“Reggio Night” has become a tradition (one of many) wherein Roleen gathers with parents to introduce the values of Reggio, discuss how those values uniquely figure into the culture of New School-West, and respond to thoughts or questions along the way. Every year reflects the enthusiasms and concerns of that evening’s group, nicely apropos of Reggio. That said, the basic concepts remain relevant from year-to-year and as this notetaker has had pen in hand three years running, it seems that the most useful approach would be to offer a kind of synthesis of those three years — pass on the notes from this year as an addendum to selected content from the previous two. So you get three years for one! And after ten we’ll publish a book…… Look for 2012 additions at the end of the article.
REGGIO: AN INTRODUCTION (largely from the 2010 meeting)
COMMUNITY being a critical touchstone, Roleen emphasizes her feeling that the New School West does not operate as a hierarchy. The parents, kids, teachers, staff — as a community we are powerful as a group of learners. Every incoming group of parents and kids prompts a “start over,” a reassessment of “Do we really get Reggio?” An evening like this affords an opportunity to deepen their own learning through “telling”.
The broad goals of the evening:
— provide a bit of the history of Reggio
— describe the primary values of Reggio
— talk about who WE are with regard to Reggio
— give some scenarios to illustrate the above
Roleen and Kris have both traveled to Italy in the course of their research. Roleen spoke reverently of Carlina Rinaldi, former Director of the municipal early childhood centers in Reggio Emilia, and set the tone for us, oriented us, with some of Rinaldi’s wisdom:
— “do nothing without meaning… to live is to find meaning in life” Don’t just follow, really work to find meaning in what you do.
— “my wellbeing is your wellbeing and your wellbeing is my wellbeing”
— “togetherness is a part of my identity”
— “each of us is a builder of theories”
— “we are born with a WHY”
— “everyday the children are looking for meaning… they are attempting to produce theories”
— “support an attitude of questioning”
— “the role of adults is to learn from the child”
— “the exact answer may not be most useful”
— “we need to switch from a school of teaching to a SCHOOL OF LISTENING… listening is looking at life, an act of love, a sharing of emotions, a reciprocal act, the silence of wonder, an openness to differences…you make my words important to me because you listen to me”
— “it is our responsibility to observe and reflect”
Roleen went on from there:
— REGGIO IS NOT A METHOD, IT IS A WAY OF THINKING
— New School West is a school inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. It has it’s own unique culture, reflecting Roleen and Kris and this particular group of teachers, students, parents, and neighbors. Other “Reggio-inspired schools” have their own idiosyncratic culture.
— … it was such a relief to realize that we don’t have to know all the answers [because the answers, in some sense, come to us through our listening]
— the CULTURE of Reggio, and NSW, is to listen, and reflect questions with questions
— curriculum is not pre-planned… it’s not about teaching certain predetermined things
— children are not our future, they are very much our present… so what are THEY telling US, and what can we do to improve their learning?
She is often asked “What’s your curriculum?”, which is hard to answer. One response might be: “The children are learning how to be a person making relationships, with materials, with people, with space.”
— an example of making a relationship with space: a child in circle says “I can’t see!” — the teacher must try and find out what they mean when they say this… is there too much noise? is somebody touching them?… then they can say “find a place where you can see”
— and more about the physical space of NSW: In the culture of Los Angeles our fondest memories may often be associated with the freedom that comes from being outdoors. So what about our school? The outside space is so small! Where can the children RUN? Yes, says Roleen, we are who we are, but the children are outside ALL DAY, and they’re always moving, they’re not cooped up, they don’t need to “break loose”.
some common myths about Reggio:
— children run the place
— children run the curriculum
— no plastic toys “allowed”
— that there can be such a question as “What part of Reggio do you do?”
… so let’s start with a little historical context
Reggio Emilia is a town in Northern Italy, destroyed by the war, and given a stipend to rebuild. Local mothers wished to put this money toward making a new preschool, a place to see beauty through quality education. Loris Malaguzzi, an educator in the district, became aware of the project, and said “I’m a teacher, I want to be a part of it.” He came to be known as the “founder” of the Reggio Emilia approach. The school was to be a place in which the community could ADVOCATE FOR THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN. Almost fifty years later, in 1991, Newsweek published an article about the 10 Best Schools In the World… and Reggio schools were on the list. This prompted a closer look at the culture of these schools…
REGGIO VALUES #1: THE IMAGE OF THE CHILD
This is where it starts, by adjusting how we perceive a child. Reggio says the child is STRONG! competent, capable… they give US ideas, and these ideas are valuable, let’s write them down!
By contrast, our own culture tells us that children come from a “deficit” place, children need to be protected because they are not strong enough, we need to build walls, impose our wisdom.
Roleen was stunned by the PLACE children have in the town of Reggio Emilia — their art/ideas are on the subways, 4-5 year olds designed the opera curtain!
