Abstract
This past Winter, my seven-year old son lived through a traumatic experience, resulting in the amputation of a significant portion of his middle finger. While reflecting on the concept of being a “Whole Child,” I was engaging in conversations with my son, exploring questions on wholeness, such as, “What is the purpose of our bodies? How will my hand work now with the loss of this finger? How will my classmates see me, and view my finger? When will my nerves re-align as I place my stubbed finger on different textures of fabric, petting our dog, holding my bike handle-bars, skimming rocks, dribbling a basketball, or holding a pencil?” “How will I create in the world?” “How will I play piano?” My young child is wise enough to know who he is, is more than the body he moves through on this planet. Yet, he is also astute to recognize our world can be harsh, and understanding his identity in this new body, and how the external world may perceive him was significant. His internal conflicts of identity, who he is now in this different body, and how he will use this body to serve in the world were questions consuming his mind. As I facilitated dialogues with him, his brother who witnessed the trauma, his teachers, and classmates on understanding this new chapter to his story, I knew that the power of being seen and feeling whole in our world is critical to all of us, especially our youngest earthlings.
Author Biography
Virginia Dearani
Virginia Dearani will be joining Thomas College as an assistant professor of early childhood education in Fall 2024 and is currently an education consultant in the State of Maine. She is a doctoral candidate in Literacy Education from University of Maine, Orono. Throughout the past 25+ years, Virginia has centered her life’s work in the areas of wholeness and healing in education for children 3 years old through adulthood. She emphasizes the joy of partnering with children and youth to create communities of belonging needed in our world today.
Recommended Citation
Dearani, V.
(2024).
Be a tree: reconceptualizing early education through the Roots & Fruits methodology of teaching and learning.
Occasional Paper Series,
(51).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1507
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