Table of contents for JUNE/JULY 2020 ISSUE 8 2020 INSPIRE 2020 in Pedagogy+

SEMANN & SLATTERY SEEING HOPE IN A CLIMATE OF ACCOUNTABILITY This article positions hope as necessary oxygen in an era of greater complexity, contradictions and perceived constraints. It aims to pave opportunities as possible, and a shift in mindset as necessary. In doing so we also want to acknowledge that resistance is never to be ruled out. However, we see hope as a realistic currency available within the early childhood sector, and this currency of trade is available for all should we chose to use it. In this article we tap into narratives of hope, theories of possibilities, and a pragmatism which we hope enables individual, collective and pedagogical shift. Let’s adopt a manifesto: Believing in hope is more than a romantic notion. It is a philosophical position grounded in…

What’s best for children? What’s best for educators? Why do we have to do what we have always done? Could we imagine a better way to ‘structure’ our little school on the roof? This project of reimagining commenced as a reflection. We had a flourishing mixed group excursion program. We trusted young children to engage with nature, to work together - children aged five years supporting and engaging with children aged under two years. We wondered about the invisible barriers we erected between indoor spaces. What messages were we sending to our two-year-olds when we said, 'You can’t come in here. You’re not big enough.' Why did we see them as capable in the world, yet not capable in the classroom context? These ponderings prompted professional conversations with our amazing…

‘Art is not an outer product nor an outer behaviour. It is an attitude of spirit, a state of mind — one which demands for its own satisfaction and fulfilling a shaping of matter to new and more significant form. To feel the meaning of what one is doing and to rejoice in that meaning, to unite in one concurrent fact the unfolding of the inner emotional life and the ordered development of material external conditions — that is art’. DEWEY, 1919 Visual arts pedagogy in early childhood settings is highly contested. Educators frequently engage in divisive social media battles about the types of arts and crafts learning experiences that are acceptable…or not! Defining quality practice is complicated by the reality that many educators express a lack of confidence in…

Dreaming, contemplating and critically reflecting about our philosophical orientations have opened our minds to how we value, advocate and support children’s play. It has put a spotlight on how we can create caring and thoughtful learning spaces that are intentionally planned to extend and enhance children’s lives. It highlights the ways we honour children’s capabilities, how we listen to their voices, how we nurture individual talents and how we create ‘memories of wellbeing’ (Shepherd, 2017) of agency and of competency. The National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2017) states that every early childhood education and care service must have a service philosophy, reflecting the beliefs and values of those who are associated with a service. It should also underpin policies and procedures and guide all aspects of a service’s practices, including…

Think Sheets Holy Mother of awesome conferences, you nailed it! Your entire team should be (at home in bed recovering) incredibly proud and satisfied. That was an event that remoralised teachers and enriched my life personally. Thank you for giving me a stage and an opportunity to open my voice. I was overwhelmed by the response. I hope our paths cross again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.– Gabbie Stroud Dear Anthony, Colin and Team… Well! What a few glorious days we had in Melbourne. Not sure where to start for express my joy and gratitude to you all for hosting such a conference… Your gracious generosity, organisation and skills were so evident at every moment, around every corner… Thank you for allowing us to be part of it all,…

ART DONATION… thank you! Dear Anne Stronehouse Thank you for so generously donating two original artworks by the late Ursula Kolbe… these beautiful pieces… Jacket of a traveller II - Ursula Kolbe Framed Artwork, Watercolour and Collage. 365x455mm Signed not dated Untitled - Ursula Kolbe Framed Artwork, Watercolour. 495x495mm Signed, not dated …at raffle raised the tidy sum of $1,100.00 All proceeds to go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au ARTIST in RESIDENCE…thank you! Dear Aunty Denise Proud I am confident that my thoughts resonate deeply with other conference delegates - to pause and watch as you breathed life into this magical piece of art was an absolute privilege. We shared an incredible moment in time as you imbued the work with a richness of spirit, fabulous colour and story—the…

‘We don’t need our maps now because our feet know the path to walk. Now we don’t look down. We look at each other and at Country.’ SAID ZAC, AGED FOUR YEARS We had a dream to walk on Country every week with our children. Our dream became a reality and transformed our pedagogy in a way we had not imagined. We now walk with joy, connection, purpose and with a deeper love and respect for Country, place and each other. When we began to dream, we were drawn to Ann Pelo’s beautiful reflection that ‘time is intimacy’. We wanted our children to experience this intimacy with Country as we walked together. Our dream came from a place of respecting the rights of the child. Our philosophy and pedagogy holds…