The Reggio approach incorporates threads of many theories… for example the idea from Montessori that children have the right to furniture that fits them, the right to beautiful, real things… also Howard Gardner’s “multiple intelligences”, Dewey’s philosophy that children must have time to socially construct their ideas over and over again to replay their theories.
So we give children real tools, like metal shovels, and we collaborate with them about rules to keep them safe, like wearing shoes, and not having too MANY shovels. Metal shovels are tools for meaningful digging, meaningful work… plastic shovels don’t facilitate meaningful work, so ironically THEY are the ones that become weapons, etc.
At every turn, the children are told “I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!” Plastic shovels say: you’re not capable. Plastic dishes do, too, by the way. (note: we’re talking about preschool age kids, not little little kids) Of course, introduction of ceramic dishes, for example, must be done conscientiously, with respect for the children. Circle time is good for this, the teacher can talk about the new material, present it with ceremony, maybe on a tray under a cover (“this is important! this is beautiful! this is meaningful! and you can do it! it’s for you!”). Then the kids who don’t already know how to be careful with ceramic are PUT IN CHARGE, and shouldering this immense responsibility, they become the EXPERTS… they CAN really do it. Shifting the image of the child…..
Children want friends, they want relationships, they don’t want to work in isolation, and within a Reggio way of thinking, they DO make relationships, because they are expected to, they are capable.
From Vygotsky, Soviet psychologist and the founder of cultural-historical psychology, another piece of the pie: “We learn from people who have had an experience before us.” This is more about life experience than age — younger kids with siblings often are teachers of older kids.
SELF-ESTEEM IS ABOUT CONFIDENCE
Regarding CONFLICT RESOLUTION… teachers are constantly facilitating, finding out what is really going on in any particular situation… “I’m curious about what happened when you pushed him.” They don’t do “time outs”, because it doesn’t solve anything. If a child is having a meltdown, it becomes “your body is telling you that you need to control yourself, how can you do that?”
RESPECT IS HUGE
Expressive language is secondary to receptive information — it takes a long time to learn how to truly express what they know. Recognizing this is part of respecting children. For example if a child hits… it’s a major leap to calmly use words. Highly commendable intermediate steps usually include using words WHILE hitting… then no hitting but YELLING the words… then finally finding a tone that the other person can hear.
Respect can’t be taught explicitly, it is all about MODELING.
Part of the old model was tight scheduling, 40 minutes for activity A, 25 minutes for activity B…. which doesn’t fully value what the child is doing. Within Reggio, the child is given a peaceful place, where they’re allowed to complete what they’re doing. Also, MISTAKES are great, because they indicate that a child is “working on a theory.”
REGGIO VALUES #2: THE TEACHER IS NO LONGER A TEACHER OUT OF CONTEXT… they are researchers with the goal of gathering information to guide the learning…. the teachers are also, in a sense, students… they are learners, too.
Roleen gave the example of the recent long-term project initiated by the self-generated “Cup Group”, a group of kids who became concerned that the paper cups weren’t being recycled. The teachers didn’t TEACH about recycling… but they guided the learning, encouraged the presentation of theories about how to communicate with the other kids about recycling, to make informational signs that really worked. Some of these signs were formally presented to our larger LA community… Kris shared a few… the pictures are brilliant, but here’s a taste of the verbiage:
“Do not use plastic bags, turtles think they are jellyfish”
“If you litter, it doesn’t keep the environment well”
“The environment is the future. If you hurt the environment the whole world will die, even the sea creatures and the giraffes”
DOCUMENTATION… serves many purposes, one being a key component of the teacher’s own research. The signs on the walls reflect back key aspects of the learning, they are not just for display. Anyone should be able to walk alone into the space and know who works there and what they do.
Documentation also places the learning in a group context… it illustrates (and reinforces) who a child is in a group.
The handout with the faces of all West Wing children says: Who are we as a group? Who am I in this group?
Documentation is also for parents and visitors….
REGGIO VALUES #3: HOW DO WE INVOLVE PARENTS? (AND WHY?)
A Reggio way of thinking seeks to engage parents in the larger learning process — it’s not about cheap labor (though Roleen is quick to say we are appreciated, and necessary). It is SHARING THE WORK, meaning a sharing of the research process, a sharing of the learning, involving the parents in what the teachers are learning — as opposed to the older model of parents “staying out of the way.”
REGGIO VALUES #4: ENVIRONMENT AS THIRD TEACHER
The environment itself is instructive. Ideally a child could enter an environment and know exactly what to do there, even without a teacher.
Lights, shadows, platforms, and mirrors provide DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
The windows at NSW were chosen with a lot of thought — a child in the East Wing can look all the way across the courtyard and into the West Wing and see what work is happening there. Everyone is connected, the work is transparent.
