As an Early Childhood Educator I was trained to program plan around the developmental areas of: Physical, Intellectual, Language, Emotional, and Social. (PILES for short.)
I hated PILES. I hated thinking about PILES every time I sat down to plan upcoming activities. I just kept seeing a physical dysfunction and pain from sitting. (In case you didn’t know, “piles” is a word used for haemorrhoids.)
Anyway, I decided that I wanted to make my own acronym, something much more inspiring. I decided on SPICE, you know, as in the “SPICE of Life”?? Cool, huh? In my SPICE I included the area of Creativity. I wanted this to be an important part of the skill development. I wanted children to be good at creative thinking as well as creative expression.
In recent years my personal journey has headed me down a spiritual path and into the world of the Native beliefs. The honouring of all things as Sacred, the respect for nature and the being in awe of all there is in our environment really felt right. I believe that it is these beliefs that are at the core of all religions and of everyone who is walking a good path. And I believe these core values should be nurtured in every child. Imagine a child being in awe of a cloud formation and getting that “high” from watching a ladybug unfold its wings. Imagine not needing to turn to drugs and alcohol to get a similar feeling.That’s what I want for our children.
And so my SPICE of life turned into SPICES of life.
S: social. I want children to have good social skills, to be able to resolve conflicts, to be empathetic and respectful. I want them to be able to function in our society in a healthy, happy, and productive manner. I want them to be able to challenge the social norms in a respectful manner. (etc)
P: physical. I want children to know how their muscles work, to know their limitations, and to use their muscles to their fullest. I want them to be able to be as mobile as possible, to be able to sit still, and to write with a pencil.
I: intellectual. I want children to be able to think. I want them to question, to be curious, and to analyze and compare. I want children to develop a complex vocabulary that they can use to express themselves, to tell stories, and to learn from others. I want them able to calculate math, to record and read the written language; I want them to understand nature and all its intricacies.
C: creativity. I want children to be “outside the box thinkers”. I want them to be able to brainstorm new ideas and solutions to problems. I want them to be creative in their creations, whether that is with painting a picture or building a fort.
E: emotional. I want them to be emotionally healthy and emotionally aware. I want them to be empathetic, self-aware, self-confident, assertive, and resilient. I want them to be able to cope with challenges, to be determined in achieving goals and overcoming barriers; I want them to be self-disciplined and motivated. I want them to feel “whole”, to have a balanced and fulfilling life.
S: spiritual. I want children to know right from wrong, to choose right over wrong even if they “want” to do the wrong. I want them to be aware of their place in the bigger picture. I want them to respect and treat all things as Sacred. I want them to be in awe of all things, inspired by all things, and open to learning from all things. I want them to know that they have a personal gift/talent and perspective of the world and that this contributes to the greater good and shouldn’t be hidden. I want them to know that all that they do should add to the greater good, that they should contribute rather than take. I want them to discover who they are and what their purpose is.
Today, after this week’s blogs, I see that this last component, spirituality, is at the hub rather than one of the spokes. I see that my original SPICE was right — the SPICE of LIFE — but at the centre of this, at the centre of all of the development is that last “s”, the spirituality, the core beliefs and truths.
As parents/educators/mentors in children’s lives, everything that we do “should” be aimed at achieving these goals in one way or another. It is important not to forget this, to not get caught up in the surface level of the goals and lose site of the core intentions.
The multiplication table is not about getting it right and getting an A+ for the achievement. It is about providing them with a tool to help them calculate in a quick and efficient manner so that they can create and communicate.
Writing a book report on “Alice in Wonderland” isn’t about the book report. It is about being able to look beyond the written word, to try and understand the messages of another person, to be able to put those messages into one’s own words and to mesh the story with one’s own story, one’s own perspective. It is about being a creative thinker and a good communicator and it is about taking one’s wisdom to another level.
Conflict resolution isn’t about ending a dispute so that you can carry on with your day. It is about listening to another person, truly listening, and respecting their perspectives and intentions. It is about bringing the perspectives together to get a fuller picture of the situation and to find solutions that would create a win/win situation in some way or perhaps develop the coping skills to deal with disappointment and the integrity to put someone else’s needs first.
When we can think from these core values, when we remember what our true intentions are, then we can use these beliefs and values to take education to a whole new level.
Working with clients I like to say that there are two components to a problem: the surface and what lies underneath. Talking about education in general, you have the surface level of math and literacy for example. But underneath the math lessons lies something even greater, something more powerful and more empowering: the core beliefs.
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