A Monday morning in October:
E: So, what did you do this weekend?
J: I went out for dinner with my family
E: That sounds nice- where did you go?
J: I don’t know but it was a restaurant and I was mad because I wanted to order salad but I couldn’t!
E: Oh! It is disappointing when you want something but cannot get it.
J: I really like salad and wanted it.
E: I really like salad too.
J: We both like salad.
E: I wonder if other people in the class like salad too?
J: Maybe they do.
E: Do you think it would be fun to make a salad in class and share with everyone?
J: Yes, can we make one now?
E: I wish we could! What do we need?
J: Salad
E: What ingredients are in a salad?
J: Salad
E: Are you thinking about lettuce?
J: Yup and cucumbers and round red things
E: Tomatoes?
J: Yup. I think crunchy things too.
E: I wonder if we look at a book with pictures of vegetable, if it might give us some ideas?
J: Let’s do that in the Cottage
E: Great! I think I have a good book we can read together and maybe show the others too
J: This is fun- I am telling my mom
Sharing this conversation leads us to the third of our Guiding Principles: children as co-creators or protagonists of the curriculum. This concept, central to the philosophical teachings of Reggio Emilia, and informed by notable theorists such as Leo Vygotsky, is also integral to our work at Terra Nova Nature School.
What do we mean by considering the child as ‘co-creator’? Loris Malaguzzi suggested,
“What children learn does not follow as an automatic result from what is taught. Rather, it is in large part due to the children’s own doing as a consequence of their activities and our resources.”
It is impossible to consider children as co-creators of their curriculum without also having a strong ‘Image of the Child.’ In our ‘Image of the Child’, we believe children have capacity: the capacity to problem solve; the capacity to take risks; the capacity to think and feel deeply; and the capacity to represent their thoughts, emotions and understandings of the world in many different ways. Believing in children’s capacity means that we move away from traditional models of teaching that view the learner as an ’empty vessel’, just waiting to be filled up with facts, ideas and beliefs provided by the all-knowing teacher. Letting go of the belief that the ‘adult is the expert’ can be very hard for parents and educators, because it is frequently the way we ourselves were taught! Working with the notion of a co-created curriculum is also hard because it requires the educator (or parent) to dwell in a place of not knowing, and therefore not controlling, the learning that unfolds. It is unsettling to hold a vision or goal for the child, for a group of children, for a program, and even for the Educator herself, while at the same time not knowing exactly how we will accomplish that goal!
The salad project is a good example of letting an idea grow, collaboratively, between child and educator. The project emerged initially from Emily’s relationship with Jenevieve – they were talking and listening to one another. While Emily could easily have launched into the role of adult-expert: “I know how to make a salad! I’ll make a list, get the ingredients, then prep everything for the children to assemble”, she would have missed the opportunity to learn from and with this particular child; to hear more about Jenevieve’s interest and ideas about salads.
Together they went back to the Cottage, settled in and snuggled on a chair. First, they leafed through a recipe book, talked about the pictures and wondering what things could be part of a salad? Jenevieve asked Emily to get all the stuff at the store, and although she said she would, Emily intentionally offered a problem in return: how would she remember everything? Jenevieve suggested that Emily ‘should write it down so that you know what to get”. Then she marched over to the drawing table, found paper and asked for a pencil. Together they made a list (an opportunity to develop literacy!) and made a plan for the next day. Mindful of the possibilities for learning with and from others, Emily also asked Jenevieve to approach some other children to see if they wanted to join in the salad project. Soon several children became interested, and over the next few days the project unfolded in a joyful, and natural way!
According to Max Van Manen,
“Pedagogical thoughtfulness and tact are the mindful skills that enable a teacher to act improvisational in always-changing educational situations…. It is this ability to see pedagogical possibilities in ordinary incidents, and to convert seemingly unimportant incidents into pedagogical significance that is the promise of tact for teaching.”
The dynamic nature of co-creating curriculum is exhilarating, and challenging! Being a vulnerable educator – one who is open to not-knowing, and to relinquishing some control – is not easy, yet it is essential to our practice if we are to hold true to our beliefs in the capacity of the child.