I think I'm going to slowly post my impressions, as they become clear in my mind. Here are a couple that I've been chewing on lately.
- The educators in Reggio Emilia have a completely different philosophy about the purpose of education. First and foremost, they believe education is the right of all children from birth. They believe that education is the responsibility of the community in order to promote the potentials of all children...it's the "It Takes a Village" idea. They stressed that their job is to help "form the human" by constructing conditions that allow children to grow and develop into thoughtful, productive, citizens. They have a word for this in Italian, which I can't remember exactly, I think it's "formazione." They said that there isn't a true translation for it in English. It made me think about the state of our education system and how everything is about "Getting Ready" for the next level. Kindergarten Readiness. Getting ready for the "next grade level" Getting ready for middle school/high school. And now the infamous "College and Career Ready." I wonder if the Italians have a translation for this perseveration on "readiness." I seriously doubt it.
- The Image of the Child is something that stood out to me. Again, it's the idea that children have infinite potentials for learning. When we stand back, and let children "be," they can astound us. They have a natural affinity for exploration, discovery, and figuring things out. How is the Image of the Child different in US school settings? I've been thinking about this, and it seems that it comes down to trust. The educators in Reggio have a level of trust in children (it's actually recipricol) that allows the children to take their learning to extraordinary levels. The adults stand back (although they are very intentional, and I'll touch on that later) and allow children to author their own learning. They don't have all the answers, they're not standing and spewing directives, teaching points, facts, etc. They ask legitimate questions and they guide. They have patience. There is no rush. Remember, they're not trying to propel children to the next benchmark, Fountas/Pinnell level or grade level for that matter. Instead, they trust in the innate capabilities of children to learn and construct knowledge. I know I'm getting very deep here! However, there is nothing shallow about Reggio Emilia! :)
