View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:47 am



Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 
 Reggio Emilia 
Author Message
Semi-pro
Semi-pro
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:47 pm
Posts: 24
For those of you who do not know, I spent the last week in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Reggio Emilia is a fantastic place with outstanding schools, recognized world wide. The programs that are most notable are their preschool and infant - toddler centers. These centers are FREE to all city residents because they are run by the government. 98% of children attend them and children with special rights are guaranteed a space (in addition to a teacher who works one on one with them in a classroom, all day, every day).
What makes Reggio special? There is a remarkable respect for the child as a capable, confident indvidual. The classrooms are beautiful with floor to ceiling windows, plants hanging around the room, the walls are decorated with the children's work and documentation. There are no brightly colored, offensive posters displaying the alphabet and classroom rules. There is no need to plaster these colors on the wall; the children know them.
The curriculum is child-driven according to their interests. The teachers and pedagogistas (pedagogy specialists) observe, take notes, and direct the children's interest deeper. In a three-year old classroom, the children were interested in drawing bodies in motion. They had visited a local pool the previous week and a teacher had taken pictures of them swimming, diving and playing. This day, the pictures were being shown on a laptop in a slide show while the children were drawing the pictures. They shaded the water to different intensities of blue, they drew muscles on their bodies. One child drew water droplets on his skin as he prepared to dive in. These children are learning so much more than our children who are coloring a picture of Annie Apple in a LetterLand worksheet. In another room of four's, children were modeling the root structures of plants with modeling clay to be fired and then placed in pots. America! We have missed the boat! These children are being treated to the rights they deserve.
At lunch, the preschoolers eat at child sized tables covered in white table clothes with glass plates and cups. They pour their own water from glass water bottles. They serve themselves fantastic looking food and have conversation at their table. There is no silent lunch! These children have such an advantage of being treated like humans.
I hope that everyone has an opportunity to visit Reggio Emilia, regardless of the grade level they hope to teach. It will change your life - I have an increased respect for everything that occurs within a classroom and how much better it can be done. I challenge each of you to treat your students, class space and careers with the respect that is encourage at Reggio.

_________________
Lesley Paige de Paoli


Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:18 pm
Profile
Semi-pro
Semi-pro
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:27 am
Posts: 25
Location: Boonetown
Post 
Thanks so much for sharing some about the Reggio Emilia approach. I think these examples really highlight the child-centered approach to learning. Often my remarks about children and learning, as well as the public school system, are reflective of this approach. I think that at times we may seem pessimistic in our outlook of the public schools in the United States. When you see what people are capable of as educators and as children, it leaves a great deal to be desired in our school systems. When model schools such as Reggio exist, we cannot call our hopes and dreams for the U.S. idealist and impossible. Reggio gives us something to strive for as educators, and I believe that regardless of what grade you will be teaching, we can all learn a great deal from this. Here is a link to the reggio alliance if you are interested in learning more:
http://www.reggioalliance.org/

_________________
"You've got your whole life to do something, and that's not very long." -ani difranco

James.Meghan@gmail.com


Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:21 am
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 2 posts ] 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
Designed by ST Software for PTF.