It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start – But Where You Start Matters…

Abstract

Complicity readers are invited to “pick up” this special issue dedicated to early childhood education where they feel most drawn, circling back and forth, and/or iteratively making connections. But we hope you start here. Not because this is somehow a beginning, but because it might act as a middle that teases out emerging themes, while it resists resting at final meanings. Sellers ' work with rhizomatic analysis speaks to the importance of defying beginnings and instead of working generatively with middles which might open up vocalities for seeing the complex work of children’s learning. We view children as competent, capable of complex thinking, curious, and rich in potential. They grow up in families with diverse social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. Every child should feel that he or she belongs, is a valuable contributor to his or her surroundings, and deserves the opportunity to succeed. When we recognize children as capable and curious, we are more likely to deliver programs and services that value and build on their strengths and abilities. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014, p. 6)