INQUIRY AND CRITICAL THINKING

Journal: Exploring Critical Literacy

Context

Cow Hollow School teachers always look for opportunities that might arise naturally during the children’s play, and use that as a starting point for addressing larger issues.  In this journal, the Little Garden (3-4 year olds) teachers find an opportunity in some children’s imaginative family role-playing to explore how the children think about family, roles, decision-making and power.  To buttress this exploration, the teachers use the book A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams; use of the book allows the children to consider their thoughts about family roles in both their own social setting but also in the setting of the story.

February 7, 2014 – Exploring Critical Literacy in the Little Garden

Critical literacy makes it possible to reconsider my thinking by providing a framework from which to address issues of social justice and equity…to use everyday issues and everyday texts from our school and community to negotiate a critical literacy curriculum. 
– Vivian Maria Vasquez, 2004

At CHS we actively wonder about how to engage children in thinking critically and creatively about all aspects of their lives and world. One element of this that we are beginning to explore in the Little Garden is engaging children in critical literacy. This means, through the use of the written word in books or other print in their lives, “looking at an issue or topic in different ways, analyzing it, and hopefully being able to suggest possibilities for change or improvement.”

It is important to us to enter into this from a place of social significance – finding issues from the social lives of the children that are meaningful to them. These are things that make us want to learn, to want to take action over, and hopefully, through the course of these investigations, to have critical conversations about.

Beginnings - A Socially Significant Moment

A moment arose in the beginning of January when a small group was playing a family camping game on the Side Yard. The children were negotiating who was going to be which roles in the story – we had a couple of moms, a couple of dads, a big sister, and a little sister. Dorian was still deciding how she wanted to engage in the story, while Brynn (taking on the role as one of the moms) said that she, as the mommy, got to decide what Dorian, and the other children in the family, did because she was the mommy. Dorian did not agree. The teacher questioned this – does being a grownup in the game mean you get the power to make decisions for the other players in the game? She surveyed some of the other children present, and there was not a consensus one way or the other. Some felt it was OK for the “grownup” to be the decision make, others did not.

This question of power and influence is one the Little Garden children are exploring in many parts of their school lives. It made us think also about what their constructs are about power dynamics from their experiences in the world – who gets to have power? Why? Developmentally at this age children’s identity is so deeply intertwined with their roles in their family, and thus we felt it would be a meaningful and important thread to follow up on. We are doing this both to support the children’s social and emotional development as well as supporting them in questioning norms or being able to reposition themselves within their community.

Bringing it Back to the Whole Group

We asked this question at Circle Time on 1/30/14 – “What do you think about a child who is being a grownup in a game – do they get to make decisions or rules? Or do the players being “children” get to make their own choices in the game?”

William: Everyone can tell what to play. They could share playing and everyone could be the mommy.

Sara Beth: If I was the mommy too – I would tell the rules to not touch the necklace (touching her own fancy necklace.)

Laney: I think they should take turns being the mommy. They (children) get to make the rules too.

Tenley: I think sharing…

Finn: Sharing is nice.

Peter: I agree with Finn with sharing.

Grace: I was a lotus fairy in the game. There was a little girl who was 4 years old and she danced around the stage. There were woman lotus fairies too.

Treesha: I was Snow White. The mommy and daddy decide the rules.

There was a mix of opinions about this – some believed children in the games should make the rules, while others felt the “grownups” should. We decided to delve deeper into what family roles are, both in personal connections as well as in storybooks. This is done with the intention to validate the children’s current experience and also expose them to a variety of other roles children and adults play.

Exploring Text: A Chair For My Mother, by Vera B. Williams

We read and discussed the book A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams (a book they had heard one time before) at Circle Time on 2/4/14. We framed it by asking the children to pay attention to the roles of the mother, grandmother, and daughter in the family. What do they each do to help the family? What are their jobs? What connections do you have with your role in your family?

Remembering who the characters were in the story:

William: The grandma and the little girl and the mom.

Brynn: The mom as her sister.

Petra (Teacher): And the mom has sister, Aunt Ida.

Peter: And there was a fire truck!

Mati: And there was a fire!

Grace: The cat hided in the…

Brynn: In the trash can.

William: I know, people are giving them nice things, and there’s nice people. But where’s the grandma and the mommy gonna sleep?

Petra: Oh, we heard about the little girl getting a new child’s bed but we didn’t hear about the mommy or the grandma…

William: They could sleep maybe in the family room.

Sara Beth: I see the mommy!

Peter: I see the grandma!

Petra: Maybe when we see the next pages of the house we will see where the mommy or the grandma’s beds are?

Brynn: And the dad.

Petra: In this family there is no dad – there’s a mommy and a grandma and a little girl in this family.

James: And a grandpa.

Finn: And also the Uncle Ida. 

Petra: Oh yeah, and Uncle Sandy and Aunt Ida.

James: My Poh Poh (grandmother) – she does things for me. She gives me chips, I think. She lives at Post. She visited, I think.

Tenley: (my grandparents) They give me presents!

Dorian: When I go on a airplane I go to Hawaii. There was no fire but mommy got bitten by a stinger but it feels better. She doesn’t have a stinger.

Grace: My dad’s parents live in Oakland.

Sophia: That’s at the Space Museum.

Grace: They have a swing in their basement.

William: My grandparents have 2 houses – guess their dog’s name? Paddy. Sometimes they bring me sandwiches and grapes.

Petra: So they help make you food like the grandma in this story!

Brynn: When I was at my grandparents they have a chef who cooks for them and sometimes we make pizza when they’re not there.

Petra: So you cook with your grandparents sometimes?

Brynn: And cousins! And my sisters.

Pages 15-16

Pages 17-18 – Grandma cooks and prepares food for the family

Since this last conversation took place we have played a few more "family" games in small and large groups, and we are gathering data on children's concepts of what jobs or roles different family members have. It is our intention to use these constructs as a jumping off point for delving into the children's self-concept as members of their own families and also as a place for looking at, identifying, discussing, and potentially challenging gender roles and who has power as evidenced in books or media. We look forward to sharing more with you as we explore this!

Best, 
Petra and Tim

I notice – I wonder

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