How does Arbutus Place engage in a practice of radical noticing in the spaces we inherit, and how do we bring that noticing into dialogue with educators and children? Radical noticing encourages a person to focus on details as a way to understand the bigger picture. The solidarity encampment on campus is an entry point – and invitation of sorts – to understand the bigger issue of the bombardment of Gaza and the geo-political realities that children in that region face, and our role as university employee’s whose pension contributions are bound to this conflict. We grapple with the role of silence as we are called witness what is happening in Gaza, as silence is a choice. By choosing silence we wonder whose experiences are we silencing further, or rendering invisible. What are our ethical commitments to our practice as educators? What conversations do we ‘invite in’ versus intentionally exclude from everyday dialogue in our programs, and how does this contribute to our image of the child and their ability to engage with complex topics? Are we contributing to societal notions of “the innocent child” by assuming that children are not already aware of on-going worldly issues? What does it say about our image of the educator as comfortable with risk and our ability to lean deeply into tough conversations? We don’t want to make choices for the children by not saying anything, so how do we invite in the affectual side of these moments of noticing?