There is no denying we are in the midst of global climate crises. How might we radically reimagine environmental education and allow the possibility for hope in early childhood education and care? The lens through which we view children in Western tradition looks at the individual child and how they are ‘developing’ in the context of other human-relations; are children meeting milestones within an appropriate timeframe? In this context, the value of the environment is defined by what it can do for us: the gross motor benefits of nature! The mindfulness potential of bush kinder! This thinking leads to environmental education that is commodified and monetised. We looked to Deep Ecology, posthumanist approaches and Indigenous understandings to reimagine environmental education. Deep Ecology invites us to think about the living environment…

DEAR PARENTS Gabbie Stroud In this funny, heartfelt and passionate call to arms, Gabbie Stroud makes a plea to all parents to understand their roles as their children’s lifelong teachers and show how they can best help their kids' teachers and schools achieve the best results for the next generation of leaders. TEACHER Gabbie Stroud A must read for all teachers. ‘An achingly heartfelt personal reflection on the way bureaucracy dehumanises and compromises our teachers and our children… how the joy of teaching can be turned into despair, and children are becoming less important than outcomes. Heartbreaking’ (Noni Hazelhurst) —Teacher is a brilliant and heart-breaking memoir that cuts to the core of a vital matter of national importance - that our education system is unfair to our children and destroying…

Following is a collection of statements, questions, and prompts about the rewards, challenges, complexities and unique features of being an educator with very young children. Some points are intentionally controversial. The aim is that they will provoke critical reflection, discussion and debate that lead to improvements in practice and a vision of excellence that is founded on clarity about the realities of working with children aged birth to three years. Itseasier to talk about principles of good practice than it is to act on them day after day. Educators have to prioritise and compromise. Often, a gap exists between principles, standards and frameworks on the one hand, and relentless decision-making and action required in the ‘real world’, on the other. Mightitbethatthe younger the child, the more likely it…

We are in the midst of global climate crises. The questions we have asked ourselves are about how early childhood education and care (ECEC) can be a part of the solutions to these problems. How can we equip children to be the activists and leaders of the future? How can we encourage new ways of thinking that can change the paradigm? While there is a lot of information about sustainability, we could find very little that is based in practice or Australian that takes a Deep Ecology perspective. This paper aims to share our journey to find new ways to radically reimagine environmental education and allow the possibility for hope. We will do this by taking a quick tour of the theoretical thinking that has influenced our pedagogy, describing how…

REFLECT ON YOUR CHILDHOOD IN RELATION TO PLAY What were you playing, where, with whom? Think about how children are playing now… What are they playing, where, with whom? OUR VIEW OF THE CHILD AND HOW THEY LEARN Our beliefs about children’s learning and what motivates children to learn very much determines the learning environment that educators establish and maintains the role educators take. If we believe that a child is curious, seeking to test out ideas, theories in multiple ways, then do the experiences we enable them to encounter support this belief? Do children have enough opportunity for challenge, both physically and intellectually? Children continuously strive to answer the question, what would happen if…? It is only through experience, and opportunities to reflect that children build and develop skills…

Abbotsleigh Early Learning Centre is attached to an independent girls’ school in Sydney’s North. Flights of Fancy told stories of our practice. We presented our stories as a ‘book’ because although all the chapters appeared quite different on the surface, they were all interlinked by a pedagogy of agency, relationships and reflection. While developing this pedagogy, we drew on a variety of resources, educational research and interactions with children and colleagues. Of importance has been the development of relationships that allow honest and rigorous practice. Being able to sit with challenges to professional practice and separate professional discomfort from personal discomfort has allowed us to make meaningful progress. Far from being divisive, this has cemented our team as a purposeful unit driven by the desire for positive change in our…

Spending time with Gabbie Stroud leaves you feeling inspired, re-invigorated and with a sense of what can be. Gabbie is a gifted teacher, an author, a natural storyteller and a passsionate advocate for teachers and change in Australia’s educational system. Gabbie’s lived experience in the classroom - the children, the joys, the challenges, the heartache - her message of 'demoralised but not defeated' speaks to all teachers. Her genuine passion and humorous candour are evident as she shares her story in front of an audience or through her writings…she shines light on the the beauty and complexity of learning and teaching - and sends messages of encouragement and hope. WHAT IS YOUR FONDEST MEMORY FROM CHILDHOOD? Reading The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by the fire in our farmhouse. WHAT…

