Winter Break: Hot-Button Words
There are some controversial words to Clara and Calliope. Here they are:
-die: It's not that I want to censor them but we try and teach them that words matter. And in this case, I say, dying is not a joke. As in, if you squish that bug, that's it. Its life is done. Clara is fond of listing people who have died including saints and presidents. Calliope is testing the word out like, "Manny, you don't want this marker-- it's DEAD!"
-shut: The major controversy is that Clara shrieks if Calliope says it but Calliope swears that it's what her play-group sings (Wheels on the Bus) so it's okay.
-fat:This one is new. My own post-partum-figure struggles aside, I had a good friend in high school who was hospitalized for tearing her esophagus from bulimic purges. So if you ask me, I encourage them to draw zaftig princesses and angels who my dear friend Mercedes would describe as "thickems." But alas, they are aware of depictions and images of figures and have begun to describe things this way. Mostly, they use it between themselves while drawing and really I haven't addressed it yet.
-Who cares? I don't care. We don't care. This one is big. This is Clara's favorite. I know that she is "coming into her own power", as my director at Hollow Reed School would say. So this phrase allows her autonomy and sometimes self-defense. Sometimes it is a statement of advocacy as in, "Calliope knows you're excluding her but she doesn't care." This one has gotten dicey: "Benicio took my seat when I didn't care but now I REALLY DO care!"
-die: It's not that I want to censor them but we try and teach them that words matter. And in this case, I say, dying is not a joke. As in, if you squish that bug, that's it. Its life is done. Clara is fond of listing people who have died including saints and presidents. Calliope is testing the word out like, "Manny, you don't want this marker-- it's DEAD!"
-shut: The major controversy is that Clara shrieks if Calliope says it but Calliope swears that it's what her play-group sings (Wheels on the Bus) so it's okay.
-fat:This one is new. My own post-partum-figure struggles aside, I had a good friend in high school who was hospitalized for tearing her esophagus from bulimic purges. So if you ask me, I encourage them to draw zaftig princesses and angels who my dear friend Mercedes would describe as "thickems." But alas, they are aware of depictions and images of figures and have begun to describe things this way. Mostly, they use it between themselves while drawing and really I haven't addressed it yet.
-Who cares? I don't care. We don't care. This one is big. This is Clara's favorite. I know that she is "coming into her own power", as my director at Hollow Reed School would say. So this phrase allows her autonomy and sometimes self-defense. Sometimes it is a statement of advocacy as in, "Calliope knows you're excluding her but she doesn't care." This one has gotten dicey: "Benicio took my seat when I didn't care but now I REALLY DO care!"
posted by Maria at
9:35 PM
2 Comments:
Just wanted to let you know that those are still our hot button words with our children! Something about those words and that phrase that need constant attention. They are like a kind of slang that is easy for children to fall back into. But we found, as you did too, that explaining the weight of the word helps them to understand better vocabulary to use to express themselves.
Have a great New Year, we loved the video! Such a wonderful family you have made!
Hi, Lesley!!
Keep me posted on the move. Are you guys packing??
It would be great to see you over Spring Break.
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