Delicate Moments: Kids Talk About Socially Complicated Issues

Authors

Amy BaumanFollow

Abstract

Early adolescents showed the author that developing a complex understanding of oneself in the world requires ample opportunities to publicly speak one's own story in the presence of a mindful listener. The story that follows is as much about creating spaces for students to craft social understandings as it is about political conclusions. It is about the ways in which adults ask children questions, and the ways children answer. Finally, it is about the nature of silence and the ambivalence of speaking.

Author Biography

Amy Bauman has been a progressive educator for 18 years. After receiving her Masters from Bank Street College, she taught middle school for eight years. Admist the birth of her two children, Amy received her PhD in Social Foundations of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently an adjunct instructor at Bank Street College and raising her two school-ages children. The stories presented in this essay reflect Amy's commitment to exploring and representing how students' social identities inform their experiences in school.

Recommended Citation

Bauman, A. (2007). Delicate Moments: Kids Talk About Socially Complicated Issues. Occasional Paper Series, (19). DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1168