is rewarded when he doesn’t cry and doesn’t show his negative
emotions, so through her expectations and his need to please her, he is being
encouraged to inhabit a false self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The climbing wall incident is another
example of an inappropriate response. Jack is given language to describe his
actions, a very important part of language development for a two year old – but
in this case the language used does not match what is happening. To be able to
ensure children’s safety and yet not over-control is an important requirement
for a nursery worker – taking care of a small child so that he does not hurt
himself yet is not unduly fearful is a skillful job; in the incident on the
climbing wall this was not achieved. He
is told </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">he is ‘brave’ and at the same time he is admonished to be
cautious – such mixed messages are not helpful to the young child and labeling
his actions as ‘brave’ when he was without fear and admonishing him to ‘be
careful’ when he was clearly competent, is linguistically and emotionally
confusing and says more about the nursery’s priorities that the child’s.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Incident 4: The evening after this event Jack asked for a
bedtime ‘knight’ story – he loves ‘Mike the Knight’, a character on the
Cbeebies children’s channel. His Mum told
him the story of Rupunzel – substituting the prince for a knight. For those
unfamiliar with the story it involves a prince (knight) falling in love with
Rupunzel who has been locked in a tower by a witch. On finding out about the
knight the witch takes Rupunzel far away and, pretending to be Rupunzel, tricks
the knight into the tower. She pushes the knight out of the window and he falls
into thorn bushes and is blinded. The
knight wanders the forest for some years until he is found by some children, who
take the knight to their mother, who is no other than Rapunzel. She throws her
arms around the knight and weeps with joy to have found him and as her tears
touch his eyes he is able to see again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A complex story for a two year old you may think. The next
morning Jack asked for the story again and then made some comments. “Don’t like knight thrown out of tower, Mummy”
and then, “like it he not blind now, Mummy”.
In showing his understanding that it is bad to throw the knight out of
the tower and good that his sight is restored, Jack demonstrates a deeper
understanding of moral issues than most people would think a 2 year old capable
of. This raises an important question: if he can understand the moral issues in
Rapunzel, what is he to make of being asked to lie about his feelings?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I believe that small children like Jack are able to understand
abstract concepts such as good and bad, sad and happy and can engage in
exploration and reasoning about them. After
all traditional fairy tales from all cultures across the world are full of such
concepts – rich and poor, brave and cowardly, ugly and beautiful, strong and
weak – happy and sad. We frequently and
wrongly assume that small children can’t reflect on such ideas – so it’s OK to
impose how we want them to feel, rather than help them explore how they do
feel. It follows that when a small child
expresses their feelings they should not only be respected and validated, but they
should have the opportunity to talk about them as well. A child’s feelings </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">should be treated with respect as well as kindness. How we respond to small children will shape
their understanding of themselves and their world – it is a huge moral
responsibility and there should be no place for manipulation. Manipulation is the manifestation of childism<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
and childist attitudes. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Childism is when the adults’ needs are
prioritized over the child’s, when adults make assumptions they know how a
child should feel at any time and take steps to manipulate children’s emotion
to comply with adult expectations. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-11938960936306511562012-05-14T09:32:00.003-07:002012-05-14T09:32:37.958-07:00Childism and Well-being<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Well-being is a concept that is
frequently banded around in discussions of childhood and children’s
development. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first glance, well-being
sounds like a positive thing for government to promote, but I want to question
this by considering how one local authority in Wales is choosing to respond to
the requirement to promote ‘well-being’ and argue that it is institutionalized
childism that drives their policy, not child well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I think that the concept of
well-being is often harnessed to a view of childhood that focuses on what children
might become, rather than what they are, and that this attitude reveals a view
of children as mere proto-people, rather than persons in their own right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The development of children’s well-being is
seen by many as a form of capital investment that will reap future rewards;
that children are to be cherished and nurtured not out of the respect due to
them as persons, but for their future potential. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The local authority in question
has produced a set of well-being indicators that are designed for two
purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, to guide teacher
assessment of each child’s well-being against indicators that are expressed in
levels, and secondly to define for teachers what well-being is so they can
promote it in their interactions with children to help them move through the
levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teachers in the LA are therefore
being told (for the purpose of leveling) what well-being looks like and how it
can be broken down into stages to help them promote progress through the
levels. Teachers are required to level each child against the well-being indicators;
it is therefore a teaching guide as well as an assessment tool. The descriptors
will inevitably shape how the adults think about the children in front of them
and, depending on how they judge the children’s levels of well-being, will
shape the experiences they offer to the children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In seeking to identify characteristics of well-being as observable
and measurable and through descriptive levels provide an account of what
