Care, Compassion and Catharsis: Emotional and Social Literacies Considered in an Autobiography and Memoir-Engaging Imagination of a Lifelong Learner

Abstract

This is a story of a creative educator who contextualizes the social and emotional literacies of respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences through global competencies in two diverse learning environments. The author borrows from the Manitoba Global Competencies of ‘Connection to Self’ and periphery ‘Creativity’ and ‘Communication’. The author uses the theoretical lens of resilience and vulnerability, by drawing upon the work of Liz Hoult, and her understanding of open readings of literature, including the canon, and the resilient learner’s search for ‘alternative teachers’. The canonical story in which the author chose to step into was Hard Times by Charles Dickens, a Victorian story through which we may explore the banking system of education juxtaposed with the author’s creative and imaginative reading. The author responds autobiographically to Dickens’s story with her own story of schooling, writing from the memoir-engaging imagination of a lifelong learner. The author hopes to demonstrate to the reader how they can create and foster inclusive practices by stepping into the shoes of others, whether characters from a book, other students, local community members or people from the wider world. This inclusive perspective nurtures the voices of the marginalized and emphasizes respect, compassion and cultural differences in learning, writing and researching. In this chapter, the author applies this approach to two examples: the use of the assessment process for international students to explore and present their diverse cultural backgrounds and different educational experiences, and the other is in a 1:1 setting. The author then invites the reader to respond to this chapter through a questions and an activity.