Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/doing-reggio/5018527/
Last week, in two separate settings, someone told me their program was now ‘doing Reggio.’ To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to respond. All right, I know most early childhood conferences now feature a number of sessions focused on Reggio practices. Yes, I’ve been inspired by the work of these Italian educators and the popularity of their ideas makes sense to me. They speak to some of our deepest longings for children and our work as educators. But I’m equally aware of our American propensity to get caught up in fads, to appropriate ideas, to go for a quick fix. So when someone tells me they are ‘doing Reggio,’ I worry and wonder. What could they be doing? What could they be thinking? I picture our Italian colleagues straining to be patient and generous, conferring about how to handle the disdain or disappointment they feel. How many times have they said that we mustn’t try to copy them, that we must invent our own way into a relationship with the complex ideas that have guided the evolution of the schools of Reggio Emilia?“We make the road by walking,” reminded one of our American education pioneers, Myles Horton, founder of the ...