constitutes well-being, the local authority is claiming to be able to describe
a concept that has defied definitive description hitherto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In implementing the policy teachers will be
required to judge each child’s levels of well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The descriptors are presented in stages
linked to children’s ages, so well-being is being seen as developmental and therefore
assumes young children will not exhibit higher levels of well-being. By linking
the levels to ages and stages the LA has firmly nailed its colours to a
developmental mindset that renders children as immature adults in the making,
on a journey towards some kind of imagined end – in this case: well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In this model children are being positioned as different from
adults and implies</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> that well-being is something we move towards
developmentally. It legitimizes the exertion of adult power over children as
they are both judge and jury in assigning levels to each child. Underpinning
these assumptions is a view of childhood as a period of socialization where
children are expected to move along a trajectory leading towards the
achievement of well-being. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This raises a number of
questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What ascribed identities will be given to children who will
be assessed according to the well-being indicators? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What labels will be ascribed to children (and by
implication, their families) who lack ‘well-being’?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What will the impact of such labeling be? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Will the labeling intersect with other labels of class,
ethnicity or gender to enhance or diminish the opportunities of children? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">How will the labeling of some children as having ‘high
levels of well-being’ impact on the way adults interact with them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Who is this ‘child’ who can demonstrate levels of
well-being, is s/he merely an artifact of those engaged in making and
implementing policy, bearing little relation to real children in all their
diversity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What kind of identity is being promoted by this policy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My fear is that children
will be objectified by this policy and children, who are quite capable of speaking
of their lives and their experiences as knowing and informed agents, will have
little voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">How does such a policy sit
alongside another established policy of the Welsh Government to take into
account the rights of the child (UNCRC, 1989) and listen to children’s voices
(see Article 12). Leveling children against well-being indicators privileges
adult voice and not the voices of children. The ‘futurity’ inherent in this policy
ignores the sociological body of work that makes the case for recognition of
children’s agency and competence, that sees children as capable of being active
agents and reflective judges of their own well-being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It follows that the
existence of these levels of well-being will shape adult beliefs about
childhood and influence how teachers respond to the children in their
care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will serve to reinforce an
adult view of how children’s lives should be lived, how they should develop and
how they should respond to events in their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By insisting on a ‘one size fits all’ approach
described in terms of ages and stages, the policy renders individual children
invisible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By creating a set of
developmental stages towards well-being, the LA creates the notion that
children are immature and that progress or development towards adulthood and to
mature adult behavior will follow a predictable, pre-given pathway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If such developmental ‘truths’ are
established by a set of well-being indicators, then programmes will follow to
facilitate, enhance and maximize children’s well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Special programmes for those who don’t make
the expected progress will be designed as children will be labeled as
developmentally delayed with regard to well-being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I don’t regard levels of
well-being, well intentioned as I am sure they are, as meeting children’s needs
or respecting their rights. If we are to genuinely support the well-being of
children, this is not, in my view, the way to do it. That a local authority charged
with implementing the UNCRC and pupil participation would choose to disempower children
by ignoring their ability to judge their own well-being, by not consulting them
or considering their points of view, says a lot about underlying childist
attitudes that are at the heart – albeit well-meaning – of this policy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I believe it is an example
of institutionalized childism, where policy, which ostensibly is designed to
improve children’s lives, in practice, is more likely to diminish them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--></div>Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-40967433397412012152012-03-31T16:46:00.001-07:002012-03-31T16:46:45.552-07:00Defining Childism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">A number of people who have
written to be about my blogs on Childism are asking for some clarification of
the term. This blog attempts to do
this. As far as I know the first person
to name adult prejudice against children as childism is Elizabeth Young-Bruehler
(2010) in her book ‘Childism’. She says
that when children are mistreated by adults, “they rely upon a societal
prejudice against children to justify themselves and legitimate their
behavior.” (P.1) Young-Bruehler asks us to think about prejudices against
children and she argues for the term childism to describe such prejudice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">As she points out, we are
accustomed to thinking about prejudice against women and people of colour as
sexism and racism respectively. I would
add that more recently we have become aware of heterosexism and ageism and of
course we are all familiar with anti-Semitism.
