Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/seeking-a-new-definition-of-spirituality/5026182/
I have always had an interest in the spirituality of children, and so when Exchange Every Day echoed this call from Amelia Richardson Dress—“We need a new definition of spirit and spirituality that is separate from religion and religious education”—I contacted a few of my colleagues and asked them to join me in this inquiry. How would you create a new definition of spirit and spirituality for early childhood education? Here is our conversation.
—Lois M Ingellis
Ingellis: My initial response to this idea of looking for a new definition of spirituality was to think of Magda Gerber’s term, educaring. Care includes really seeing children and listening to children in a way that enhances their connection to their own inner life. We have not named spirituality as a domain. We talk about physical, intellectual, emotional, and social, or PIES, but it could be PIESS, adding an S for the spiritual connection we experience daily in our work with young children. I believe this deeper insight of young children pops up in the bright shiny eyes when they delight us with profound questions or comments.
Garboden Murray: Magda taught ...