Treasures in the Thicket

Bethica Quinn and Rosalina Rodriguez, in their new book, Treasures in the Thicket (part of the Reimagining Our Work collection), tell the story of how the children in their Spanish immersion preschool class chose to make a book about the animals of San Francisco. The book was to be given as a gift to children in New Zealand during a study tour Bethica and Rosalina were planning. During the process of creating the book, the thoughtful and engaged teachers discovered valuable insights about the children’s thinking in deep and meaningful ways. Here is one example:

“When we looked at our notes from the conversations about the paintings of ‘buhos’ (owls),” writes Bethica, “Rosalina and I noticed something that caught our attention. As the children talked about Leila and Lucia’s paintings of owls, Lucia shared her knowledge about the owls’ nocturnal schedule. ‘En la noche se quedan despiertos y en el dia se quedan dormidos,’ she said. (‘At night they stay awake and in the day they stay asleep.’) Xavier listened to her and appeared to ponder for a moment. He then commented, ‘No es lo mismo como los humanos, pero esta bien conmigo,’ (It’s not the same as people, but it’s OK with me.) In just a few words, Xavier summed up a perspective that recognizes and honors difference.”

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