What are we teaching our children?

My first exposure to the world of early learning was as a graduate student studying in Argentina, shortly after the economic collapse. I was conducting research with a group of unemployed workers on the community-based development initiatives that were emerging in low-income neighborhoods in the wake of institutional collapse.

The workers had occupied an empty building in their neighborhood, which they then used to establish a number of cooperative enterprises, including a bakery, a sewing workshop, and a preschool. The organizers were adamant that creating a more just, humane, and democratic society must start with its youngest members: young children and, by extension, their families. I was fascinated.

As the preschool got off the ground I volunteered in the classroom weekly, and eventually joined the group of school advisors, who met regularly for lively discussions about pedagogy, politics, school administration, and strategy. One of my favorite memories was the re-telling of an event from the previous week’s class. The children were served snack at school—usually warm yerba mate (tea) with milk, and bread or crackers from the bakery.

Apparently, the children had become disgruntled that it had been a long time since they had gotten bolitas (little sweet fried dough balls) for snack. So, completely on their own initiative, they organized a piquete (picket) and marched their way across the courtyard into the bakery, demanding bolitas for everyone. The lead baker at the time recounted, “What could I do? I had to comply!” And handed over full servings of bolitas for everyone.

This story has stuck with me nearly twenty years. To me, it is an example of the extraordinary ability of young people to absorb the experiences around them. Related, it reflects the enormous influence of our environment on the lives of children. How are we relating to the young people in our lives? Are we teaching them to comply? To consume? To think first of themselves? Or are we allowing them to explore? To challenge? To engage? To care?

The educational systems within a society tend to reflect the values and norms of that society. They quite literally reproduce the next generation of citizens. It is not a coincidence that Reggio-Emilia, an inquiry-driven approach to early childhood education, emerged in Italy, after World War II, as a response of progressive educators to hedge against the return of fascism. As a parent and, now, an educator of young children, I feel the weight and the warmth of this responsibility.