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                                      THE CIRCLE OF COURAGE

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                                      THE CIRCLE OF COURAGE

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Romsey Primary School
Grade 3/4 SH

My placement site is Romsey Primary School – ‘the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation’ (Hamm, 2015). Children enter this space lacking motivation and inspiration to commence the day ahead. A dull hum is in the air as the children converse between one another making their way to the central point of the room, after having unpacked and set up for the day. They position themselves just as they do every morning, standing shoulder distance apart from friends strategically situated beside them. Reluctant to make eye contact with the person standing directly across from them they focus their attention on Mrs. Stewart, who makes herself part of their circle; ensuring every child is visible to everyone else. This physical visibility also fosters emotional visibility and provides each child with the chance to feel significant in the circle. With their presence being acknowledged the children share positive goals and mantras with the person to their right, providing them with the opportunity to say: “Today I am here, this is how I feel and this is my goal for the day”. The focus for the term is wellbeing and in the circle time the children discuss ‘stress’ and what makes them feel stressed. Circle time nurtures emotional health; children are encouraged to freely express their thoughts, ideas and feelings while developing listening skills. It offers children a place in which to develop social and emotional literacy; learning to provide supportive listening, feel empathy and acquire a language for sharing and understanding feelings and ideas. Throughout the round, children learn to track the person speaking, meaning they give full attention as they each have their turn.

Observing each child as they share their goals, thoughts and opinions, I question the image of the child and wonder how the pedagogy of listening informs this perception? Pedagogical Consultant for Reggio Emilia Municipal Early Childhood Centres, Carlina Rinaldi (2001) states that listening should welcome and be open to differences, recognising the value of other people’s perspectives and interpretations. How are the children interpreting each other and the statements they are making? As the children continue to individually express themselves, it is evident that they have a deep understanding of how to be respectful listeners. The children support and track each other, even providing comments such as “I’m proud of you Amelia”, “Good job, Liam” this demonstrates their embedded practices of listening openly and sensitively.

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Below is dialogue from a conversation with a grade-3-student (after circle time). Curious to see how the children felt about this session and whether it was something that supported the set up of their day, I prompted with simple questions and found that often this could be the first interaction or conversation these children are having for the day.

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After morning circle, the children continued their focus of wellbeing and understanding what stress is and what it looks and feels like. The children had to draw a person and show what parts of the body were affected when we got stressed. This has helped the children recognise that when these things happen to our body it might be stress and has opened the children up to thinking about strategies that can help them calm down when they feel this way. Image by Imogen, Annie and Luna 3/4 SH.

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Pedagogy of Listening and Planning Cycle

Upon reflecting the documentation panel it is evident the children within this space have a great understanding of listening: what is required and the importance of being a good listener. As each of them spoke with confidence and in a self-assured manner, I could hear the genuine empathy and kindness in each of their voices as they directed their comments from one person to the next. Taking the time to think about what this other person may need to hear and consider what they may be going through, example: “I really like how happy you are Jason, thank you for telling me funny jokes and making me smile. I hope you have a good day”.

Through my own pedagogy of listening, I notice how competent each of these children are. Speaking so freely unaware or concerned of any judgment that may be passed, it was quite uplifting and inspiring to watch. It is clear the children are learning to comfortably and assertively express and manage their feelings in order to develop self-reliance (VEYLF, 2016). Throughout each of the circle time sessions the children advance in their abilities to manage their wellbeing and have the confidence to seek support from others around them in a non-judgemental, accessible environment. Children’s wellbeing, identity, sense of agency and capacity to make friends is connected to the development of communication skills, and strongly linked to their capacity to express feelings and thoughts, and to be understood (VEYLF, 2016). This period each morning provides children with the opportunity to develop these skills that will greatly assist them later in life as being effective communicators and listeners.

To further expand on this concept of personal and emotional wellbeing, children can explore social aspects of listening within the wider community. Introducing mindfulness-based programs in schools and within everyday practices can have a life-long impact on the psychological, social and cognitive wellbeing of children right into adulthood (PPP, 2017). As previously mentioned, it is evident these children are informed listeners as they track, repeat and expand ideas through conversations and statements being made. The children also inform my pedagogical listening by ensuring the space is inclusive and inviting to share open thoughts with curiosity and wonder. By supporting children within environments like these; that are safe and secure in nature, we are setting them up to grow in confidence and find courage to explore and learn (EYLF, 2018). This in turn, assists children in their growth creating a non-judgemental, respectful and inclusive future whereby society acknowledge and respond sensitively to cues and signals of others on a deeper level of understanding and listening (EYLF, 2018).

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Reference:

Carlina Rinaldi, 2001, Innovations in Early Education: the international reggio exchange, vol 8, no. 4, The Pedagogy of Listening: The listening perspective from Reggio Emilia pp.1-4, viewed 18th October 2018,

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/526fe9aee4b0c53fa3c845e0/t/540fce31e4b00c94d884e002/1410321969279/Pedagody+of+Listening+-+Rinaldi+-+Fall+2001.pdf

Hamm, Catherine (2015) Walking with Place: Storying Reconciliation Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education, Canadian Children, 40 (2). 57-67

Positive Psychology Program, 2017, Mindfulness: The Benefits of Mindfulness in Schools (K-12), viewed 11th October 2018, https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/mindfulness-for-children-kids-activities/

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework: For all children from birth to eight years, 2016, Learning outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing, pp. 20, viewed 11th October 2018, https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework: For all children from birth to eight years, 2016, Learning outcome 5: Children are effective communicators, pp. 22, viewed 11th October 2018, https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf