Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/transforming-environments-through-self-reflection/5015749/
As Head Start Coordinators, we, like scores of others in early childhood education, are inspired and enthralled by the Schools of Reggio Emilia. As we discovered the ways of those Italian educators, a fire was rekindled within us. Our passion for and vision of the value of childhood was reawakened and we could not contain our enthusiasm. Any success we have in influencing others has been simply the result of sharing our enthusiasm, experiments, and discoveries as we explore the meanings and possibilities of early childhood education.What we offer here is by no means the definitive way to empower teachers to transform their environments; it is the story of our experience.
In August, 1999 we participated in an in-service training given by Chicago Commons Head Start. They had been studying and applying the principles and practices of the Reggio Emilia approach for several years. It was thrilling and eye-opening to witness a Head Start program that incorporated the values expressed in Reggio Emilia.
In Chicago we experienced curricula that was intellectually stimulating, creative, and alive. This was manifest in the emergent project work, the use of documentation to make learning visible, the role of teacher as researcher, the emphasis on collaboration and ...