Descriptions of ‘best practice’ abound. There are fewer accounts of the struggles of a new teacher who wants to deliver a high-quality learning program and obstacles that interfere with doing that. Striving to achieve excellence while grappling with the realities of day-to-day practice demand reflection, persistence and support. Exploration is messy business It is often said that the learning environment is a child’s third educator, – alongside the teacher and the child’s peers. Like many of my colleagues, I am constantly on the lookout for inspiration in setting up an environment that engages children in rich and meaningful ways while I am busy supporting children in other important one-on-one learning opportunities such as changing, feeding, rocking, settling, sunscreen. I can set up a beautiful learning environment at the beginning of…

The children in my life have always said ‘you’re so funny!’. Mainly when we’re singing. I can sing that I ‘roll out of bed and fall into my underpants’ or ask, ‘is the moon made of cheese?’ and I get a smile or a laugh or an incredulous twinkle in the eye which says, ‘I know you’re fibbing, but I’m going with it anyway’. This is the magic. Poo rhymes with loo which also rhymes with moo. When the clock struck three, the mouse did a wee; when the clock struck four, the mouse ran out the door and stick the glue on my shoe rhymes with does my bum look big in this too? …um… maybe… Nothing about music with children needs to be ‘right’. You can sing off…

Legacy: A story of women is a photographic essay which invites us to take time to reflect on our history and recognise those who have and continue to shape our world. The silken threads that weave this rich tapestry of women together can be best described by the qualities they share – intellect, tenacity, strength, resilience, vision, integrity, courage, vulnerability and humanity… inspiring those who come into contact with them and providing a step into our future. Featuring: Dr Deborah Brennan, Linda Burney, Pam Cahir, Dr Priscilla Clarke OAM, Bernadette Dunn, Dr Alma Fleet, Trish & John Highfield, Dr Anne Kennedy, Vivi Germanos Koutsounadis AO, Dr Glenda MacNaughton, Dr Karen Martin, Winsome McCaughey, AO, Maxine McKew, Aunty Denise Proud, Dr Kerry Robinson, Wendy Shepherd, Anne Stonehouse AM, Dr Jennifer Sumsion,…

Enacting politics Reimagining possibilities Materialising hopes Through entangled practices: Practices that matter. More than gathering re-presentationsOf a world out thereWe resist the God-trickRecognise our infected, affected placeAnd so, engage in world-making practices:Practices that make a difference. We collageWe feltWe PheelWe walkWe craftWe PhArtWe doubtWe fearWe troubleWe reclaim Our practices are with the (k)not-yet-knowns:Practices that create more liveable worlds. We are troublesome creaturesDescendants of witches, still burning bright.Through our doingsOur agitating and activismOur practices refuse to accept the status quoPractices that generate, potentiate something more. It is through practices ofSuturingCuttingBecomingHauntingConfessingCrafting Patchworking andActivating that theMattering of MatterIs materialised.The thing-power of stuffTakes on another lifeGenerates affective forcesThat makes a difference to what we knowHow we feelWhat do we do with what is provoked, brought to life?What is our response-ability? By bringing the out…

On a Tuesday in September 2019, two girls, Claire, 4-years All of us are looking for beauty and that moment of magic, old and Airlie, 3-years old, came running into my music but creativity isn’t just about a result, creativity is a process. class. ‘Angeline, when Airlie grows up, she wants to beIt is about having a playful approach. Creativity is a chance a sandwich!’ Claire rolled her eyes at me as if to say ‘how for us, as educators, to ‘learn through play’. We need to ridiculous’ while Airlie nodded. remain curious and open to possibility. ‘…And I want to be a bee!’ We need to ask the question, ‘what kind of sandwich?’ I didn’t laugh, not straight away, though I wanted to. To be able to perceive the…

Research increasingly confirms the powerful learning and development that occurs in early childhood and that appropriate, effective and quality education is vital for young children in the critical years from birth to five (OECD, 2017; Shonkoff, 2010). Additionally, contemporary pedagogical thinking advocates that early education should target not only traditional, academic outcomes (such as literacy and numeracy) and developmental processes (of physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive growth), but also the facilitation of child wellbeing (OECD, 2017). Research also indicates the preschool years are vital for children not only in the immediate term of their years before school, but for learning success, development and wellbeing along their life trajectory (Huppert, 2009; OECD, 2017; Shonkoff & Garner, 2012; Siraj‐Blatchford & Wong, 1999). Thus, both wellbeing and literacy foci are mandated in…