In all of these ‘isms’, children, women and men are discriminated
against. Childism only affects children,
although the perpetrators of childism are displaying prejudicial views and this,
I would argue is damaging for everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">A key premise of her argument is
evidence to demonstrate that children are the victims of childism and she cites
the state of the world’s children to support her arguments and provides a
number of facts and figures. One
compelling piece of evidence that applies to America is the number of children
incarcerated in goal. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She asks us </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">why is it not considered
abusive to put a child in a prisonlike facility and bewails the fact that
America has incarcerated so many of its young men. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> She
argues that this is evidence that American society </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">believes that children are
dangerous and burdensome and that childhood is a time when discipline is the
paramount adult responsibility and that this reflects society’s prejudice
against children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She further argues that anti-child
social policies and individual behavior is directed against all children daily
and claims that when childism pervades a society, even people who genuinely
want to make the world better for children may find it hard to realise that it
exists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Whilst she doesn’t see prejudice
as the sole or immediate cause of child maltreatment, she does think it is the
condition <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sine qua non</i>, and we need
to understand its various features if we wish to recover the specific cause of
maltreatment in any given instance. She
calls on us to explore childism as a prejudice, which could guide explorations
of how and why adults fail to meet children’s needs or respect their rights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">She raises a number of
questions that she considers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why do children remain in poverty?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why do adults feel justified in attacking children? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why does our society fail to support the development and
well-being of its children? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why do we refuse to recognize prejudice against children as
a prejudice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why have we refused to name that prejudice as we have named
other prejudices? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">By introducing the concept
of childism she believes it could help identify those issues that are the
result of childism: child imprisonment, child exploitation and abuse,
substandard schooling, the reckless prescription of antipsychotic drugs to
children, child pornography, and all other behaviours or policies not in the
best interest of children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Young-Bruehler believes that a</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">n inquiry
into prejudice against children could spur political consciousness and
political meaning and could function as a guide for political action. It is important that adults do much of this
work, as unlike any other group that has been targeted with prejudice, children
cannot be direct political actors, they need adults to consult them about their
needs and to represent them in the political arena. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The existence of the UNCRC already
lays out the internationally agreed obligations adults have towards children
and highlights where we have failed to meet these obligations. The Articles of the UNCRC all relate to one
of the 3Ps: Provision, Protection and
Participation. She claims that America
is failing in all these instances (the only country now who is not a signatory
to the agreement). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">In Wales in the UK where I
live, Article 12 of the UNCRC (the right of a child to participation) is actively
promoted by the Welsh Government; however this policy has provoked opposition. I have been involved in training educators
across Wales in Pupil Participation in schools and have found much opposition
to the idea, as well as much support.
However, championing the rights of children is one thing, actually
naming and challenging childism is another. I believe that the assumptions underpinning
adults’ opposition to Article 12 can be explained by childism but there will be
much resistance to the concept. Until
Elizabeth’s book I had been using the concept of adultism or even ageism to name
this prejudice, but having read her book I now believe childism is the right
word to use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Elizabeth Young-Bruehler is
a psychotherapist who has treated many adults who are the victims of
childism. In her book she addresses the
following questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">What motivates childism in individuals and groups? </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why do adults deny children have rights? </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why do adults refuse to provision, protect or encourage
participation?</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Why do adults discriminate against their young – the future
of their societies – in order to favour adults?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">By presenting case
histories of some of her patients she seeks understanding of the experience of
childism and what the abusing adult believed that caused him or her to justify
the abuse. In the process she uncovers
pervasive prejudice against children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">In writing these blogs on
childism I am interested in how the other disciplines might address the issue
of childism. What can sociologists,
cultural theorists, philosophers and psychologists do to illuminate the concept
of childism? I am also interested in how
as an educator and grandmother I can raise my own consciousness of how childist
I am and seek to challenge that in my dealings with children in schools and
among my family and friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope this brief definition and
explanation of the origin of the world helps those who have requested
clarification. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-9501361617113071422012-03-31T03:56:00.004-07:002012-03-31T03:56:54.495-07:00Adult attitudes and Childism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Adult attitudes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The feeling that other people are
judging you by what your child does or what you let her/him do is very
strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Charlie was about 15 months
we went to IKEA and he loved getting in and out of the cupboards, it was a
great game, I posted a lovely picture of him popping out of a wardrobe on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was relaxed about it and so was his
Mum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IKEA is actually a child-friendly
place and it was safe and easy for him to play in the shop (is there a connection between this and the fact that Sweden is said to have the happiest children in Europe?) Our experience is in
