Children spend time holding back who they are, and who they want to be. In the process of exploring the different facets of one’s identity, many of us learn the harsh lesson that this process can in dangerous and can open ourselves up to ridicule from our peers, and disapproval from adults in our lives.
Children think about all of kinds of things, and learn explicitly or through the transfer of social norms that certain things shouldn’t be said, or discussed. These things include topics around race, gender, feelings, and fears that are some of the most important topics to discuss. However, our students learn that like Voldemort, these thoughts are known and shared by all but not to be spoken out loud.
A classroom full of students who holds back, and don’t speak their mind in a way seems like the preferable situation. This would help with classroom management, and it would make it easier to give instruction. If teaching students to be compliment is the goal of education then let’s keep these children inside of themselves. However, if our goal in education is to help students be active and positive members of a democratic society that fights oppression and refuses to let any person like this current “president,” any power, then we need to give them permission.
We need to give students permission to work slowly when their brains need time to process, and when they are fascinated and want to dig deeper. They need permission to take a different route, to work hard and to get the wrong answer. Students cannot learn unless they are give the space to learn differently.
We need to give students permission to exercise their power. Young people deserve to have their power be acknowledged by adults, and they need our help to learn how to use their to make their own world more equitable, and just. Acknowledging children’s power does not lead to a powerless teacher, it leads to a true sense of responsibility and community.
We need to give students permission to talk about the issues of race and gender that they see in the world around them. Only by teaching children to talk about diversity, can they fully see and understand the oppression and injustice in the world. Too many students feel that the act of acknowledging race is racist, when in reality refusing to articulate race as an observation or an issue is what is truly racist.
We need to give students permission to feel and emote. They need space to reflect on their emotions, and process the powerful and complex feelings that make up the human experience. Only by giving students permission to feel deeply and express feelings in ways that they feel comfortable, can students grow academically, and more importantly, grow as human beings.
We need to give students permission to be fully human, to be weird, to be unique, to be kind, to be angry, to be confusing, to be loved, and to fully love. They need to know that it’s okay to be human and that they aren’t problems to be solved, or students to teach, they are first and foremost people. They deserve to be respected, and valued.
Our students can change the world. They just need permission.
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