Hello and welcome.
This meditation is intended for early childhood educators and is a reflection on how power manifests in the classroom.
Let's start by taking a comfortable seat.
Feel your feet resting on the floor beneath you.
Notice the chair holding your body without demanding anything in return.
Take a deep breath in and slowly breathe out.
Let's picture your preschool classroom.
Imagine busy hands,
Big feelings,
The tiny voices learning how to exist in the world.
Now gently ask yourself,
How does power show up here?
In my tone?
In my rules?
In who gets redirected,
Helped,
Or listened to first?
Notice where it appears in your voice,
Your expectations.
Notice the moments when you decide who speaks and who waits.
What expectations from others shape this?
Notice the pressure to control,
To keep children quiet,
Compliant,
Good.
Take another deep breath.
What would it look like to share power instead?
To coach instead of command?
To scaffold instead of punish?
Maybe it looks like offering choices,
Getting down at eye level,
Listening before correcting,
And seeing behavior as communication.
Children build their sense of self through small moments.
A hurried response can shrink them.
A respectful one can help them grow.
Today,
May I use my role not to overpower children,
But to guide them with dignity,
Connection,
And care.
May my classroom feel less like control and more like belonging.
Take one more deep breath in and slowly let it out.
You have the ability to be a great teacher.
Go out there and change the world.