Over the years the school has been fixed up not to be pretty — although it surely is — but with the goal that every aspect SUPPORTS LEARNING. Certainly there is more to do, for example finding an alternative to fluorescent light.
HOW CAN WE BRING REGGIO INTO OUR HOME?, someone asks… so often it’s about transitions — going to bed, going to school, getting dressed — we can’t just let our kids have two hours to “explore” going to bed…
Roleen says: Well, at school we have very firm guidelines, actually. Circle time has a duration, snack has a duration, there are routines, and routines offer safety. And they are also given A TIME TO EXPLORE, as part of their routine. This can be done at home, too.
… at home you can have
— clear guidelines
— firm boundaries — certain things are non-negotiable
— but involve them in the making of these rules, tell them the situation, get their ideas, write them down, read them back, discuss them, VALUE THEIR IDEAS. The child can be part of problem solving
— yes, value their ideas… it’s very easy (and common) to say “we can’t do this right now, we have to go to bed, we’ll do it later”… then later never comes. [documentarian’s note: the day after this talk, my son brought in his lego box just as we were walking out the door, I told him we had to go, he said no he wanted to play with legos — it was important to him, more than just a momentary distraction — so in bold marker on an index card I wrote “we will play with legos right after the nap” I was going to post it somewhere, but he was really excited and wanted to fold it up and put it in his pocket. Over the next two hours he periodically took it out and checked it. After the nap it was his first thought, and we played with legos. It was 100% great for him, and for me. Hmmmmmm…..]
— another demonstration of valuing them is one-on-one time, even if it’s 15 minutes. And not conflict resolution one-on-one time… they need attention even where it’s not about INTERVENTION…
— this kind of thing communicates “We are a family working together… I’m not ok if you’re not ok”
— also: don’t have more things around then can be organized, put away. Our culture tells us that more is better… but do we really need all these toys?
Someone asks Roleen’s opinion about involving technology in the home…
She suggests that it might be asked of a given technology
— if it is used as a tool to express an idea
— if it involves working with a group, as opposed to in isolation
— watching a computer for hours does not indicate a “long attention span”
— a computer-based drawing program, for example, can be a TOOL for learning…
… there is a meaningful difference between LEARNING TO DRAW, and DRAWING TO LEARN
and this segwayed into another core element to the Reggio way of thinking:
“THE 100 LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN”
— speaking is a language… drawing can be a language… clay…. wire… trombone… and well, 95 others (not really, but you get the point)
— it’s important and deliberate that at NSW, after they have been introduced, paint, clay, wire, etc. are available all the time. All are tools for expression.
Roleen invites further questions, challenges to any of the ideas, thoughts about what does or does not resonate… How do we respond to all this? We are a part of this process!
——————————
“The Hundred Languages of Children”, by Loris Malaguzzi, translated by Lella Gandini
The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.
And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.
addenda drawn from the 2011 REGGIO NIGHT
“scaffolding” — a term used quite commonly in Reggio to describe everyone and everything which supports a child’s learning — teachers, parents, other children, materials, environment, etc.
How to encourage collaboration? One example can be seen in the evolution of the block areas. In the beginning they had “kits” of legos, etc., and children tended to work in isolation, because they had these same kits at home and they already knew the “right” way to use them. When these were replaced with open-ended materials, the children began to collaborate, share ideas.
Children are not empty sponges! Even babies already know things. Our job is to step back and TAKE THE TIME to observe what they know. If we know what they know, only then can we know what to teach. A pre-defined curriculum does not allow for this. If a child is not interested their behavior will tell you that. But if we can find what they’re interested in…….
In a home environment: Is there a place for them to really feel powerful?
Words and posters on the walls say: We value you!
Kids don’t need applause as much as noticing the process of what they did. They need ENCOURAGEMENT more than PRAISE. This is the difference between saying “Good job!” and saying what was good about it, really noticing.
So what if there’s a need to teach them about something specific, even if they haven’t expressed an interest in that thing? It’s all about connections and relationships. Example: If you want to teach them about China… well, Jasper just went to China, and HE can talk about what he knows, and kids can ask him questions.
Learning within the Reggio approach is not child DIRECTED, but child INITIATED. Teachers respond to what they need. Example: Teachers notice that kids are interested in shapes, so then it becomes talking about shapes. Another: The kids are really interested in making paper airplanes. So they make a book about how to do it.
One parent asks about the differences between Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio. Needless to say this is a big question, a topic for a semester class… but here are some starting points, and there is much overlap…
Waldorf — don’t rush the child’s brain, no geometric blocks, only oral stories, life skills like cooking and sewing, textures, no media, the gentlest environment
Montessori — respecting children, ex. child-size furniture, no focus on social co-construction, tools are one-on-one, goal is to complete projects, pegs will only fit in the peg hole, tools for practical life like pouring, tongs, etc
Reggio — social constructivism is huge, learning from each other, tables/centers for learning together.
