Reflections of a Teacher 2
January 25th, 2013
My philosophy on teaching sprouts from my childhood experiences in Connecticut with nature, exploring the woods, a backyard swamp and winding brook that surrounded our property; camping, crafting, gardening and being in organizations such as Girl Scouting, Grange and the Future Farmers of America.
Later, my work in art, organizing and design refined my thoughts on the importance the effect spaces we occupy have on us. My experiences with stewardship, being organized, remaining mindful, taking pride in one's work, creating, respecting nature, our planet, each other, and spaces we occupy, and enjoying the little things serve as invaluable life lessons I seek to employ in my teaching.
A more thorough understanding of the creative and natural process of things now plays into my methods. From chaos and even destruction comes creation. Build a tower, the little person knocks it down before it’s finished-- Cause and Effect. You build it again differently, the child helps, it’s down again-- Observation and Practice. One day the child builds a tower with a bridge on their own-- Mastery.
Learning and Creation take practice, patience and time. It is a gradual process. It is ongoing and lifelong. Everyone approaches life and learning differently.
Some little people are natural organizers, some prefer chaos, some paint, dance, or sing, some read or think in numbers, some make mud pies or collect bugs, some daydream; they all want to BE as they are and Become everything they can be. “The child has a hundred ways.” -- Loris Malaguzzi. And so this is how I came to be Reggio Emilia inspired.
