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Esperanza philosophies: A sense of fairness
Another facet of our school is assurance of fairness. It takes modeling,
an understanding of conflict, courage to make unpopular decisions and an
action plan.
We are trained to recognize a struggle for a
tricycle is never about the toy, it is about power and a child’s struggle
to determine what is fair or not fair in life. We understand it is our
responsibility to grasp the teachable moment pointing out “we have 2
children and 1 tricycle”. We allow the children the opportunity to see the
thought process of thinking, having an idea and presenting the solution
(“Hmmm? I know!) And then we choose a child being careful not to
label one as “first” and the other as “second” (or worse, “last”!) but
only as the one to ride “now” and the one to ride “next”. We acknowledge
the disappointment of the non-riding child and let them know that when
they are ready, and only when THEY are ready, we can do something
wonderful until it is their turn. Finally, we are able to teach
trust and fairness by ensuring that they are in fact “next” giving the
child a deep impression that an adult really does care about them.
We invite you to read about other
Esperanza philosophies that are also essential elements in education.
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