We invite you to continue 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….
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. This series is a reflection of the thinking from over 120 students from these sections.
In Part 1 (which can be found here) we focused in on “who we consider part of our community” and how it feels to come together. In Part 2 (which can be found here) we thought deeper with “what dispositions and ways of being hold space for a community to become”.
We are honoured to continue to share these sparklet poems with you from the Seneca ECE Program Infant/Toddler Virtual Placement students from the Winter 2021 semester.
In these times, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, many of us feel more disconnected than ever. Time has shone a spotlight on the many injustices in our society and around the world. From the Black Lives Matter movement, to LGBTQAI+ rights, relationships with Indigenous Peoples and knowledges of these lands, to relations to Mother Earth, including the more-than-human beings, and many more ways injustice and inequality live within our structures….
The vision of “community” that seemed come from our reflections was one of justice, connection, compassion and love. A way of living well together. So, we ask how might we commit now, more than ever, to connecting in community?
there is always something good in every uncertainty
bring an openness in creativity and thinking that can think outside the boxes and lines
bring a sense of creation
Helping my community is an opportunity for me to grow as a person, to better understand how you fit into the world around you.
to give and take the sense of community and belonging
My hearts desire is for everyone to walk away… feeling empowered, inspired, and encouraged knowing that they are always worth the time
When we think with community, how might we see it as more than words, more than people and things coming together? As values, as ways of being and as a commitment we enact. Perhaps an image of community as a living, breathing, changing organism…
What do we feel called to do to hold space for community, in all it’s forms, in these times?
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I always take the first step to connect with them on a daily basis even with a simple greeting. This is my little way of letting them sense of attachment and commitment
bring a sense of familiarity to an otherwise unfamiliar situation
I am the one who initiates communication with respect, flexibility, and compassion…Sometimes those actions make me vulnerable, but I believe that taking the risk is worth creating a community that makes us learn from each other and thrives
There is no community without connection, and there is no connection without community
_____
by honoring individual culture, making space for everyone’s values, being authentic, and expressing gratitude, we will plant hardy seeds for cultivating community.
to start a community takes a lot of work but its doable as through time you end up connecting with like minded and unlike minded individuals but get together to work in unison for the betterment of its members.
most important that I can bring is my heart for this generation
(“come as you are” , “you are enough” , “your story matters”) These powerful and meaningful truths are things that I want to bring in my practice as an ECE.
For each generation to live on and experience
_____
We are fortunate to live in a multicultural society and it allows us to be open to the world.
where everyone laughs, communicates so freely, listens to one another, and understands each other. ; Place where they can be themself fully
Everyone wants to feel welcomed; bring joy towards a community
share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings without the fear of being shut out or shut down
share and learn others cultures surrounding us.; share my knowledge from my culture
being in the moment as our community becomes and takes on a life of its own
I belong to this community;
build a trustful relationship
discover a love and passion to play, enjoy, improve, succeed at something and to expand
From the small community to the big society, we help each other to create a better future.
We continue 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.
We’d like to leave you with all the sparklets from this three-part series together as one long poem.
Clicking on the image below will take you to this interweaving of all these reflections together.
