Tag: Becoming a Pedagogist

Becoming a Pedagogist and Co-creating Pedagogical Processes

This online conversation was an introduction to what a pedagogist does, and invited pedagogists and educators from British Columbia who engage in this pedagogical practice to speak on their experiences. Over two hours they engaged with many questions and ideas, including:

  • The process of becoming a pedagogist, and its tensions, difficulties, beauty;
  • How the process of becoming a pedagogist is an act of co-creating a pedagogical experience (with the situated place you work within – relating to educators, more-than-human others, politics, place, ethics, children, families, precarities);
  • The need to reconfigure and co-invent pedagogical processes so vibrant curriculum making becomes possible;
  • The need to subtract taken-for-granted practices, ideas, and habits from thinking to open up toward re-invigorated practices;
  • Pedagogical commitments and what they do, and the hard work of activating these commitments and standing for something

This panel conversation, moderated by Dr. Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw (Faculty of University of Western Ontario), featured:

  • Dr. Bo Sun Kim (Faculty at Capilano University and Pedagogist with Simon Fraser University Childcare Society)
  • Narda Nelson (Pedagogist with University of Victoria Childcare Services)
  • Dongryun Kim (Educator with Simon Fraser University Childcare Society)
  • Sherri-Lynn Yazbeck (Educator with University of Victoria Childcare Services).

In this following clip, Dr. Bo Sun Kim and Narda Nelson speak about the radical dialogue needed to live in question and enact collective pedagogical commitments to keep possibilities open.

A Dialogue with a Pedagogista

In this exposure Dr. Cristina Delgado-Vintimilla and Dr. Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw enaged in Thinking (and Rethinking) Pedagogy through dialogues with a Pedagogista on October 28, 2017 at the Ontario Reggio Association.

They discussed the history and personal story behind becoming a pedagogista. Followed by a discussion of the ethics, histories, and legacies of early childhood education and the possibilities for co-creating ethically responsive pedagogies. They highlighted the significance of collaboratively engaging with ethically responsive pedagogy in early childhood education.

They deliberated on pedagogical disruptions that foster collaboration between educators, children, and families. Furthermore, they considered inviting vulnerabilities as a possible starting point for sharing stories of legacies with children and others.

Cristina and Veronica then called attention to remaining mindful and conscious that pedagogy is non-innocent. In other words, pedagogy embodies a specific kind of intention that is both personal and political in early childhood education.

They closed with a discussion on expanding horizons of possibility in early childhood education, and offering the metaphor of bundling in the work of a pedagogista.

“I wonder if you can start by walking us through how you became a pedagogista…”

“I constantly ask myself: What kind of experiences are we generating?”

“What does collaboration look like?” 

“Where do we start our stories of legacies with children? With others?” 

“If this is a space that is not innocent, and if this is a pedagogical gathering, then it’s a space for something more than me or the child.”

“We are creating a life together.”

“We can enter a space of debate when we understand that it is not about me or you but it is about this thing that we are trying to create.”

“If that is what is going to frame our horizon, it’s a very, very narrow horizon.”

“I am bundled with all of these stories and history that I carry with me – beyond the pedagogista – that just walks with me.”