Question: Does Reggio deal with “emotional intelligences”? Yes. It’s the key to all the other pieces. They talk about feelings all day long. Also, they are given an opportunity (and physical place) to sit with their feelings.
In Reggio, behaviors are looked at as meaning something, and are noted without judgment. “Your voice is really loud, you’re really upset…”
Children need TIME. They have a right to have TIME. Time to process… They don’t need the answers. In Reggio, kids know they will get a turn to use something because there is no monthly calendar, tomorrow the toy, or material, will still be there.
A parent points out: yes but at home sometimes we DON’T have time! Roleen says, of course, but you can acknowledge their need for more time: “It sounds like you need another 5 minutes… but after 5 minutes we need to go.” The school system is different. Time is our curriculum.
What about if a child is doing something unsafe or inappropriate? How do we “value” that? Well you say something like “Look what you’re doing! That’s amazing! Let’s find a better place to do that!” So, not giving in, but listening and valuing what they’re doing.
TIME… VALUING… NOTICING… LIMITS
addenda drawn from the 2012 REGGIO NIGHT
Reggio is a value system more than a method of learning.
In our culture we are expected to already know everything, already be prepared. Expectations according to Reggio are different: WE ARE ALL LEARNERS, and we are learners together. We want to teach them things but they may not have the connections, the context, to learn those things. We are afraid they won’t be prepared — they have a right to be prepared for what they’re ready for right now. And true learning happens within context.
Roleen and the teachers began implementing Reggio ideas well after the school had established and refined “system.” In 2000, twenty-seven new families arrived and struggled to fit into the existing structures. Six children with particular developmental challenges simply couldn’t handle it. So things changed. They began placing a priority on honoring what each child needed to be, and the right of each child to be given what they need in support. For example, from 9:30 till 11:30 each day all the centers are open. Although children are given “appointments”, they are also given autonomy to make choice and time to really play out their ideas.
Educational resources provide monthly “themes”, eg. transportation, farms, etc. (you’ll still see that in a lot of preschool programs) and children are subsequently found to have short attention spans, thus, “behavioral problems”. But give them something they’re interested in and they’ll stay with it for a long time! Behaviors mean something! It’s up to us to figure out what’s going on. What are children really telling us?
TIME IS THE CURRICULUM. At school there is enough time. Children can relax because they know there will always be time to return to unfinished work. Often parents are not able to give this kind of time. (Although perhaps it is possible to more often take 5 minutes to sit on the floor with them and just listen…)
LISTENING is such a critical component, not only about teachers listening to children, but also children listening to each other, communicating their ideas to their peers. “Me” is important, but it does not fully describe “we”. Who am I in this community? Who are “we” together?
Documentation serves many purposes, often related to listening. Writing down a child’s words and posting them on the wall is VALIDATING, it makes their words important, it gives them value. Try it at home. Note: validating a child’s ideas does not mean “giving in.” Boundaries are essential.
SELF-ESTEEM MEANS CONFIDENCE IN THE FIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAINS: SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE, CREATIVE. Morning appointments were introduced as a conscious decision to bolster a child’s confidence in a certain domain, teaming them up with people who have passion and skills for that particular kind of work (scaffolding), people whom in some cases they might never otherwise meet.
Reggio values COMMUNITY AND FAMILY INVOLVEMENT. Here’s a recent NSW example. A small group of West Wingers went on a walk. They went as far as the first house on May Street, which they identified as unusually scary. This led to a discussion about WHY it seemed scary. With Paola’s help the children wrote down a list of pointed questions along the lines of “Do you have scary monsters and/or robots in your house?”. They put the list in the mailbox. The people in the house soon responded with answers to all the questions. And now… a connection has been made. A deeper relationship and understanding.
Other miscellaneous topics:
One parent is concerned lately that her child has become preoccupied with embellishments — earrings, hairclips, etc. Roleen says that as a culture, we put importance on how we look and so being aware of how we enter conversations as first entries is important. Notice how often we say how someone is looking/wearing. . .For children, it’s a way of entrance. Recognizing other attributes about ourselves will build confidence.
Most parents have at one time or another heard “I don’t want to go to school.” Listen. Validate. Try to make the first words validating: “It would be great if we could stay home all day long” — and try to replace “but” with “and” — “and we need to go to school. What are some things you would do if you did stay home? Let’s write them down and find a time to do them!” All this, of course, when you have the time to do it. You can always revisit difficult situations, replay them, problem solve with other ideas.
Reconnecting after school can be a challenge. Instead of asking too many questions tell them “I was thinking about you today. I wondered what was going on in the Communication Center!” Remember that developmentally these kids think that you know everything they’ve been doing because they’re still connected to you.
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