contrast to the more common ones I have had when parents respond harshly to
similar events in other shops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The child is
happy and moving freely about, doing no harm, looking at things, touching
things and enjoying themselves. The parent has their eye on them, they are safe, but then the parent notices other people are looking and
feeling judged puts on a show of authority, “Come <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">here, </i>stop running around, don’t touch.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes this will be accompanied by a smack
or a yank on the arm and the result is often tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This raises questions for me. i would like to know what you think. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Why is it that parents feel that
other adults will judge them if they see their children enjoying themselves in
such ways?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Why do adults express their
disapproval of parents who allow this freedom with looks of disgust?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Why don’t our shops and other
public places make themselves more child friendly like the IKEA store?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Is these examples of how our
childist society curbs spontaneity, joy and pleasure in the young and polices
their parents?</span></li>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Reflecting on the way parents
often talk to their children in public places I wonder:</span></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Why is it that adults
feel they can talk to children, their own and other peoples, as they would not
dare to talk to an adult?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Is the way many people speak to
children an illustration of a childist society?</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-56243027036477115882012-03-30T02:59:00.003-07:002012-03-30T02:59:56.649-07:00Charlie and Sam and Childism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">It was coming to the end of a
lovely day, Charlie’s Mum, Sam was baking meringues, Charlie’s Dad, Mark was
oiling the garden furniture, I was sitting on the garden bench drinking tea and
Charlie, aged 23 months was playing in the garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Covering the ground at the bottom of the
garden beyond the lawn, next to the garage and stretching up to the back gate
are small stones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie fell on the
stones and began to cry, “Mummy”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam
came out of the kitchen and thinking that he was not really hurt said, “Up you
get Charlie”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But on this occasion
Charlie was not going to get up and continued to call, “Mummy”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam judged that he wanted her to pick him up.
She ran down the garden, scooped him up in her arms and, cuddling him like a
baby, strolled back down the garden saying, “Do you want a cuddle Charlie, do
you want to be Mummy’s baby? Ah, what a lovely baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at my lovely baby Nana, look at my
lovely baby Daddy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie was soon laughing
and giggling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam put him down near Mark
and myself and returned to the kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A few minutes later Charlie went back to the stones and pretended to
fall over accompanied by wails of, “Mummy”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sam looked out of the kitchen and made a judgment about Charlie’s needs
at this time and again ran down the garden, scooped him up and repeated her
actions, cuddling him like a baby and kissing him she said, “Oh, my lovely
baby, look at my lovely baby.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie
laughed and relaxed in her arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
then put him down again and drew his attention to Daddy and Nana before
returning to the kitchen, “Look at what Daddy’s doing Charlie, he’s oiling the
chairs. Look at Nana Charlie, she’s having a lovely cup of tea.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie watched Daddy for a while and then
ran down the garden and ‘fell’ in the stones and again called for his
mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam again responded and the
whole scene was repeated two or three more times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Whilst I was watching this it
occurred to me that I was having two possible reactions. I could hear my own
mother’s voice in my head, “You’ll make a rod for your own back. He’s just manipulating
you. He’s not hurt – leave him – he’s got to learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s only pretending.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second voice comes from my wiser self,
the self who wants to understand Charlie, the self who has been observing Sam
and Mark’s parenting and reading about child development and reflecting on what
a toddler can do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second voice won
and in this blog I am exploring why I know that my daughter and not my mother
have the best understanding of how to raise a small child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We know that context is
everything; to understand a child’s actions we need to know about their
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie’s mum is having another
baby and we all talk to Charlie about the new brother he is going to have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Edward is in mummy’s tummy.” When we see
other babies we tell Charlie, “you’re going to have a baby like this, a baby
brother”. My daughter is also finishing her PhD and is working hard to get it
done before the new baby comes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie
goes to nursery three days a week, spends Thursday with his Mum and Friday shared
with his Dad and his Grandpa. Recently at weekends Sam works on Saturday and Charlie
spends the day with Daddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the two
weeks before this incident occurred, I had visited to look after Charlie on
Thursday and Friday one week and Friday and Saturday the following week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all noticed that Charlie found it hard to
cope when all three of us were there together; he was crying and fretful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found it better to stay out of the way
first thing in the morning when we were all in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once his parents had gone and we had waved
goodbye at the window Charlie was fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He didn’t cry and played happily enjoying the things we did
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wondered if his fretfulness
was because he knew that if I was there, both Mummy and Daddy were going away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sam knows that Charlie misses her
and she misses having time with him and when she decided to join in with his
game and make him ‘her baby’ I believe she made a decision to do what she
always tries to do – validate his feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was telling him it’s OK to want Mummy to come and pick you up and
