I like the connection that is made between pleasure and learning, and how at all costs we must enforce and sustain this pleasure for learning so that a child can still feel the joy even when things get tough. If this is fostered in the beginning of a lifetime, then the world becomes a journey to the very end. It creates the work for the child and human to have an engagement with life for the purpose of knowledge and understanding, but at all costs, it is part of the journey and walking it is the point.

I love this. To express, there must be a reason to communicate, and to communicate already sets up the scenario that there is someone to interpret or to listen with. I appreciate the breakdwon of how the expression is born, the different aspects of influence that give birth or rise to an expression .

I believe that this battle continuous to rage today. In our culture, we also weigh more importance to the counterparts of things that lean towards arts and expressions. The precision of facts and correctness, all within a context that is black or white, but there is no real gage for whole color spectrum. It is sad and terrible, and isolating, because who can be only one color or thing?

I find it important that they specified ' the recovery of the image of the child' within the atelier, and that in doing so, they connected this focus to the teacher's image as well. It is evident how the relationship between the two are interconnected. Also, it is refreshing to see that there is reference to the image of the teacher in early childhood. This statement tells me that we have come a long way, but still I don't think we have arrived at a place where we are elevated fro our profession in the same way the grade school teachers are. Not here in America.

I am fascinated by how these establishments display a very well thought out plan to what children have a right to as far as education goes. I love that they include the importance of all places, indoor and outdoor alike, and also the places you would not normally see as constructive like a restroom.

Exactly. This is the work that makes being an educator valuable. It is not about filling in their thoughts with out own theories, but to provide and maintain the sacred space where children come to occupy and learn, and to lend every opportunity for the quest of learning, understanding, reasoning, listening....theorizing, existing.....etc to occur.

I love the word 'suffering' in this sentence, because we forget that not everything in life is a fuzzy or harmonious experience.It is hard work and suffering with joy and passion...sounds like all things that are meaningful and valuable hold so much potential and touch upon all concepts in the spectrum of humanity.

Agreed. This is why we also learn from them, they remind us of the beginning.

I think we as humans -- and gearing towards adults to model for children, really can use sharpening of these skills.

Wow Very well stated. This state of discomfort and unknowing can be so valuable to true listening.

I love this, does anyone else ever continue to hear the moment resonate in the mind-- outside of that time and space, but the moment still continues? It may have to do with my way of processing, I always need more time if I want to fully understand what I think.

Yes, I think a person communicates with more than words. It is important to take all of their languages in , because they may be mid theory after all and have not arrived to the final conclusion that they will have yet. Sometimes their questions are not even relevant to their consciousness yet....and if we listen closely and openly, we may catch that.

Yes! I wonder if in our culture we are so caught up with finding the right answer that we forget that the discovery is a journey of questions and trials. How wonderful to take of with one idea and then reach its end only to examine it again.

This is a discipline that is lacking in fullness in both our education system here in the states as well as our culture. Developing theories with narratives that explain the meaning is a deeper level of thinking that does not seem to come naturally to our experience here, at least not as naturally the families in Italy or maybe England, or other countries I have seen.

I think when we observe children, they display that they are already doing this on their own, with every encounter or observation, they are gaining information and trying to find meaning. My question is how can we display to others that what they do is relevant and important work? And yes, I agree that we have to practice doing this for ourselves. Somewhere in our journey we forget .

Yes! This supports what was mentioned earlier about how a teacher has many roles to play, sometimes the observer, the researcher, or the friend… but it is absolute true that one of our main jobs is to give space and attention to their joy because it is the spark of their learning.

It is noted that we have this role because there is a need for it, we cannot exist without the child. I don't think that it is the typical way we would express our role here, as the unit that we are.

This is one of the reflections that I was left with after the first half of the class. It seems that our role as educator is most useful when we are fluid and open to what the moment requires of us to do or be.

I love that there was an accommodation to time that was allowed. But as the understanding that while the children were being carried instead of asking if they prefered to go themselves. I have often thought of this in centers that frown down upon carrying children- particularly when they want to be carried. There are children that seek that close interaction with the adult, and while in a school setting, we are usually trying to encourage autonomy, sometimes there are times when it has been harder to veer the child from wanting to be carried or held. I just wonder if it would be the same opposite from the story.

How many times does this happen in our society? Not just with children but in all realms, there is a misconception of meaning. It makes me think of how important it is to see with different lenses and different angles what children do. Assumptions are easily made about what children are truly learning in any investigation. We must always listen first,because even in our questions, we may mislead them.

I believe that we enter into this type of school...this concept, this approach because we strive to understand as many of these languages of children as we can. Isn't that a goal?

Reflecting on my own life, I did not really understand the concept of my right in anything until maybe high school...or college. I grew up in a world where children were always seen around the adults but their thoughts or ideas were not ever sought out or heard. Children were to obey. Wow. And these children understand the concept of a right.

Agreed. It makes sense to have parents be part of the culture in the school,and understand this in the very beginning.

I think as we grow older, we forget to use all of our senses, we favor one or two but we have to be careful not to taper this from children as they are in our care.

I believe this to be true but I also believe that we have an incredible influence on the child, and I have seen many children that have been conditioned to care about the Ooh's and Ahh's of an adult. I say conditioned because I believe we wrong a child when we only place value and attention to the final product.

YES!!!

I love this idea of the beautiful forest without paths. I also love the way we come in and out of sight of each other, because that is how life is . We are busy doing our own things, and in this space, we are occupying it with our genuine selves. We as educators play a role of our choosing in coming into the forest, but we have our own steps and duties within it, as do the children.

I think children can tell the difference when there is sincerity and distinction for their work and choices than empty compliments that are just fillers. I think they truly want to b e appreciated and valued for their work and decisions that made it happen.

This concept resonates with me because I have worked in various school settings, and what I miss the most ( and am grateful to attain again) is being in a place that has a similar view of the child. This commonality can still have differences, but mostly the shared value of understanding the capabilities and perhaps the role of us researching as well, is very valuable.

It is curious that he chose the word 'needs' instead of should. I love this. We do get so much from children as we spend time with them everyday.

Isn't this the way children are though ? The way things are born inside them, and it may because of something we may take for granted as ordinary, something small or something big can cause a tremble or ripple...and it can grow into something exciting. I like to think it is that way for us too.

This idea really resonates with me in all that I am understanding about the classroom being a place not only for children but also for teachers. I like the idea of it being a fluid and unique place. It means that it has motion and it changes as the inhabitants of the space change: their moods, their interests, their needs, etc. It is also unique because the relationships are unique, not one is alike. It makes me think it is a lab, a place for experimentation and explorations...a place where things can happen.

The way the adults have carefully and intentionally created the space for learning for all involved, children being at the core but the educators, parents and community also play a role. This space is where life is unfolding with all the senses. It is an exciting space,a dn the children that enter know that they are part of this space and have a say on what happens there and it is only meaningful.

There is no separation of all the subjects, and beauty and art are in all life around us, as is the expression of their work. I love this.

I like the word 'traces' because it pulls us to look deeper as we try to understand what we are seeing, capturing, and witnessing even as we document it. It is never a finality, so a trace of their learning or investigation really keeps it vibrantly alive in my eyes.

This statement draws out our practice away from the linear representation of education and what our role is within it. It promotes our involvement to become so much more, as we delve into the investigations along with the children into the realm of the unknown. It is thru their eyes that we are invited to see the ordinary become a something with many faces and sides, infinite possibilities, and so we spiral back to learn what we do not know, though we thought we did.