Inclusivity has been a common thread among our readings and the Reggio Emilia approach.

As well as perhaps, a shift in cultural respect for early childhood educators, such as a raise in salaries.

I have been thinking about this for a while and am so ready for this overturning!

This description reminds me of a 'Systems Thinking' approach.

The American culture often gives this intelligence priority and higher value over creative intelligence.

It is interesting to me that often in education things are done because that is the way they have always been done- whether researched -based or not.

Like when educators are open to really listening closely to children.

Children as citizens of today.

Teacher as researcher.

The use of "in your opinion" in these questions is a natural way to embed perspective-taking into the discussion.

Nurturing empathy is so important.

This illustrates the power of documentation.

Science vs imagination is another pair that culture tends to pit against each other as antonyms.

It is so important for the community to understand the value of early childhood education.

Such a great mission!

So important for children (and adults) to feel legitimized- it makes offering theories and interpretations much more comfortable.

"Nothing without joy!"

Beneficial to everyone.

Like with the infants and children with special rights that we learned about earlier.

This is so important for teaching and learning.

So much support for the early childhood educators and students.

I wonder if this highlights cultural differences?

I find it fascinating to look back at the evolution of a project.  Most of the time, I would not have even been able to predict the evolution and outcome from just the initial provocation.  

It is interesting to think about this way of approaching teaching and learning within the context of a typical american school's daily or weekly schedule. They are not congruent.

Relationships are key! It is important to consider and nurture relationships as an educator.

Reflection is an important part of the process.

Such a great question! I like how Malaguzzi describes a teacher's role as 'necessarily fluid', a little earlier in the document.

Yet another example of how capable and observant children are.

There is an on-going study in a New Zealand elementary school, where recess happens with no (adult imposed) rules.  When adults were asked initially how they felt about this change, they expressed a fear of losing control, among other things.  The program was so successful, that after the research ended, the school decided to adopt this way of offering children their rights-  indefinitely.

Play is crucial, yet it is generally not valued enough to create opportunities for it in many school curriculums.  

In this small moment, the way a teacher listens and responds to children's interests and excitement, creates opportunity for deeper learning and discovery.

A compelling reason for educators to consider and understand their own image of children.

I have noticed that family support and participation increased after we began communicating why we were doing an activity or what our view of children was and how that related to a given activity-- rather than just describing the activity. 

Listening closely to children is so helpful in finding out who they really are - their potential, interests, experiences, etc.  Higher level observations are a great way to gather information in order to best support children's learning. 

This is why when schools in other countries adopt an approach similar to what is practiced in Reggio Emilia schools- they are described as 'Reggio inspired' or 'influenced by the schools in Reggio Emilia' rather than a description such as 'doing Reggio'. I remember this being confusing when I first started learning about the approach.

My school has panels of documentation from the late 1990's and early 2000's. I love flipping through these artifacts to see what children, teachers and families were learning during that time frame.  Occasionally, I will share a panel that relates to an on-going project with my current students. Offering the panels in this way has sparked learning and dialogue, and reinforces for the children that their ideas are valued. 

Viewing education from a Systems Thinking perspective provides us with a holistic understanding of the big picture.  This way of looking at children and their relationship to a larger system allows for deeper connections, soulutions, communication... and as a result creates opportunities to achieve higher quality learning environments. 

This helps illustrate why the environment is such an important part of children's learning and can be described as another teacher.