cuddle you, you are still my baby, this is a game we can play together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">My own mother would have seen
this as manipulation, something not to be encouraged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can remember being conflicted myself as a
young mother with my instinct to ‘give in to the child’ and guilt that I would
‘ruin her’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a grandmother I have the
time to reflect and to try to understand this most complex of relationships
between parent and child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have the
pleasure of watching and learning from my daughter who has very clear ideas of
how she wants to parent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to this
observation I also bring the voices of researchers like cognitive scientist Alison
Gopnik<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and psychologists Terry Brazleton and Stanley Greenspan<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and the new sociologists </span><span lang="EN-US">of childhood</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> who are able to tell us so much more about
the developing child than either myself as a young mother or my mother knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Charlie was doing what toddlers
do; he was playing, using his imagination to create a game and using that game
to manipulate the world around him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gopnik documents how from around eighteen
months toddlers are able to start pretending and can present counter-factuals,
imagining the way things might be different from how they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie was pretending to be hurt in order to
get his Mum to pick him up and cuddle him, he was imagining a world where his
Mum was totally available to him and when she responded to his game and
‘pretended’ he was a baby, he responded. It became a collaborative game. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What does this tell us about
Charlie’s development?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He obviously has
a good understanding of both physical and psychological causality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you fall on stones, you can be hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you cry because you are hurt, someone will
comfort you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was using play to
experiment, ‘if I pretend to fall and be hurt, will my Mum comfort me?” Charlie
was trying to get his mother to give him what he wanted, her attention and
comfort through his pretend game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has
a theory of mind; he knows that other minds are different from his and that he
can influence them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Charlie also knows what the
people around him are like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
understands the psychology of his mother; he knows that his mother and father
always try to validate his feelings (even if they don’t always succeed). Since
he was a baby he has been watching her and listening to her, he has learned
that she will respond to his needs. We can’t fully understand Charlie’s
behavior without considering the psychological, social and cultural influences
on him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurturing environment that
Charlie has grown up in has influenced his behavior. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Charlie’s feelings and
behaviours, like all toddlers are complex and Sam’s ability to empathise with
his feelings and respond compassionately to his behavior is nurturing his
capacity to feel empathy and compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Brazelton and Greenspan argue that nurturing emotional relationships in
this way is the most crucial primary foundation for intellectual and social
growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sam and Mark seek at all times to
develop a secure, empathetic and nurturing relationship with Charlie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that his behavior in the garden
shows he has learned to communicate his feelings, reflect on what he wants and
share that with his mum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In sum, I would
argue that Charlie’s actions demonstrate his ability to be an active agent to
get his own emotional needs met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By
responding to Charlie as she did, Sam shows him that it is OK to ask for her
attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is helping him to build
his mental understanding of relationships through their emotional
interactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as Charlie learnt as
a small baby that he can cause other people to smile by smiling at them, he has
learnt that pretending to be sad can cause his mum to comfort him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that the ability to understand
another person’s feelings and to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">care</i>
about how they feel is learnt from the experience of such nurturing
interaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In recounting this story to others
I have found that lots of people react like my mother would have done; they
believe that in responding as she did Sam was not doing the right thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I disagree. I believe that this experience,
along with many other similar experiences will help Charlie to grow up able to
feel empathy because his parents have been empathetic and caring with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Let’s for a moment consider what
it would mean not to validate Charlie’s feelings at this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is it we saying about children if we are
to deny their feelings and override them with our own interpretation of what
they mean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if Sam had decided not
to respond to Charlie’s call for comfort and justified this by saying, ‘it’s
for his own good; ignore him, he’s only trying to manipulate me, if I give in
this time, I’ll set up a pattern and make a rod for my own back’ etc etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following recent work by Elizabeth
Young-Bruehler<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> I
would now name such attitudes as childist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If Sam had denied Charlie’s
feelings she would be saying her needs as an adult should be privileged over
the needs of her child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would reinforce
the view that Charlie as a child couldn’t know his own mind, that as a child
his emotions were somehow less important than hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It denies the ability of the child to judge
their own emotional states and needs and denies children’s agency and
competence. Such attitudes position children as ontologically different from
adults and that ‘difference’ is couched in terms of children being somehow
incomplete, which allows adults to justify their behavior towards them in terms
of the adults they will become, not the children they are. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">It
legitimizes the exertion of adult power over children, as adults are both judge
