The Intentional ECE

What looks like defiance is often a nervous system trying to stay safe. Adam McCormick, Professor of Social Work at St. Edward's University, explores trauma as an internal wound, the nervous system's constant search for safety, and why children can act out in the very relationships where they feel safest. We talk about what boys are taught to disconnect from, the practice of going shoulder to shoulder instead of face to face, and why connection - not correction - is what helps a child regulate. A grounded and honest conversation about co-regulation, repair, and the conditions that help both children and educators thrive.

To learn more about or connect with Adam:

LinkedIn

St. Edwards University

What does meaningful learning actually look like - and why doesn't it move in a straight line? In this episode, I trace a week of colour exploration in Art Lab through Guy Claxton & Emily Poel's Bodies of Learning and Suzanne Axelsson's Original Learning Approach - and consider what it asks of myself and of educators, to stay present and trust the process.

Resources:The Original Learning Approach ~ Suzanne Axelsson

Bodies of Learning ~ Guy Claxton & Emily Poel

When children's developmental needs go unmet, the effects ripple far beyond the learning environment. Megan Graham - play advocate and Child and Youth Care student - explores the brain science behind trauma-informed practice, the role of play in building a sense of self, and why educators' observational skills may be their greatest tool. A rich and honest conversation about reimagining systems, reducing burnout, and advocating for the conditions that allow every child - and every educator - to truly thrive.

To learn more about Megan’s work:

Website:  Around the Birch Tree

IG:  @aroundthebirchtree

Children have a right to autonomy - and so do educators. And like children, we don't practice that autonomy in isolation; we work in teams, organizations, inside larger systems. In this episode, Collective Autonomy: What It Looks Like When We Work Together, drawing on Suzanne Axelsson's concept of collective autonomy, Brené Brown's BRAVING framework, and insights from Margaret Wheatley and Ross Gay, we explore what it takes for educators to build trust, generosity, and true belonging with one another - even through disagreement.

References

The Original Learning Approach ~ Suzanne Axelsson

BRAVING ~ Brené Brown

Kerry Drake

Inciting Joy ~ Ross Gay

A quiet, small moment at snack time - a child looking sideways instead of inward to answer a simple question - became the doorway into something much larger: what happens when children learn to scan for permission and approval instead of trusting their own noticing. This episode explores autonomy, agency, and the difference between compliance and true self-regulation, and asks what it might take to help children's own compass feel safe to trust again.

References:

The Original Learning Approach by Suzanne Axelsson

Revisiting Journeys by Miriam Beloglovsky & Jessica Frazier

From Teaching to Thinking by Ann Pelo & Margie Carter

The Intentional Educator

What if the educator's most important role is not to direct learning, but to wonder alongside children? Miriam Beloglovsky explores the power of revisiting journeys - how children enter inquiry, what sustains their thinking, and what happens when educators trust children's capacity to learn and let go of the need to control. A conversation about vulnerability, responsiveness, and what it truly means to share the story of learning with children.

To connect or learn more about Miriam:

https://miriambeloglovsky.com/

Instagram

The Chronicles of Children’s Thinking

When we approach our practice with curiosity and inquiry, children have a way of taking us somewhere we didn't expect to go. Jessica Boritz, artist, educator, and researcher, shares how her teacher-researcher lens has shaped her thinking about beauty, imagination, and community -  and what a student-led art project called Creativity City revealed about what children are truly capable of when we create the conditions to let them lead.

Learn more about/connect with Jessica:

IG:  https://www.instagram.com/jessicaboritz/

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-boritz-atelierista

IG:  https://www.instagram.com/gracegryphon_atelier/

Resources:

Democracy and Beauty by Robert Gooding-Williams

It’s Not a Bird Yet by Ursula Kolbe

Roberta Pucci Lab

A childhood streetcar ride, decades later, brings back more than a sound - it brings back a feeling. This episode explores how memory lives in the body, how that shapes the children in our care long before they have words for what they're carrying, and how our own perception, as educators, is just as shaped by our own histories. Drawing on Immordino-Yang's Emotions, Learning, and the Brain and Beau Lotto's Deviate, it's an invitation to notice two histories meeting in every interaction - theirs, and ours.

Emotions, Learning, and the Brain by Mary Helen Immordio-Yang

Deviate by Beau Lotto

Even when we know where we're heading, the systems we work within, and our own history, have a way of calling us back. In this episode, I share a moment from my own practice where I caught myself mid-pull, and what it taught me about noticing, place, and the colleagues who help us see what we can't see alone.

When we see children as capable, rights-bearing individuals, everything changes - how we design our spaces, how we tend to relationships, and how we understand our own role. Rosalba Bortolotti returns to the podcast to explore children's rights as something living and actionable, and to remind us that relationships are the foundation of it all - including the rights of the educators who hold those relationships every day.

Learn more about Rosalba and her work:

www.acorncollaborative.com 

IG:  @acorncollaborative