I appreciate your understanding of how play exists in groups and in relationships and I like to think about what you say about authoritarian communities vs democratic ones. This is such a delicate role we hold and it requires complex understanding of the vulnerability and dependency of children while simultaneously seeing them as whole, capable, autonomous participants. I am so fascinated by this ethical encounter and how our role in partnering to allow play and care becomes the same.
I am reminded of a dialogue I once had with Jools page about Professional Love... and that love is a reciprocal experience and never something done to a person. If it is just one way then it is not love, but another experience - obsession, attraction, intense attachment, infatuation etc - but love is mutual and respectful - and I think that it is in this space of professional love that we find our way to hold both the vulnerability and the power of children - just as we do for all those we care for, regardless of age.
If we go from the premise that love is a sense of joy created by interacting with others, then our aims as adults is about creating spaces for collective, shared joy for everyone and that this is done from a genuine place of respecting and valuing each child as they are - their being and becoming with a respect and understanding of where they come from.
I believe that in shared joy love evolves. And love shared creates joy. That caring about children and their need for joy (I write in Original Learning that Joy is rooted in the Trinity of Love, Well-being and Equity) is the first step towards mutual joy.
Care-love-joy are thoroughly entangled.
and as care and curiosity have the same linguistic root - this connects to getting to know each child - their vulnerabilities and power - and recognising how we personally affect them positively and negatively - so that we may strive towards joy.
I appreciate your understanding of how play exists in groups and in relationships and I like to think about what you say about authoritarian communities vs democratic ones. This is such a delicate role we hold and it requires complex understanding of the vulnerability and dependency of children while simultaneously seeing them as whole, capable, autonomous participants. I am so fascinated by this ethical encounter and how our role in partnering to allow play and care becomes the same.
I am reminded of a dialogue I once had with Jools page about Professional Love... and that love is a reciprocal experience and never something done to a person. If it is just one way then it is not love, but another experience - obsession, attraction, intense attachment, infatuation etc - but love is mutual and respectful - and I think that it is in this space of professional love that we find our way to hold both the vulnerability and the power of children - just as we do for all those we care for, regardless of age.
If we go from the premise that love is a sense of joy created by interacting with others, then our aims as adults is about creating spaces for collective, shared joy for everyone and that this is done from a genuine place of respecting and valuing each child as they are - their being and becoming with a respect and understanding of where they come from.
I believe that in shared joy love evolves. And love shared creates joy. That caring about children and their need for joy (I write in Original Learning that Joy is rooted in the Trinity of Love, Well-being and Equity) is the first step towards mutual joy.
Care-love-joy are thoroughly entangled.
and as care and curiosity have the same linguistic root - this connects to getting to know each child - their vulnerabilities and power - and recognising how we personally affect them positively and negatively - so that we may strive towards joy.