The articles in this issue of Every Child’s magazine provide ideas to challenge your thinking as they delve into the ever-relevant themes of ethics, leadership and critical reflection. These articles are guaranteed to challenge your thinking and understanding.
In ‘A better life for Betta fish’, Dr Tracy Young and Dr Jane Bone explore ethical relationships between children and non-human animals. This can also be seen in Heatherdale Preschool’s outdoor learning environment, where children take care of earthworms. Caring for the worms is linked to the contribution they make to the garden, demonstrating the interconnectedness between them and the children. The Early Years Learning Framework refers to children exploring these kinds of relationships.
As early childhood leader, champion and advocate Ros Cornish moves into retirement, she provides us with some guidance on advocacy in a farewell interview: ‘The sector needs to collaborate and harness its collective strength and energy’. This is timely advice for a sector often divided by service type or between for-profit and not-for-profit. Such arbitrary but often-ingrained divisions can hinder collaboration and our ability to lobby with consistent voices to achieve positive outcomes for all young children.
Dr Ryan Al-Natour argues for antiracist education in ‘“Colour-blindness” vs the Antiracist Baby’. Challenging the image of the child as innocent and unaware of race, Ryan reminds us that children are not ‘colour-blind’ and that Australia’s Indigenous experiences do include racism.
These articles in this edition of Early Childhood Australia’s Every Child Magazine are sure to spark important conversations.