What are Windows and Mirrors? And why do Educators and Parents need them?

  Windows and mirrors can change your life. Yes, mirrors can show you the spinach stuck in your teeth. And the breeze wafting through your window can cool a stuffy room. But I mean something more profound. Something that can knock down limiting walls and expand your horizons. What in the global world am I talking about?

The conceptual framework conceived by Emily Styles as part of the national SEED project. (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity)  Mirrors are stories that reflect your culture/reality and help you understand yourself.

Windows are books, movies, art, etc that offer you a view into someone else’s experience. We all need both in our lives. 

When you just have mirrors, your world view lacks the beauty of a wide range of perspectives. When you just have windows you feel like you don’t belong. But when you see life through this lens, and make room for both windows and mirrors, a rich, diverse, global world reveals that there are multiple ways of being.

To learn how to use this inclusive concept to educate children to be empathic citizens check out this post