and jury in deciding what emotions/behaviour should be attended to and which
not. It reinforces an adult view of how children’s lives should be lived, how
they should develop and respond to events in their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such attitudes render individual children
invisible and legitimate children’s subjugation to the world of adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means that the needs of children are not
met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what I mean by childism. However,
such childist attitudes are so embedded in our culture that we find it
difficult to name them as such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most
recent research from sociology, child development and psychology shows us that
children have been underestimated and this has led to childist attitudes. We
know differently now and our job is to unpick these attitudes, realise they are
based on false information and change them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">From Charlie’s point of view, it is his parents’ attitudes toward
him that matters most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, he is
growing up in a society where childism is prevalent and he will encounter many,
if not the majority of adults who have childist attitudes and will deny him his
right to be heard and fail to meet his expressed needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Confronting childist attitudes and naming
them as such has to be both a personal and a political act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am on that journey – join me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> See the wonderful book by Alison
Gopnik, “The Philosopher’s Child” (2010).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Brazelton,
T. B. & Greenspan, S. I. (2001) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Irreducible needs of children. </i>Perseus Publishing.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=193378307888323164#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Elizabeth
Young-Bruehler (2010) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Childism</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-27170813581317878302012-03-27T16:57:00.001-07:002012-03-27T16:59:00.293-07:00Childism and Love<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>1069</o:Words> <o:characters>6097</o:Characters> <o:company>Swansea Metropolitan University</o:Company> <o:lines>50</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>14</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>7152</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>14.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> 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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level:1"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin">Childism and Love<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin">This is my first blog on childism. Let me know what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Let me lay my cards on the table.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I believe that our society is childist. In the same way that racism discriminates against people of colour and sexism against women, childism discriminates against children.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Times;color:black">Childism is a prejudice against children by adults that objectifies children</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin"> and uses them to serve adult needs.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Because childism is so deeply embedded in our society it will be hard to convince people of its existence. Adults who behave in childist ways are not accused of childism because their behavior is not recognized as such. Society condones and legitimates childist behavior because childism is so embedded in our society it takes on the appearance of behaving naturally, but I believe that childism is a prejudice against children that means their rights are not respected and their needs are not met. We have to name it, examine the prejudices that legitimate it and seek to eradicate it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I will argue that childism is deeply pervasive and damaging and denies the right to be fully human to the youngest members of society. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">There are plenty of examples of children being treated badly that can be cited to illustrate childism and most of us will disassociate ourselves from such behavior and believe it is the minority that behave in such ways and claim it is not illustrative of society as a whole. In thinking about the concept of childism I what to start not with hatred of children, but with what most of us would recognize as love of children. I want to think about how something as seemingly innocuous as bestowing affection on a child is actually a manifestation of childism in action, and reveals how widespread childist views are. Recognising this does not make for comfortable reading, it challenges the very core of how we behave with children. I struggle with it and the more I explore the concept of childism the more I find myself standing in the dock and pleading guilty. I ask you to come on this journey with me as I share my thoughts and ask you to examine the role of childism in your life.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Most people have never heard the term childism, even less know what it means and hardly anyone sees it as a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In seeking to name childism I want to uncover the systemic institutionalization of childism in society and begin the long journey to eradicate it. I hope you will join me and together we can create a movement to end childism and childist exploitation which I believe will benefit us all – adults and children alike.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Let me start by asking you to think about when you were a child.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I wonder how many of you, like me, remember with feelings of revulsion the relative who expected us to hug or kiss them; of being told by our parents to ‘give aunty or uncle a kiss or a hug’ and furiously resenting it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I believe that such behavior is an example of adults exploiting children for their own purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They are using children as love objects.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In such circumstances most people in my experience think the needs of the adult to bestow their ‘love’ on the child should be prioritized over that of the child.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I want to question this – why should a child give way to the adult demands? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">I am a grandmother and I love Charlie, my first grandson.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>At the time of writing this Charlie is almost two and when I am with him I have strong feelings of wanting to hug him and kiss him and am delighted if he offers to hug me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But what about Charlie, does he want my signs of affection?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What does he feel about being hugged and kissed?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What right do I have to impose my desire for cuddles and kisses onto Charlie?