Remembering the Childhood Loss of a Mother

I have been an elementary school teacher for 16years, and returned to the University of Alberta in 1988 to begin work on a masters degree. When that was completed I continued on with doctoral work, fulfilling the requirements for candidacy in the spring of 1991. Early in my MEd program I was introduced to the writing ofLangeveld (“The Secret Place of the Child” in Phenomenology + Pedagogy). Fascinated by the evoca tive language of this classic work, I decided to further explore phenome nological traditions. I was fortunate enough to be able to study with Max van Manen early in my doctoral program. Later I took a course with Bas Levering (The University of Utrecht) when he visited the University of Alberta during the summer of 1990. His work in conceptual analysis and ordinary language philosophy further influenced my thinking. My present research involves exploring the cultural narratives implicit in our understanding of literacy and children ‘splay.