Our society today is very different from the one in which we grew up. Most of us had the freedom to roam the neighborhood or local park, we walked daily to school in all kinds of weather, we made trips to the store to spend our allowance on Saturdays; we played in community wading pools, climbed trees, explored creeks and built forts in "the bush". All of these activities contributed to our growth in independence and self-esteem, our communion with nature, our physical health, our confidence and trust in ourselves and others, and our social growth. Today’s children are, in a very real sense, deprived of these opportunities for growth. In fact, if we think of our concept of children in third world countries as being deprived of food or shelter, i.e. of physical deprivation, they could, with equal validity, see our children as emotionally and socially deprived.  This "nature deficit disorder" is discussed wonderfully in Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods.

Many of us agree that the fear in society has grown much faster than the danger; the resulting paranoia has us looking for a kidnapper behind every tree and a lethal microbe in every chemical. We hold onto our children so tightly that they share our fears and become afraid to do what would otherwise be the most normal activity, such as walking down the street to a friend’s house or playing with a neighbor’s dog. Today’s parents generally have a much harder time than ours did letting go of their youngsters.  Free Range Kids, by Lenore Skenazy gives healthy and encouraging advice to parents grappling with safety for their children.

It is clear to those who work in their best interests, especially those who study Montessori’s philosophy, that these limits work against the needs of our children. We try to take strong steps to remediate the situation at our school. We watch for every opportunity to enable the children to become independent, not only in the classroom but in their community, and as they mature, outside their community. We provide as much interaction with nature as we can - interaction that is relaxed and free from adult interference. We encourage the children to experience all kinds of weather, based on the axiom that there is no inappropriate weather - just inappropriate clothing. Although they are taught to be aware around strangers, we help them to look for the good in everyone, and to see strangers, whether adults or children, as "friends they haven’t met yet".

To do these things in the current atmosphere in our society is not easy. In fact, it is not possible to take all the measures necessary to avoid any danger - any more than we would stop driving our cars to ensure no accidents. At Roots & Wings we try to maintain a healthy balance between denying experiences that might compromise safety and allowing children the freedom to learn how to stay safe and gain in independence.

A licensing inspector once asked us to put away all knives and screwdrivers from out primary classrooms so that the children would be protected against them. I explained to him that the very reason for these tools in our classrooms was so that the children could learn how to use them safely, always, of course, with supervision. Not only was this more effective protection, but it also augmented their self-esteem and independence, along with their willingness to accept a challenge. The inspector admitted he hadn’t thought about this before and concluded it was wise to keep them as part of our practical life program. Other activities could include learning with supervision how to safely light a match, insert a plug in an outlet or use a toaster.

Camping provides many opportunities for growth in independence, social, emotional and safety skills. For this reason, the Intermediate students usually spend one night at camp - often their first experience away from home - at the beginning of the year. The Senior students camp for a full week, usually the second week in September, They also have the opportunity to go on a major field trip, such as our past trips to the Haida Gwaii, Drumheller, Victoria, Barkerville, Ottawa and Montreal, St Thomas, Virgin Islands, and Alaska.

Our students need to know that we are confident in their abilities; they need to be given opportunities to learn how to stay safe; they need to know they can be out of their parents’ sight without fear; and of course they need to be given the skills to help them stay safe. Swimming lessons always include instruction in safety; bicycling programs do the same; the police officers that have talked to our students before Halloween teach safety. Our "Kidsafe" program teaches children how to stay safe with strangers. Our parent safety committee is intent on ensuring the school is safe. Regulations about who picks up your children and staff supervision are also designed to maintain safety.  And of course we adhere to all childcare licensing safety requirements, which are regularly inspected.

Clearly, our students’ safety is of paramount importance to us. But we need to watch what kind of atmosphere of thought we are presenting to them. Experience has shown that filling them with fear does not keep them safer. In fact, not only does fear prevent their learning safety skills, but it also creates phobias that imprison both parent and child and shut out joy. We try to be sure we are empowering our children’s innocence, strength and common sense, rather than empowering fear.

In support of our philosophy, many parents find a balance that they can live with, taking necessary precautions but allowing risks, such as walking or cycling to school, climbing trees, diving off the high diving board - in the interest of their child’s self-esteem, confidence and joy in living. Staying safe is important for all of us. We try to ensure that we are being motivated by wisdom, rather than fear.

Following are several standard procedures:

Parents who choose to enroll students in our school are accepting our philosophy, including our policy on safety. Staff are very conscious of and careful about ensuring the children’s safety. Of course they are always willing to listen to and consider parents’ concerns, and appreciate the addition of parents’ alertness to problems. We recognize the challenge for some parents to let their children go away overnight, or to trust them in someone else’s vehicle. However, having done this for many years, we know the great value of these experiences and judge that for most children, they are positive, progressive steps. After the trips, most parents agree with this. If a parent feels very strongly that there are extenuating circumstances that may prevent any trip from being positive, we are always ready to listen. In rare instances it may be beneficial for the parent to accompany a child to camp. However in general, all students are expected to participate in this, as well as other group activities, and it is not appropriate for a parent to deny a student a school experience because they judge it as dangerous. If it is acceptable to the Board of Directors and to the staff, it is considered a safe activity.

Please consider this explanation carefully, as enrolment in our school indicates your agreement.