Activity 1.1 | Arriving as we are

Arriving as we are

Grounding ourselves and tools for staying connected and in the body during difficult conversations

john a. powell (who spells his name in lowercase in the belief that we should be "part of the universe, not over it, as capitals signify") is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of civil rights, civil liberties, structural racism, housing, poverty, and democracy.  He is the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, a research institute that brings together scholars, community advocates, communicators, and policymakers to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society and to create transformative change toward a more equitable world (Othering and Belonging Institute, 2024). On her website, Wong is described as:

a Native Hawaiian and Hakka life-long resident of Hawaiʻi … Wong led teams to negotiate agreements on the munitions cleanup of Kahoʻolawe Island, ceded land revenue for Native Hawaiians, and the return of lands and settlement of land issues for Hawaiian Home Lands. She was active in electoral politics for over thirty years. 

In recent years, Wong has been called back into service to facilitate … conflict between native culture/science and western discovery science … facilitating a path forward through mutual stewardship (Wong, 2024).

Calling Yourself In

Norma Kawelokū Wong begins her talk by situating herself within cultural traditions, illuminating relational ways of knowing and connectedness. 

She shares these teachings for introducing oneself, “Offer [a] self-introduction, one that tells a story of identity and of lineage and purpose” (Othering & Belonging Institute, 2021, 10:24). 

With this in mind, reflect on the following questions:

• Who are you? Where are you from?

Tell the story of your identity, your lineage, and your purpose.

• As a child care manager and leader, is this a familiar way of introducing yourself within your professional role?

If you are unfamiliar with this introduction style, how does it feel to imagine introducing yourself in this way?       

• How well do you think that your colleagues know this part of your identity?
• How well do you know these aspects of your colleagues’ identities?

In what ways might this way of introducing oneself present pathways to “affirm and enhance human dignity, respect fundamental human rights, and celebrate difference and diversity”? (Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia, 2021, p. 13-14).

Norma Kawelokū Wong invites us “To question who it is we are, and why we are here right now.” (Othering & Belonging Institute, 2021, 15:56).

• Do you have a sense of why you are positioned as a leader?
• What unique gifts do you offer?

Capture your reflections in your journal. 

Reference

Disposition of curiosity

In this first module, we reflect on the capacities required to have difficult conversations. While visionary practice is inspiring and a place to direct our attention, it also needs courage.

The ECEBC Code of Ethics (2021): 

“frames positive expectations and provides aspirational goals. It is a living framework that improves with use and experience in practice” (p.3). 

To support you in your practice and the difficult work of learning through experience, this course equips you with tools and strategies to identify behavioural patterns arising from conflict, and to navigate our internal landscapes with intention and discernment.

In addition, this course will support child care managers and leaders to articulate why ethical practice is required, not optional. Too often, justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion are afterthoughts. In truly ethical practice, these values are at the centre of the framework.  

We live in a time of growing social disparity and polarization. Conversations around justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion can activate defensiveness, and threaten to further divide our communities. This course is intended to support you to find a holdfast that can anchor you through the tension, and to stay committed to the ethical responsibilities of our profession, “supporting children to live in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality, and solidarity and are committed to creating early care and learning environments that promote and support these values” (Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia, 2021, p. 5). In order to support children to experience these rights, we have to cultivate them within ourselves, and within our relationships with colleagues.

How might we envision child care managers and leaders as people who are committed to compassion and curiosity? How might we be willing to be seen as learners, acknowledge lifelong learning as a requirement, and then create professional communities structured on the dispositions that make learning possible?

adrienne maree brown is a guest on the podcast, “We Can Do Hard Things.” In this episode, adrienne speaks about her book, Loving Corrections (2024) and how a disposition of curiosity is a requirement for leading toward more-just-worlds. She speaks to basic human needs, and how we can maintain integrity in our relationships, even in the face of dissonance.

Take some time to listen to the "We Can Do Hard Things" Podcast(Weiss-Berman, 2024) before navigating to the reflection activity. 

Reference

Calling Yourself In

adrienne maree brown, quoting Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, argues that for social change that bridges our divisiveness, we need to “act like you need each other. Move like you need each other. Talk to each other like you need each other” (Weiss-Berman, 2024)

Spend time reflecting in your journal. Reflect on how it feels to imagine yourself needing your colleagues. 

• How might this challenge, or make visible, any hierarchies in power
• Does it challenge you to be in a position of power and to simultaneously think of needing others?

See if you can extend your curiosity to this experience.

• In what ways do you experience safety, dignity, and belonging in your role as a child care manager or leader? 
• Who contributes to these needs?
• In what ways do you model curiosity towards others whom you are in a position of leading, to learn more about what gives them a sense of safety, dignity, and belonging?
• How would it feel to face difference with curiosity, perhaps as adrienne maree brown described, as sitting and holding hands across the divide?