CYNTHIA A DAWES, SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON, UK
When my daughter began nursery in the UK at age three, I encountered a profound moment that would reshape my understanding of my role as an educator. While I expected questions about race and identity to come up eventually, I did not expect her very first day at nursery in the UK to evoke such strong emotions. That evening, she cried in a way that I had never seen before. When I asked what was wrong, she clearly explained: ‘I look very different from everyone in my class’, ‘Why am I different?’ (the only Black child) and ‘Why are you different, Mum?’ (the only Black mum). These words were not meant as a rejection but as a child’s effort to understand a social world in which she suddenly became aware of her visible differences. At that moment, my daughter’s pain sparked a deeper professional reflection. As an educator, I wondered: what elements were lacking in her nursery
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