atelier, " which evoked the idea of a laboratory
I was familiar with the quote, "The studio is not a isolated place where artistic things happen. It is a laboratory for thinking."-Lella Gandini but this definition and the history of Loris Malaguzzi's thinking is so valuable to better understanding the intention behind those word choices.
The same Hundred Languages catalogue contained an extraordinary compression of so much of Malaguzzi's thought into the following seven essential points:
These are new for me. I appreciated reading them here and I am particularly drawn to number 3.
By moving from one language to another, and one field of experience to another, and by reflecting on these shi� , children modify and enrich their theories.
There is a lot of emphasis in Reggio on creating new opportunities for children to explore different perspectives pertaining to a similar interest and I see that in this quote. It is important to move from one language to the next and through experience and reflection children are building on their initial theories and ideas.
Expressing our theories to others trans-forms a world which is not intrinsically ours into something shared.
This feels important to me as I reflect on the stories of work that specific teachers have done. It is not entirely their own, it is the work of the children and it reflects our collaboration as a team as well.
How can we help children find meaning in what they do, what they encounter, what they experience? And how can we do this for ourselves?"
As we begin to follow threads of interest in the classroom and facilitate project work I want to keep these questions in the forefronts of our minds.
for them and with them
for and with are a constant thread of our practice of engagement in the classroom.
enough to engage their best energies and thinking over tim
I think this is a very fascinating idea and one that I have struggled with and I have seen others struggle with as well...what is worthy of our energies...
repeat in cycles of revisiting and re-representation.
I think we often think of projects in a chronological fashion and I find that teachers worry that if children lose interest that their work comes to an end, but I think it ebbs and flows more than that I like this remind of it spiraling.
catch the ball
This game of catch has been particularly helpful for my team of teachers as a metaphor to understand and think about how they can both prepare for children and be responsive to children.
provocateur,
To provoke...to agitate, to stimulate...I am thinking about this aspect of my role as a teacher a lot.
teacher
I feel this way about teaching and being with my team...I am who they need me to be in the moment as much as possible.
companionable
I appreciate the deep of thinking demonstrated here to question a theory.
The adults' desire to hurry easily eclipses the child's momentary fascina-tions,
Yes, I think this is one of the biggest culprits in appreciating children's rights!
small stature in an adult-sized world.
With the right environment and materials we are able to set the stage for children to find more autonomy in their daily encounters and tasks. It is interesting to me to observe where and when children are asking for help and how we might be able to support them with lowering items or making different tools accessible to them.
I mistakenly offered to get books off a high shelf for a child by saying "point to the ones you would like". "NO I want to do it myself..." the child responded and then promptly pulled over a chair and climbed up on it to reach the highest shelf in the library with all the new Halloween books were. Why are there high shelves in the children's section of the library?
adult ideas,
As I was reading all of the rights of children, created by the children, I was thinking about the different ways that adult words and expectations impose upon those rights. Do we have to say no to playing with food or being barefoot at school? I think that some of our "no" responses are reflective and examples of what we have experienced as the way...but when dissected I believe we can honor children's right.
She wants the teacher to see theprocess of her work, rather than the product.
Yes!!
What we want to do isactivate within children the desire and will and greatpleasure that comes from being the authors of theirown learning.
Not easy, but fruitful and satisfying when we are patient enough to go at the pace of children to solve the mysteries before them.
become involved in
This sticks out to me as well. Being involved to me means being connected, curious, and engaged.
Each one of us needs to have curiosity
This is one my core values.
own context
Jennifer Azzariti, atelierista and consultant, once shared something with me that continues to stick with me as it pertains to context. Our identity and our context should be so visible within our environments that you know when you walk in the doors of the school where in the world you are...that this same classroom could not be anywhere. We are still working on this, but I reflect on it often.
Reggio educators the children's use of many media is not aseparate part of the curriculum but an inseparable, integral part of the wholecognitive/symbolic expression involved in the process of learning.
I have seen the development of projects evolve from specific encounters with different environments (studio invitations or experiences in nature), and while many of these investigations are rich and based in children's interests, I believe that we need to collectively think about we can build new perspectives through the integration of a variety of mediums and contexts. Many of us have forgotten how to play with certain materials or we were never introduced to them. I believe we need to stretch our own imaginations through playing with materials and learning about their properties and potentials to work in this interdisciplinary way.
learning along
This aspect is so important to me in my practice.