We recognize that all these languages need to be considered with equal dignity and value. They should receive support and adequate competent support from the adults and the environment.
This is something I hadn't considered before - do I value some of the hundred languages more than others? It also causes me to reflect on the specific ways in which I and my classroom environment support the children's hundred languages.
the city government of Reggio Emilia, after long deliberations, created a new "rulebook" of principles and organization for the education of children 0 to 6 years of age.
This is just incredible to me that the city government created this "rulebook" for early childhood education - when I think about something like this occurring in our city government, it feels impossible. I wonder often about how we can be agents of change in this way, in our own communities, and how we can create a foundational shift like this in our education system.
From the beginning, children demonstrate that they have a voice, know how to listen and want to be listened to by others. Sociability is not taught to children: they are social beings
This statement is so powerful, and invites us as educators to scaffold the children in the connections with peers, adults, and their environments.
"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?"
This concept of children "searching for meaning" in education is something that is new to me, and has completely transformed the way that I view early childhood education. Prior to this program, I very much viewed education as the passing of knowledge from myself to the children. The way that this article re-centers the role of the school in scaffolding the child's search for meaning is powerful.
but must act in such a way as to persuade children that they deeply share this image.
This is something I have been considering lately, and have been wondering about how we can "persuade" children to share this image of themselves within our daily rhythms of the classroom.
“Your image of the child: Where teaching begins”
This reminds me of Seen and Heard, the book that we read prior to the start of this program. That text was so pivotal for me in the ways that I view children and in turn, education. I feel that this quote really gets to the heart of the way that Reggio is a child-centered approach, rather than child-led. It speaks to the dynamic partnership that children and educators share.
The role of teacher as curriculum planner changes to the role of the teacher as a co-constructor of knowledge.
I think that the first time I heard of this idea - of the teacher being a co-constructor of knowledge with the children, it felt mind-boggling at the same time that it felt like, yes - this is exactly how it should be. It is so vastly different from the way that things are typically done in traditional schooling methods, and I think provides so much more depth for both children and educators.
Listening to and respecting the rights of children means providing time.
This is so important to remember, especially in the midst of the busy-ness of the school day. I often have to pause and re-center myself to be present with the children, and to offer them this opportunity of time.
Listening to young children means appreciating that they com-municate using a wide array of languages. If children do indeed speak using 100 languages, then in order to understand what children are saying, adults must lis-ten with all of their creativity. Rinaldi (2001) proposed "listening not just with our ears but with all our senses (sight, touch, smell, taste, orientation).
This is how I understand the foundation of the pedagogy of listening. I am so appreciative of the ways that this program has opened my eyes to the importance of truly listening to children!
requires a shift in the role of the teacher from anemphasis of teaching to an emphasis on learning,teachers learning about themselves as teachers aswell as teachers learning about children.
Whoa - I love the fluidity of learning within the classroom that this speaks to. It brings light to the idea that children and teachers are learning in partnership with each other, therefore stripping away the authoritarian position of the teacher.
“If only you had seen all I had to do.” The childwants this observation.
This statement made me feel so sad upon first reading it! How many times have I praised the end result of a child's process without recognizing all of the attention, energy, and imagination that went into the journey of creating? How disappointing this must have been for the child. I think that this is where documentation can be such an important tool for appreciating the child's process.
support the development of the disposition to seek in-depth understanding throughout life.
Isn't this what we should wish for every child to experience? Education should be about scaffolding children in their abilities as deep-thinkers through intrinsic motivation - capabilities which they already possess - rather than having a mindset of helping them "become" such things.
not considered in isolation
I think this is a significant barrier in our education system. Standard-based curriculum often causes us to focus all of our attention on the success (or lack thereof) of individual students, and makes it difficult to create the interconnectedness this document is referring to.
started by parents; literally groups of parents built them with their ownhands at the end of World War II.
I had no idea how deeply ingrained this approach was to this community. This is incredible - what brave parents!