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Considering Community 1: A Three-Part Co-Composed Student Feature

We invite you to think with us around “community”. So complex and integrated, connected… What kind of community do we hope for? What does it mean to be a part of a community? What does it feel like? How might we live with community as a verb? Becoming….

Awakening and attending to a community in our childcare spaces is an integral part of everyone’s sense of belonging, sense of place. 

Students in all six sections of the infant/toddler virtual placement, alongside their field mentors Laura and Nicole from the Seneca ECE Lab School, spent some time thinking deeper about community. Students were invited to step out of the ECE world and think about what communities they belong to. What insight may we gain from thinking about how those communities come together and continue to stay connected and what makes these communities feel like a place we each choose to belong to?

We invited students to take a moment to write about how these reflections may connect to what you can bring to the creation of community in our practice as an ECE. 

As we read through their reflections, we were so inspired by their stories and insights into what makes a community, what gives us a sense of belonging in a community and how we may attend to community within our practice.

We felt called to “collect all voices”, to begin to create a collective expression of these insights, and began to take note of a sentence or few words from each student’s reflection that sparkled. Together they formed a collective insight about what community means to us. We are honoured to share these sparklet poems with you in this three part series, comprised of reflections of over 120 students.

community is both a feeling and a set of relationships among people

being the hand that extends towards others

you value their input and ideas, and they value yours

collective insight, wisdom, and creativity

building a community entails trust, genuineness and compassion

show our genuine care to open ourselves 

an environment that feels like home and provides the children with “a beautiful education” 

We helped each other in life’s dilemmas

find something in common and experience new things together, we can grow closer

Like a trust fall, able to trust in those around you that they can help cover you

need support from each other 

creates a virtuous circle to encourage people willing to engage in our community

increase the connection

Communities don’t just happen due to proximity. They awaken, or become in and with reciprocity between all members of the community.

I really appreciate and thankful being in the community of diverse and multicultural community

a multi-cultural mosaic that offers tastes and sounds from all over the world, united by the love for the natural beauty of the lakes and forests that surround us.; an illustration of a great new beginning and the perfect place to grow some roots…

people that love you and want the best for you

people who make me feel that I can truly be myself around them without feeling judged

we are co-learners in this ECE community

______

I am drawn to these particular communities because we can all find and count on eachother when in need and it is also a place I call home 

 unconditional love that each individual pours into one another. The way we all genuinely want to see each other grow in a fruitful way.

everyone has the possibility to change

Inviting a space where transparency and vulnerability is welcomed and respected 

I show up for others as my authentic self so I can be open and transparent; 

_____

people should have same value in the community and there shouldn’t be discrimination against anyone  

sharing the same right and responsibilities

be able to straddle cultures and will be comfortable navigating both worlds.;  keeping some of our culture alive

value of preserving their cultural identity

Connecting with families is not only providing information to them, it is also connected with each family and support each other 

community members will work harmoniously

_____

a cohesive community 

we need to work together with respect to each other, families, and everyone

being open and welcoming of people’s personal history, whom they identify with and appreciating their capabilities

joy in meeting new people and finding out what makes them unique. 

it is fundamental for the educator to listen and support children, parents, colleagues and the whole school community

listen to each different family’s stories

respect for the uniqueness of and diversity among members of the community 

When we get to know the children and they get to know us as well, this will help them to feel safe and supported

always make them aware that they deserve to be where they are, and that they are special 

that no community is greater than humanity. So, we should not discriminate among people but we should see everyone equally and with respect 

the collective consciousness is important

people can have different opinions, but we should have the same goals

_____

Connection is everything;

 In Turkish, we have an expression: “You buy the neighbour. You don’t buy the house.” 

Friendship is so precious

Finding a connection with one another

build a relationship that starts with commonality

creating opportunities for communal experiences 

it’s particularly important when we communicate with children. They can be our teachers somehow 

keeping the memory alive through documentation and storytelling 

(Through) communication and collaboration should know that they belong to our world 

By being present, I was a supportive friend 

_____

children to feel that they are part of this community and they are participating in it as one of the community members

Another way is to remember to allow the children to build their own sense of community with one another 

I was welcomed with open arms when I started there

important for educator to communicate with the families of children 

I spend a lot of time with them which make me feel we have a strong bond between us 

People in the same community work together

I extend the communal sense of togetherness to other members of this community

_____

we have to be there to provide the children a place where they can come to let out their feelings and a place where they know where they won’t be judged for being who they are 

Providing love and abundance to feel inclusion accompanies the benefits of experiencing a real and compassionate community 

I feel a connection to this community because I identify as part of it

realize that I’m part of something bigger; that what I do and say does matters

something that is truly important and worth fighting for

~Sparklets from ECE316 NAA, NBB, NCC, KAA, KBB and EFP202, Winter Semester, 2021

We have been thinking with what it means to co-compose… 

…to co-compose a community

…co-compose our thinking and rethinking 

We invite you to share your sparklets on community to add to this collective composition by leaving a comment.

4 thoughts on “Considering Community 1: A Three-Part Co-Composed Student Feature

  1. An incredible collection of understanding, care, and purpose. Keep these ideas, these beginnings, as you impact change in our community.

  2. The is a great collection, I especially enjoyed the quotes! They were very thought provoking. Definitely sharing this with my friends and family.

  3. You made me wondering about the complexity of becoming of a community when we include beyond humans in our imaginations. You are reminding me of hopes and determinations while I am struggling with experiencing virtual spaces as a place to meet with my communities. In your reflections I see desires for feeling belonged to a community, or perhaps to many communities. And I see the sense of empowerment that may come with it.
    I am wondering about the responsibilities that we need to co-compose in a community.

  4. Thank you for putting this format together. Very kind of all of you. Sense of belonging is crucial for the child and for the parents/caregivers. We are all as strong as the weakest link. If we can touch one child and one parent and make them smile and have a HOPE of their existence, then count it as a huge achievement.

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