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If a male or female relative of mine thought they had the right to hug and kiss me regardless of whether I wanted to be hugged or kissed or not I would be very uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is time to name this behavior as childism. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">What does it say about an adult who puts their own feelings of entitlement to a ‘hug’ before that of the child’s feelings? Many adults don’t even notice if the child is reluctant, or even worse do notice and do it anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How many parents admonish the child, ‘just give Gramps a kiss’.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This signals to the child that their feelings don’t count; if a relative, or even an adult stranger, wants to touch them (pats on the head are common) they should comply. What does this say about our general attitudes to children, if the child’s feelings are allowed to be over-ridden in this way?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">When I watch Charlie at play I am delighted by his spontaneousness, his playfulness, his energy and enormous capacity for wonder and delight.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I am also moved when he is sad or angry.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But what right do I have to indulge these feelings and bestow physical affection or comfort?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I am not trying to say we should not hug and kiss and comfort children, but I am saying we need permission from the child first.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We do not have the right to move into a child’s space without his/her permission.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We all feel threatened if another adult moves into our comfort zone, why should this be any different with a child?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Children should have the right to refuse to be the focus of someone’s physical affection and not be made to feel bad about this.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We need to allow them to set the ground rules on how our relationships with them proceed. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">If children are expected to give and receive tokens of love on demand, how will they develop the capacity to express what they really feel?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If we think we have the right to be affectionate to children whether they like it or not, and if we think that imposing love and affection on them is how we teach them to be affectionate and loving, we are wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They have to be able to say ‘no’. Children must be accorded the right to refuse to smile, or hug or kiss; we can’t freely give love if we don’t have the unquestioned right to withhold it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">I think many people will find this hard to understand.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Don’t children need love, lots of it; surely we can’t give them enough love.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Don’t children who aren’t loved grow up damaged? I am not denying that babies do need a lot of human contact and will suffer if they don’t experience it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But by the time they are four-six months, they have their own well-developed purposes, needs and preferences.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They like some people and not others.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They may enjoy play on the floor, but don’t want to be picked up.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They will show us by their responses what they like and don’t like. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And we must respect that.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We must </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times;color:black">recognize children’s capacity for being active agents and judges of what is good for them, learn how to read their signals and respect them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times; color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times; color:black">So, this is my starting point – I shall go on to argue that the way we treat children in society is prejudicial to their capacity to grow and develop.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I firmly believe that children from a very early age have the capacity for choice and expression of interest and that we should respect that capacity.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When we impose expressions of ‘love’ on children and expect them to reciprocate we are guilty of childism.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Please let me know your responses to my first tentative step into finding answers to the question, “What is Childism?”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I hope you want to be fellow travellers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193378307888323164.post-82360566072688447802012-03-27T16:53:00.001-07:002012-03-27T16:53:51.242-07:00Childism and Cute<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>965</o:Words> <o:characters>5501</o:Characters> <o:company>Swansea Metropolitan University</o:Company> <o:lines>45</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>12</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>6454</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>14.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level:1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Childism and Cute<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level:1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level:1"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">In this second blog on Childism I explore the concept of the cute child and argue that it is damaging to all children and their relationships to adults.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is an example of childism in our society that needs naming in order to challenge and change it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Please let me know that you think of these ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">When my son was four he and all the other children in his class took the part of woodland animals in the school pantomime.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As part of the show the ‘woodland animals’ performed a dance to the tune of a popular song known as ‘The Birdie Song’, which involved them dancing around in a circle and when the music required they wriggled their bottoms from side to side at the audience.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The audience, including me, responded with laughter – they were so cute – it made us laugh with delight.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Afterwards my son was so angry, “people were laughing – it wasn’t meant to be funny!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I tried to reassure him, “people were laughing with you – not at you sweetheart.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“I didn’t think it was funny” he replied.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">I know I did feel some level of discomfort at the time, but it is only now 26 years later that I am seeing this tendency to respond to what we see as ‘cute’ in children as dangerous and an example of childism. