How to ensure every child in our care experiences feeling seen – no matter their personality, abilities or place in the classroom dynamic...
If you cast your mind back to your early educational experiences, what sort of kid were you? Were you a smart-kid-teacher’s-pet-nerdy-type (less adept with practical applications like tying shoelaces)?
Or were you a physical-playground-dominant-type who struggled more with the academic intricacies of reading and writing?
Or perhaps you were a shy-wallflower-child who didn’t want to put themselves forward in any situation, within the classroom or without? Maybe school made no sense to you any which way.
The truth is, of course, that you were a specific individual, unlike any other, with your own preferences, prejudices and proclivities, as is every human being.
I know how challenging and hectic an EYFS classroom can be. However, isn’t it true that as teachers we tend to apply “types” to our children? You know what I’m talking about; I’m sure I don’t have to supply a list!
I don’t know if you relate to this, but on occasion I would find myself in charge of a child that I really struggled with.
They may or may not have been difficult or disruptive. That wasn’t really the issue. More often than not, it was just that I couldn’t find a connection – I found it hard to warm to their personality. In short, if they had been an adult human, we would not have been friends.
Naturally, this is a horrifying realisation and one that my professionalism railed against in the strongest terms. In order to compensate for what I saw as a personal failing, I would endeavour to make an extra effort to interact with any individual I felt this way about.
This was in order not to allow my feelings to get in the way of my teaching.
I’ve picked an extreme example to illustrate the fact that we are not machines in the classroom. We are humans, and quite often, humans under pressure.
It’s easy and understandable to be drawn to the more capable and confident children, or to go the other way and wish to support the underdogs. Or, like myself, you may try and overcome personal preference and then end up overcompensating.
However, there are always children who sit in the middle, who can fall through the cracks. Perhaps that’s how you identified yourself in the memory of your own childhood?
In the turbulence of any given day at school, how do we ensure that every child in our care feels seen? In some ways, I think this is our most important job.
Every child deserves – and needs – to feel seen. The fact that you can really see them should be communicated physically, socially and emotionally.
That’s a big job, but it needs to be done. If you fully communicate with a child through all these channels, if you take care to truly see each child and to make sure they understand that you do, then dangerous self-labelling, such as “I don’t get chosen to do stuff”, is less likely to occur.
Being sensitive to different areas where different children can shine, or at least feel comfortable, brings a variety and diversity to your teaching that can only benefit everyone. That includes you.
Nikky Smedley is a writer, educator and passionate advocate for the child. Her book, Create, Perform, Teach! (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) is available now.
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