An Observation of the LAB
(orignally posted on medium)
39.32677301690812, -76.67777686646751
Produced by Alfie Chambers & Terris King II
Temple X Overview:
“Temple X Schools is an early childhood educational model aiming to change the world through thoughtful engagements with young children. We have a culturally responsive pedagogy that focuses on accessible high quality education with our expert-led instruction, outdoor education, and emphasis on using tools.”
Science of Hindsight is a methodical retrospect into the innovation that creates our features and practices.
Project Overview
What we did this summer at The Sacred Space Pilot Project was create a safe environment with 6–14 kids, ages 4–14, with a focus to recoup the loss of play. Around this time, Covid restrictions and fears began to lift, so many of the children we’re just venturing outside, sociably, for the first time in months. Some of the children were family, but most were unknown to each other. We were able to cultivate full day engagements around the ideas of play, leisure and rest. The children took daily neighborhood walks, observing and engaging with each other and the world immediately around them. We kept a 1:4 ratio of adults to children in order to provide one on one literacy support, social-emotional support, and a very hands-on learning experience.
Logistics:
Sacred Space Summer Pilot (LGCOG)
July 19- Aug 13, 2021 (4 weeks)
14 children, Monday-Thursday, 8am -3pm
Budget: 2.5k for Feature
Context:
What is Sacred Space?
Covid Learning Loss: an measure of time in which public education and its teachers were unable to reach the children due to an aggressive change-over to virtual learning because of the pandemic and pre-pandemic negligence.
Continental Snack Buffet: a selection of curated foods to sustain the appetites of young children throughout play dates.
Community Liaison: a trusted steward of the program and the sacred space who acts on behalf of the children.
Expert: a passion first master of a craft, facilitating the development of a group project in their field.
Review:
The human relationship with food continues to be the root of disparities in communities of oppressed people. Food desserts and an overall lack of understanding around how, where, and what we should eat plagues communities. The Annie Casey Foundation’s 2021 Kids Count data shows that 34% of the children in Maryland are obese. School’s approach to food has always been limited in time and space. Children are given 15–30 minutes to eat unhealthy lunches which forces children to eat fast. This creates a habitual rushed engagement with food that lasts until adulthood. Eating faster does not provide the body with time to realize it is full. The rush also limits what should be a pleasurable experience into a chore for a child. The lack of healthy food options serves as a compounding issue. How do we change children’s relationship with food? How do we introduce healthy options in a way to not only shock the body but shift the mindset?
Feature:
Our most stand out feature was The Continental Snack Buffet.
We took careful attention to provide an all-day variety of breakfast/ snack options that the children could prepare by themselves or with assistance. The display was as important as the food items available. We presented fruit on a 3 tiered platter, with bananas at the top, being the most commonly recognized, to apples, mandarins, pears, to more exotic fruits like mango, kiwi, and again, more familiar fruits like grapes at the wider bottom. As the day moved on, so did the fruit options, and the platter was always full. Alongside fruit, we provided a cereal station with one type of cereal (honey nut cheerios), and two types of milk (oat and 2%). Filtered and bottled water were the only liquids that were available, with the option of sparkling or still. Before the morning meeting, children were encouraged to eat what was available and to make requests based on the rotating breakfast menu. They also were encouraged to be a part of the cooking process with simple recipes such as making the liquid batter for the waffles. The Community Liaison and Expert rotated as short order cooks in the morning, preparing waffles, chicken sausage, and or bacon. Throughout the day, staple snacks such as organic granola bars, nutella, cheese, whole grain bread, pretzels, hummus, yogurt, and applesauce, were also always available.
Observation:
The environment provided opportunities for comparison and critique of food. The snack buffet allowed lanes of learning to build around taste, moderation, excess, process, and consumption.
Profound Takeaway:
The building up of gestational confidence was my (Chambers) personal favorite to witness. There is a special moment where the bellies that are usually regulated by some arbitrary, or economic factor are then disrupted and given a chance to create a conversation with the body. The stomach has been reattached to its sovereign state. Children went from ravenous snackers to thoughtfully approaching food offered. We witnessed palates and consciousness expand as children ate different fruits and had the chance to wait in curiosity over the day’s lunch.
The abundant availability of food, the slow consumption of it, coupled with the quality of ingredients, thoughtful display, and the open critique and praise of it, was an experience that we will implement as a core in the X Lab.
