Reflections of A Black Christian Woman

(Learning so much through these ones.)  Today the little one had an accident: peed and pooped on herself. When I arrived she was so quiet and had a worried look. I checked and realized she was wet and as I continued, I realized it's a mess. My former self would have gotten nauseous and called for my mom. But through God's grace I affirmed her and told her  that everything is okay (told her I loved her and kissed her). I bathed her, mom gave me clean clothes for her. I then washed the soiled clothes. Then put her on my back. In fact, after I cleaned her up: she was back to her cheerful self. And honestly, this is the grace I want to extend to every child.  My dad tried shouting her and I quickly shut him off. My dad has always responded in anger in moments that needed patience and unfortunately he continues to this day. My dad really has no sympathy for another person. But I don't want this post to be about him. I just want us to be conscious regarding how we res

I came across an interesting video on Instagram and it came exactly when my colleague and I were talking about a familiar topic. The lady mentioned how we'd punish a child if s/he breaks something yet be kind to a stranger who does the same in our home. She mentioned how if, someone was crying we'd comfort them yet with kids, we often want them to quickly stop crying. We even say to boys: a man doesn't cry which dehumanizes them and happens to be a false claim. And I've realized, we even raise our voices to them yet we would never shout adults if we have a misunderstanding. What an eye-opener. I personally took a decision when I started teaching that I'd not shout at kids for spilling water, paint or any mishap so they can learn from mistakes and know they are part of the learning journey. I don't like to shout. But I've had days where I'd find my voice at a higher pitch because I've been telling student X for five times to stop doing something bad o