Overview Module Three

Welcome to Module 3: Leading into Unknowable Futures

We need to know who we are, where we are, and where we got here before we can sit at the table to determine where we want to go collectively. 

As child care managers and leaders, how will you refuse to turn away from the realities of life in the 21st century? You are tasked with the responsibility of leading early care and learning spaces, spaces of commonly held beliefs about the “innocence” of childhood.

How will you find the courage to disrupt normative practices in the hopes that a more-just world is possible? What does it mean to carry hope—amidst intersectional disparity, increasing polarization and militarization, of denialism, of true costs of capitalism, and amidst ecological ravaging and exploitation?

Breathe first.

Breathe until you find your place back in your body, in this sensing body, in this ever-changing present. Find the breath that is long, exhaling more than you inhale. Breathe this way until your breath mirrors the exchange between ocean and shore.

• What does it mean to carry hope?
• What does it mean to hope that more-just worlds are possible?

Dr. Cornel West’s words offer a spark for this fire when he says, “Love is what justice looks like in public” (2011, 26:40)

Those with the great privilege of working with the youngest citizens have the opportunity to see that love is demonstrated each day in our practice. Children remember how to love. We need only to notice, and then to remove barriers that distract us from the kind of love that is possible when we remember that every child is a gift—notice their ways of attending to the world with wonder, with presence and offering their astonishment.

As we move into this final module of the course, trust that what is needed in these times is leaders with the courage to restructure themselves and their organizations towards loving justice, towards actionable hope, together, with all children, and with all of those who hope for, care for, and dream with the children of today.

Reference

West, C. (2011, April 17). Cornel West: Justice is What Love Looks Like in Public [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGqP7S_WO6o

Learning outcomes serve as a valuable resource to guide your learning journey and ensure you can maximize your learning experience. The primary purpose of this section is to clearly communicate the intended learning outcomes of Module Three. 

The learning outcomes for Module Three align with the content, activities, and assessments you will encounter throughout Module Three, enabling you to track your growth and identify improvement opportunities. 

After completing all activities and the reflective assessment within Module Three, participants will: 

• Identify skills and dispositions required to practice anti-racism as a leader in early learning and care communities.
• Articulate your personal commitments to visionary leadership, grounded in your identity and in honour of your unique gifts.

Module Three Activities and Assessments

The activities within Module Three include:

• ACTIVITY 3.1 | Communicating with Integrity: Reflect on communication challenges, practice expressing your needs with clarity, and craft a leadership intention that supports a culture of respectful, honest dialogue in your early learning setting.  
• ACTIVITY 3.2 | Co-Creating Responsive Communities: Explore leadership practices through a lens of love, curiosity, and multiple perspectives, fostering inclusive and compassionate leadership grounded in lived experience and relational understanding.
• ACTIVITY 3.3 | Self-actualizing and Interconnectedness: Reflect on ECE managers' and Leaders' role in shifting practices toward anti-bias and relational leadership, recognizing how this work fosters systemic change and personal self-actualization within an interconnected community.