Reggio Inspired Workshop

November 2006

Voices and Silences

Background to this workshop

As educators, we interpret and implement curriculum guidelines (e.g. the Curriculum Framework, Accreditation Principles) in a way that feels ‘right’ to us. The pressures on us all to conform to some, often unenunciated ‘norm’, however, are very great. While there is a need and a strong direction from politicians, systems and principals to ensure that children receive an equitable education (so there are ‘equal opportunities’), that teachers make consistent judgements about children’s learning (so that schools and families can compare children’s progress and know ‘where they are at’) and that children ‘know, understand, are able to do and have positive attitudes about’ important aspects of our world (e.g. eight learning areas), teachers make individual decisions about what happens in their classroom based on what they believe about teaching and what they believe about learning. The result of this for teachers can sometimes be feelings of fear about ‘being the only one’ or being seen as ‘different’.

For many educators who have been inspired by the work in Reggio Emilia, acknowledging the strengths of children, focusing on relationships and making learning visible makes them feel and appear ‘different’.

As teachers we need to find ways to acknowledge and accommodate the differences in the children we are working with. A Reggio inspired approach challenges us to focus on individual strengths, challenging negative perceptions of difference – and it is hard! We are constantly trying to evaluate whose voices we are hearing amongst out children and whose voices are silent. We are trying to give voice to perspectives that may otherwise be unheard. We are trying to make thinking (and being) visible.

So, are there parallels we can draw on here between the perspectives of difference we are trying to see in children and the way we feel when we are confronted by administrators, principals or even families when we act differently? What do we do successfully to facilitate children’s learning of ‘the other’ that we might do with families, other teachers and administrators who see our practice as ‘different’?

A small group met with hopes to:

Think about supporting children in year 1 to learn math, technology and science

Identify what we might see as ‘different’

Learn about programming for the classroom so that we can facilitate learning and meet standards

We used a ‘drawing on the artist within’ exercise to think about different ways in which we might record our thinking, feeling and being during the workshop. We made marks to express anger, happiness, sadness, jealousy, loneliness, power, shyness and shame.

Materials have their own identity

We explored a range of white materials, identifying their properties: soft, smooth, scratchy, translucent, hard, linear, thick.

We individually chose a material we liked and described it to others, trying to explain what it was and what it was not.

“I chose this material. It is fluffy, spudgy and metallic. Fluff goes up your nose. It is not smooth or stiff. It is not offensive.”

“My material is smooth and scratchy but doesn’t cause discomfort. I used to like bows and I liked this material. It connects me to my wedding. It is translucent, long, white and silver.

“I chose a sample of fabric. It is symmetrical, scalloped, intricate, textural, embroidered. Air and light can pass through it.”

Image of the child

We used the materials to think about our image of the child – the voices and silences, what we heard and didn’t hear.

We each thought and talked about:

·          How do I see the children? – What am I doing and what does that tell me (and others) about what I think and believe about teaching and learning?

·          How do I listen to children? - What am I doing and what does that tell me (and others) about what I think and believe about teaching and learning?

·          How do I interact with children? - What am I doing and what does that tell me (and others) about what I think and believe about teaching and learning?

·          Why are we (the children and I) together? - What am I doing and what does that tell me (and others) about what I think and believe about teaching and learning?

·          What is the role of parents in our learning (the children’s and mine)? - What am I doing and what does that tell me (and others) about what I think and believe about teaching and learning?

Image of ourselves as successful teachers – which white are we?

We used the materials to create an image of ourselves as teachers.