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This week I listened to a podcast on World Radio Forum (http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/)
in which Susan Lyon, Director of the Innovative Teacher Project in San Francisco,
California, discussed her work in the early childhood field. In 1994 she
started the Innovative Teacher Project, in which many schools (public and
private) network together and through walking through each other’s schools and
holding roundtables use Reggio Emilia-inspired teaching practices to grow
professionally. Through this program many schools have thrived, using
environment to support healthy child learning and growth.
I then explored UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and
Education” webpage (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/).
In reading about their idea of what goes into a quality early childhood, the
UNESCO stated that not only does a program help children transition into formal
schooling by supporting linguistic and academic areas, but a quality program
also fosters confidence and motivation to grow and learn, which are
characteristics often pushed to the side in the attempt to prepare for academic
success (even though these traits boost academic success). I was very
interested to read the idea that the last year of pre-primary schooling (what we
would consider preschool, I suppose) may not always be best served through
formal school settings (such as public schools) as this “dilutes the importance
of holistic development” because the focus moves toward academic preparation.
UNESCO’s strategy of how to implement changes in policy that promote early
childhood care and education are to use phasing, to gradually increase supports
and services, and to use partnerships, such as health services in order to
connect better with families.
These tidbits I learned this week, from the podcast and
UNESCO’s website gave me more insight on my goals. Lyon’s Innovative Teacher
Project and UNESCO’s partnerships with other providers/networks both are ways
to build connections with communities and grow professionally. UNESCO’s ideas
of the purposes of quality early childhood programming maintain that teaching
with the idea of the whole child in mind is what children need to become
successful in school and beyond.
Learning how to work closely with families, community services and
supports, and other early childhood professionals not only benefits my
professional growth but also the children that I work with.
Caroline:
ReplyDeleteI like your blog post and was interested in the post: "I was very interested to read the idea that the last year of pre-primary schooling (what we would consider preschool, I suppose) may not always be best served through formal school settings (such as public schools) as this “dilutes the importance of holistic development” because the focus moves toward academic preparation". This is something to think about towards the end of your program. Also the "Reggio Emilia-inspired teaching practices" I don't know much about this method of teaching but I see it come up a lot in my readings and early child development, so I have some "goggling" and research to do on this teaching method. Thank you for your post. nancy
Hi Caroline, I strongly agree with what you said about confidence and motivation. If children are usher too much or too early about academic study, they tend to lose their confidence and motivation in the future to deal with more academic study. For little children, they need to be taught in a natural way, which means learning through fun. Motivation is the driven factor for a child to grow into elementary study and even has the long term effect in the future. We should work on how to motivate and inspire children to solve problems, instead of giving them the worksheets to work out the sums. Thank you for sharing.:)
ReplyDeleteHi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing what UNESCO was promoting. Giving way to development for the whole child in a balanced approach would be beneneficial and successful in the child's development.