Updated Jan 2022 (webpage updated 3/2023)
Collaboration
WoW is a co-created learning community. We each share a commitment to engaging with one another, our learning, bringing our ideas to life, as well as providing and receiving support. Our collaboration requires us all to remain responsive and flexible as we move between our ever-changing roles as learners, mentors, and community members. Our active and engaged community participation is a vital component in the functioning of our cooperative.
Community
We believe community building requires continued attention and intention as we learn and grow in relationship with each other and with the larger communities in which we play and live. We practice open, honest, and loving communication while trusting each of us is doing the best that we can with the knowledge we have at the moment. In order to be better allies with our children and to de-center our power as adults, we support each other in our own learning and un-learning. Our notion of community also extends to our neighborhoods, country, and the world. We strive to engage in our broader communities in positive ways.
Child-Centered
We value the agency of children, and their ability to make informed and self-directed choices and decisions about their learning. We follow children’s innate curiosity and listen deeply to their evolving interests and needs. Play and exploration are central elements of our shared experience.
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
We endeavor to create a vibrant sense of belonging, where all members of our community feel seen and valued in the multiplicity of their identities and life experiences. We engage in ongoing self-reflective conversations to advance our understanding of how our beliefs and actions are shaped by the systems of oppression in which we live. We work to proactively and intentionally address systemic inequity through anti-oppressive practices.
Check out our JEDI Resources page here.
Freedom & Liberation
We joyfully make space for members of our community to BE themselves, to explore, play, pursue their interests, and engage with the world around them. We balance freedom with supportive boundaries and flexible structures. We believe self-directed learning in community is a form of collective liberation and decolonization.
Voice & Respect
We believe that all of our voices, opinions, and needs matter. We believe both young people and adults inherently deserve respect. Respect is an active practice that requires all community members to intentionally engage with each other and attempt to see the whole person. Our definition of respect also extends to the planet and our environment.