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The teachers who designed the dance knew the response the audience would provide.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Oh, come on”, you might say, “it was cute – no one meant any harm, no harm was done – it’s OK.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But now that I can name such an act as childism, I say that to deliberately use small children in this way to provoke laughter was exploitative and even cruel.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My son’s feelings were real and in my response to him, I was trying to deny them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When adults, for their own pleasure, laugh at children performing ‘cute’ acts they are guilty of disrespect.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My son wasn’t trying to be cute, he didn’t see himself as cute and he didn’t want to be seen as cute.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He took his role in the school play seriously and he wanted to be taken seriously and he was upset when his efforts produced laughter.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My son felt diminished and I now think he was right. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">When we see and label children as ‘cute’ we are not seeing the real child in front of us, but instead we see some idea of Childhood that we have in our minds and respond to that.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And unfortunately many parents, recognizing this tendency of other adults to want children to be ‘cute’ often encourage behavior that fits in with society’s idea of cute.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many parents dress their child in ‘cute’ clothes in order to inspire the attention of other adults.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What is worse some parents train their children to be cute on demand.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The cuter they are, the more they attain the accolade ‘cute’ the better the parent feels. Why?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When we think that children are cute we tend to use their cuteness to arouse feelings which give us pleasure and which make us feel proud for having them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is exploitation of the child’s need to please the adults in her/his life.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">One popular artist who encapsulates the baby as cute, adorable, innocent is Anne Geddes.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Her photographs portray an idea of childhood which has nothing to do with real children.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The extraordinary popularity of her work and my inability to find any criticism of what I regard as objectifying babies and seeking to label them in particular ways says something about our society.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In a society that worships physical beauty as ours does, these pictures of babies dressed and arranged to look like fluffy animals, flowers or fruit create a fantasy, magical, emotional reaction in the viewer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It encourages sentimentality and a view of babies and small children as pure and innocent.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I think this is damaging.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The deliberate juxtaposing babies with all manner of things from the natural world contrive to produce a sense of innocence. Babies are portrayed as soft, cuddly and dependent in these pictures: the epitome of cute.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">When society buys into such images then children are judged by how they fit into the ideals they create.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">I don’t deny that cute children arouse feelings which give us pleasure, but the fetishizing of cute is dangerous for the children and for our society.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Parents who cultivate ‘cute’ in their children feel proud of them and themselves for producing them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What soon happens is that the child picks up on this and learns to act out the part of the ideal ‘Cute Child’.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The adult is delighted and provides positive feedback.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The child learns what pleases the adults and uses it to attract attention and win praise.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This creates a mutual exploitative situation – as adults exploit their cuteness (in the home, in public, in the media) the children exploit our need to have them be cute.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They start to play the game the adult want them play.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>As they become more aware and work out what the adult wants, the child will produce the smiles, the winning ways, the hugs, the kisses and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Children who learn how to perform ‘cute’ soon find out that their behavior produces positive effects in adults and wanting to be on the receiving end of praise and delight, they can easily become artful, calculating and manipulative as their exploit their cute ways to get what they want.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Taken to an extreme cute children are entered into beauty pageants, singing or dancing contests.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Organisers of such events know how to exploit this cuteness to get warm feelings and lumps in throats from the viewing adults.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And in turn the ‘little stars’ will adopt seductive behavior to get their own way.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Thinking of children as cute is dangerous.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When we categorise and judge children on the ‘cute’ factor we are guilty of abstracting and idealizing them and we teach them to exploit us; to sell themselves for smiles and rewards.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is bad for the children and bad for the adults.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Children have the right to respect and dignity for who they are.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To judge them by how cute they are is condescending, it objectifies them and ultimately damages them – all ‘cute’ babies and small children grow up and what happens then?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">I believe the cult of cuteness that is encouraged by the media and by such artists as Anne Geddes is an expression of deeply embedded childist attitudes – there is no long-term gain from being a cute child and a lot of potential damage to a child’s personality.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Children who don’t fit with society’s ideal of ‘cute’ can become the victims of prejudicial attitudes that both demean and devalue them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So ‘cute’ and ‘not cute’ alike suffer from comparison and are found wanting.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Sue Lyle Dialogue Exchangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17333348222220003530noreply@blogger.com1