Week 9

What are some empowerment strategies I can do to help children?

The third week of placement had a much better vibe and organisation as more children came to the engaging with place program. Compared to the weeks before I notice the children are more confident to play with the toys and activities. They began to interact more with other children from different diversities. However, there was a little collision with two toddlers who didn't want to share their toys. One girl was playing with two toy cars and the other little girl took one off her. In this case the girl who originally had the toys threw a big tantrum because she didn't like sharing even if her mum tried to comfort her. I wondered to myself, if her mother cannot calm her down what can i do as a pre-service teacher to help her stop crying without making the other child upset?

'The aim when transferring power to children within a critical approach to education is to enable them to learn how to challenge and speak out against injustices in their own lives and the lives of others' (MacNaughton & Williams 2009, p.315).  I believe empowerment should be equal to every single child. I need to be able to help each child build the ability to have positive relationships with others as well as teaching them to problem-solve what is fair or not fair in their relationships with each other. In the event, I was able to think rapidly and gave the child that was crying another car toy. This helped her calm her down and I realised the solution to her tantrum was to give her another toy rather than just comforting her. I suppose that as a pre-service teacher I should encourage children to value eachother equally and give each child freedom and equality rather than enacting the empowerment on just one individual.