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When I think back on the proper ways to care for children, I think about the RIE principles. Giving respect, trusting students competency, constancy, and many other things. Looking back at my time at the CYC, Seda shows her students care by providing them a space to be themselves. When the children didn't want to get up from nap time, she respected their decisions and aloud them to naturally wake up with the mayhem that ensued in the background. She didn't force what she wanted to happen in the classroom but instead listened to what the children wanted and respected there needs.

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Out of all the things we focus on in schools, I feel that ecological practices comes last. Growing up, the only time we were outside was for recess then never again. I was shocked when I heard that the CYC had a nature playground. To my surprise, when asked in the classroom which playground the students wanted to go to, most favored the nature playground. Children are able to learn outside just as much as they are inside. At snack time I overheard a student asking why they couldn't go on the nature playground. Gina (a teacher helper)  "We can't go out because Linus found... What were they called... n-night spiders...? Mite spiders? They were mite spiders. We googled them and they are no good", then she proceeded to show the girl a picture.

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Not every school does things the same, and that can be a good thing. Many teachers believe they have to do things the same as the teachers next to them but that's not true. Instead of doing things out of routine, we should be trying to create opportunities for growth and community engagement. "Co-inquiry, Co-construction, and Collaboration" (2016, Leu, Kuan-Hui Leu, et al.) are the three key terms of which classrooms should focus. Examples include allowing family members to read to the class and allowing students to be more hands on in what they are taught. When doing this, we are allowing children to create their classroom and create an environment in which they feel they actually belong. That they are safe to be who they are and express themselves in a safe and healthy way. At the CYC, Seda made sure the children had a hand in every lesson. She listened to what they found interest in and made sure the topic they covered involved their interests in some shape or form.

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"How do we talk to and about young children?" (2023, Doherty). I love this question. This is something I feel a lot of teachers take lightly. I've heard all too often teachers bad mouthing myself or other students I know. This has led me to think badly of myself and see those teachers differently. To a child, what adults think of them is a major player. Whether it be a "good" label such as "gifted" or a bad one such as "loud' (which is up to discretion). They way children express their emotions varies child to child as it does person to person. To expect everyone to act the same then label them when they don't fit the mold is reckless. I'm glad to say that at the CYC I never heard a student be labeled. The only time I heard a "label" was when I walked into the classroom after naptime (no one decided to sleep that day) and Seda explained how "everyone's a bit emotional today". She didn't call out one student but instead said that everyone was having an off day.

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We within the schooling community have the mindset of needing picture perfect art work. Bunnies can't be purple and clouds aren't green. In elementary school my art teacher took up everyone's drawings and put them in the trash if they weren't art that she approved. That's not creating a safe space. That's creating similarity out of fear. Fear to be unique. Fear to express yourself. Art is expression. Who is to say ones art is wrong. If anything children are more expressive then anyone. Instead of tell children to draw a bunny for Easter, ask them what Easter is to them and give them more than paper and pencils. Give them glue, cardboard, leaves, anything really. At the CYC, we did an ocean craft with bubble wrap, saran wrap, and empty bottles. Art is culture, imagination, and freedom. Who are we to tell a student "you are doing it wrong".