Liberated Learning

Kisa and Mike continue their conversation with Mike Brown and Nick Terrones. Mike B. posits that the outdoors can be a source of knowledge that precedes and exceeds the school system, which was never designed for all children. Children learn by being in relationship with each other, with adults, with materials, and with nature. Early learning best practices cannot simply be a discussion in a college classroom. Teaching practices are liberated when they are practiced; Learning is social and environments matter. 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Kisa and Mike continue their conversation with Mike Brown and Nick Terrones. Mike Brown states that “most of teaching is in the gray area, but we talk about it as if it’s black and white.” If we are going to talk about the gray areas, we must do the same thing we do to be an attuned educator: slow down, reflect, and revisit our ideas.  

In this episode, we talk about Mike and Nick's podcast Napcast, episode 74: Guided by Plants: Stinging Nettle, The Sting Is Not the Story. https://open.spotify.com/episode/09RmCphJFW6cxY2paUWtf3 

We also talk about the books: 

Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, https://patriciakaishian.com/forest-euphoria 

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann, https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/1491 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

This week, Kisa and Mike talk with Mike Brown and Nick Terrones about magick in the classroom. Liberated teaching is about being in the moment, but that can take years to achieve. There are countless skills to use, but over time you discover that you can't force these skills on children. Often, the best thing you can do is nothing except be reflective and responsive to what is happening.  

We talk about Mike and Nick's podcast Napcast, episode 75: Guided by Plants: Bay Leaf and the Things We Teach Without Saying a Word. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2pTEhPLlgggLliaoez1aZn 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness 

This week, we share an episode of Pre-Primary Sources where Lizz Nolasco talks to Kisa and Mike about racial identity development.  

Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias education are (should be) part of all educator training; but what do we know about how children develop positive racial identity? Kisa Marx and Mike Huber (Liberated Learning podcast) join Lizz Nolasco to talk about a small piece of racial identity development. Bonus XL episode because it turns out there's a lot to unpack! 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness 

When children and adults can show up as their authentic selves, it fundamentally changes the culture of the group, both when they are part ot the group and when they leave. Each cohort will develop its own culture whether that means the painters, the searchers for dinosaur bones, or the donkey-kickers. The way they get down—the ethos--stays the same. The way the rock out—the culture—changes as the members change. 

Things mike forgot: Fred Rogers mentor was Margaret MacFarland, a child psychologist who focused on the meaning of interactions between children and mothers. She co-founded the Arsenal Center with Benjamin Spock and Erik Erikson. 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness

Interdependence is a part of liberation. So is autonomy. Kisa and Mike return to an issue they first discussed in episode LL021. The balance of interdependence and autonomy requires ongoing discussion. We don't have to choose one over the other but rather power with a child whenever possible and power for a child when it is needed. By focusing on each child's agency, children become active in their interdependence. They learn to see the needs of others and learn to support each other. It's more than just sharing. Before a child can share, they have to feel that something belongs to them. Then they have a gift to give. 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness 

We are inundated with sensory input every moment. We learn to filter out information that seems insignificant while also making assumptions. We couldn't interact with others or move about in the world without these abilities. But if we're not careful, we can rely on our unconscious biases. We need to reflect on our actions and make changes when we notice these biases showing up. We must also remember that children change, and our interactions must change as well.  

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness 

Kisa and Mike talk about the idea of Joy as Resistance. We need to resist the idea that people of the global majority are trauma vessels. Nobody is. Everyone deserves joy and everyone can experience trauma. Acknowledging this does not mean we ignore how disparate people's experiences can be. In the musical Hadestown, Orpheus is introduced with the line, "He could make you see how the world could be in spite of the way that it is." The experience of joy is not in opposition to equity and justice; it is embodying the possibility of equity and justice. 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness 

Code switching is perspective shifting. It involves the cultural context of the speaker and the intended audience. Kisa and Mike discuss some of the gray areas of code switching. They then pivot to working with children and the importance of flexibility and taking each child's perspective. 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness 

When we talk to other educators, we want to be clear and intentional. But that does not mean each of us will use the same words. Kisa finds that Chat GPT will whitewash her words when she uses her Southside vernacular. Mike's white suburban upbringing more closely mirrors normative language. All communication has a cultural context. Kisa and Mike talk through ways they choose when to use academic jargon, conversational language, quotes from songs or vernacular. There is no singular "correct" language, but rather it is contextual. Too often, when the argot of educators is used, there is an assumption that people will look up unfamiliar terms. If a phrase is non-normative (i.e., not from white middle class culture), people expect it to be defined. Sometimes you just got to stumble through it. 

Kisa can be found at The Playlab Foundation and Mike at Inclusion Includes Us, on Instagram and Facebook. Their books are available at https://www.redleafpress.org/ 

Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd   

Theme music by John's Black Dirt https://johnsblackdirt.bandcamp.com/album/horrible-moments-of-upness