In the next few micro blogs we would invite you to participate in building the world we imagine as an educator, as a play facilitator/advocate, as a parent or as someone interested in sharing the space and believing in our philosophy. Today’s micro-blog is about how you might be able to participate as an educator:
“In the beginning is relation” Martin Buber, I and Thou
Feeling connected to others gives meaning and purpose to our lives. The Danish people call it “Hygge”, the origin of the word dates back to the nineteenth century which means “to think or feel satisfied”. It is a virtue, a point of pride, and a mood or state of mind. It identifies both within action and in being. We are trying to build that connection and atmosphere in our parenting communities with the common goods philosophy imbibed in it which we shared in our earlier articles.
The pandemic has brought the issue of child stress and anxiety to the forefront, but focusing on the mental health of the parenting community might not be a reactionary trend to our current challenges. Educating the whole child by offering an environment that helps children stay balanced and thrive both academically and emotionally needs to become a mainstay culture in our community. This means developing parent-care communities where the needs of each family and caregivers are individually known and supported through strong adult and peer relationships and ensuring children's days are filled with social emotional learning and experiences that promote wellbeing.
Zachary Stein in his book mentions that educational systems are inseparable from the cultural, social, and economic systems that surround them. We might always remember this while designing environments while children thrive. He also mentions that for an educational system to thrive it must be in some balance with other systems of society. He continues mentioning about “A true “learning society”, which would not just find opportunities for learning within existing systems of law, culture and labor markets, but create whole new systems guided by the idea of maximizing educational opportunities for lifelong learning.”
We are designing an environment where we are creating communal aspects of learning and human development as a dominant social value. We are giving importance to these aspects to actualize the greatest human potential.
As we designed the Nooks, we observed that collective intelligence, neighborhood cooperation, and trust each played a huge role in the success of each Nook. Each person who participated understood their interdependence with everyone else. We shared a mutual understanding.
The recent information that research has offered in recent decades makes it clear that something can be done to alleviate problems that parents and caregivers face. Instead of isolating parents and caregivers in their homes , parenting would be much more based in a local community of adults. Reducing the twin stresses of isolation and inexperience that plague parenting will involve some radical thinking of the condition in which it takes place. And we don’t have to do it alone, there are experienced people in the community who are ready to offer their thoughts, mentorship and guidance and help new parents with their parenting. I was blessed to have so many such angels around while I relocated to this country with a baby. Their gentle nudges and conversations made me the parent I am today, still today I rely on their guidance.When we dive deeper into various early childhood co-op models we observe similar thoughts resonating there,
“Through involvement with the family component caregivers acquire cultural capital. Over time they translate cultural capital into human capital or economic gain. This process called empowerment ultimately strengthens families and neighborhoods.”
There is now little doubt that early childhood experiences are important. That the quality and stability of relationships children experience matter. We also know that parent involvement is intricately intertwined with a child’s intellectual growth and emotional stability.
How you might get involved as a local educator:
If you are an educator living in the East Bay (preferably near Oakland), is aware of our philosophies and has been observing our offerings for the last 3 years, or you might know someone who might be interested, we might want to get in touch with you.
Here are a few ways which we noted down on how you might want to get involved as an educator. We believe there are various other ways that might open up as time progresses and as we continue having a conversation. We are creating a local co-op network of parents, educators and caregivers aligned with the shared vision of providing open ended play and a nurturing environment for local parenting communities thus supporting and creating a local economy that is thriving for everyone involved. We believe this is a Common Goods Phenomenon.
a)You might want to offer your services/offer group consultation for a chosen number of hours in a Nook to support the parents and their needs.
b) Depending on their needs you might want to invite the parents to the services you are offering to the families
c)For now, we will be inviting educators who are already a part of our network and have been involved with guiding and mentoring us or referral from the educators who are already in the network.
d)We are deeply inspired by RIE philosophy for young children along with Rudolf’s Steiner, Rabindranath Tagore, Simon Nicholson and Reggio Emilia’s thoughts on early childhood education and environment. So the educators supporting our endeavors have also been working in these philosophies for many years.
e)It's a referral based network to keep the safety and authenticity of the group alive.
f)You would be invited to an online platform along with other parents, caregivers, facilitators and space collaborators to be in touch. It would be a small group consisting of a localized group of people participating in a nook near you.
There might be many other ways. We would love you to listen to your thoughts.
Here is a contact form you might want to fill up, once you fill up the form one of us will reach out to you and have a conversation (zoom/in person) however you prefer.
Our plurality :
We also deeply believe and are committed to the principles of balance and interconnectedness amongst us and we believe that the purpose aligned collective plays a huge role in raising children. Its an ecosystem that is based on our collective principles, codes, connections and actions that allow the project to support as many needs a parent and an educator face as possible.We also deeply believe that each part of the project has a role in that the transformation of the whole is only possible with the participation of all parts. We say we are cooperative because all initiatives and individuals involved are based on mutual support, solidarity and equity.
Our belief:
We believe that if a child (or an adult for that matter) is in an environment where they feel safe and nurtured, then play is possible and the child is open to embracing the world and other human beings through play. True play can be a means of overcoming fears and grasping the world. It serves as a venue for learning to cope with life. But there is a vicious cycle at work here, for play itself requires an atmosphere of security. In play, we are safe and so we can be vulnerable.
With gratitude
Stewards
Parents' Nook