I was no longer content to save one child, make a difference in the life of one child…
I want to effect change for them all, for us all, for all the animate and inanimate beings.
Without realizing it then, I wanted to change the systems and structures deeply embedded in early years practices in my community. The words I used; To raise the bar for children and families in my community.
Working alone, working for myself was not something I enjoyed, or wanted, and I was/ am keenly aware of the negative stereotype of for profit or private childcare centres, and it was not my intention to create this, especially in a small town where everybody knows everybody’s business.
However, I had signed a lease with School District #8 and Weiland Construction had begun renovations.
So I had to dig deep, put aside my ego, and stand tall. And yes, to get funding I had to secure a loan from Community Futures, and take out a personal line of credit to see this project through — I was into it, I must keep going. Walking away was not an option in my world.
The School House ECLC –a private endeavour would operate as a social enterprise. I would commit to a starting point of ‘we’, and I would gather around me a leadership team; and together we would create the vision, philosophies and space, that is the School House.
One day, I will write more about the last 10 years, the years in between when the school house began and now. One day, I will share the trials, hardship, life changes and moments of hope that transpired during this time.
One day I will share the quirky happenings, strange encounters and hilarious moments.
One day I’ll share the names, the relationships, of all those who have walked with me, made the difference –were the difference.
For now, they know who they are, and to each of you, I offer my love, my gratitude, my friendship and all that I am.
The School House would not be, if it were not for each of you xo
And we are changing moments, everyday encounters and multiple lives –this is heart work, hand work, head work. “For early childhood educators “to read hard, write hard, think hard, and invent new forms of inquiry that might create a new world and a people yet to come (St. Pierre, 2021, p. 7)”.
St. Pierre, E. (2021). Post qualitative inquiry, the refusal of method, and the risk of the new. Qualitative Inquiry (27)1, 1-9. doi.org/10.1177/10778004198630.