“Your job is to take care of us”: Teaching our way through the Boston Marathon bombings

Abstract

The concept of social justice and critical thinking are prevalent topics in conversations about early childhood education. Usually, critical conversations around these practices tend to involve academics in discussion rather than include practitioners. In today’s world, young children are frequently confronted with the realities of violence and tragedy. It is through critical pedagogy in critical-thinking classroom communities that children are able to develop empowered, thoughtful, agentive perspectives on these experiences that shape their lives. This article addresses an important intersection in social justice in early childhood: a critical perspective from the stance of a practitioner. As a preschool teacher, the author situates herself as a critical participant in the practice of social justice and critical awareness in her classroom as she and her students work to make sense of the Boston Marathon bombings. The author examines the dimensions of this practice, addressing not just what to teach, but how critical awareness might evolve in a classroom community. The interweaving of theory and practice, of research and daily reality, offers an essential perspective on the evolution of critical perspectives that support and empower the voices of young children.