Karen Boley

Pedagogical Commitments:

My work as an ECPN pedagogist takes place on unceded land stolen from Indigenous peoples. Therefore, I commit to walking alongside educators as we consider what it means to be inclusive when our educational assumptions are complicated by personal biases and worldviews. In accordance with Call to Action 63(iii) of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015), I commit to building “[children’s] capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect" in order to create a more just and equitable world.

I commit to listening and noticing across my interactions with children, families, and educators. I commit to embracing feelings of uncertainty or disequilibrium as educators contemplate why they make the choices they do. What routines and materials exist in the classroom simply because they are often found in a “typical” ECE classroom? Are there alternatives that are more culturally responsive or ethical? I will join with educators to reflect on what is noticed and to forge collective spaces that allow for inquiry and extension of ideas.

I commit to acknowledging the value and wholeness of the young child, and to examining how power and respect allow for creation or destruction (Vintimilla & Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2020). Together with educators, I will consider how our shared challenges can be used to create empathy and a feeling of community. Together, we will explore how an ECE classroom can be a glimpse into what the rest of the world can look like: sustainable, inclusive, and compassionate.