Nadirchat

I�m often conflicted about finding the best way to �train� teachers or at best to inspire them. I use the word train loosely because after all can someone be trained to think in a Reggio inspired mindset?  When teachers are surrounded by rich environments full of loose parts, endless art supplies, STEM materials, ramping equipment and past work for reflection, yet still find nothing to do, then I concede that the cause is lost! At the end of the day, inspiration, motivation and a desire to leave your students and school the best part of yourself has to be intrinsic. No one can inspire an unmotivated person, no matter how much they are prodded or pushed. This is not a teacher skill but a life skill; to push to new levels, to maximise talents and dispositons, to want to be the best version of who you can be. The teachers who master this are the ones that are remembered by their students long after the facts fade: the teachers who make everyday worthwhile, who are as much learners as ...

A few months ago I was in Indigo looking for a few new books to read and I happened upon Walter Isaacson's book,   Leonardo DaVinci. Since I love history, I decided to add it to my cart. I was curious to learn about his life. Little did I know that I was about to be inspired by a man who lived over 500 years ago. Leonardo left mankind richer, not only because of his famous Mona Lisa but because he was history's greatest creative genius. His life journey was to know everything there was to know about the world and how humans fit into it. So what does this have to do with a blog on Reggio inspired work. Here's the thing.   Leonardo was not a university graduate. He was the illegitimate son of a notary. He was self taught. Most people know him as a painter but the truth is he didn't really like to paint at all. He was an engineer, scientist, mathematician, builder of flying machines, designer of theatre props, hydraulics systems, and war machinery, he dissected cadavers...

 The Italian word, Attraversiamo, crossing over, pacts quite a punch when it is applied to the art of teaching. The time has come for educators to consider crossing the bridge that holds, on one side, the traditional practices of educating and on other the new world of engaging in a learning journey with children. The walk across may be challenging. Let us consider that as you cross you will encounter wind, rain and slippery conditions. These forces impede your crossing. Similarly the conventional mindsets of teaching will press on you to keep your traditional roles as the rulers of your classrooms. Relinquishing what is familiar is difficult.  Most people don't like change especially when everything seems to be working fine. So why do it? We do it because children deserve the best of us. If this is not why you chose to be a teacher then you are in the wrong profession. A teacher is foremost a learner, even after she earns her degree. Read the Hundred Languages of Children to ...

The Next Step Let's discuss the "So What" It is here that teacher's must think deeply about "what" will make the topic choice a rich and meaningful project. So many ideas float around in a day and its impossible to pursue them all. We must look for ones that will leave the children enriched. We look at what we hope the children will gain on the journey. If we can validate the choice then the topic is worth exploring. That is the so what.  Like the children, each time we encounter a topic we expand our knowledge base. The So What of the community project In order to thrive everyone must feel connected to other people.  Communities are part of life. More that just a place to live it is a place of people, voices, shared space, rituals and customs. Coming form the Latin term  meaning "with gifts" the term suggests a general sense of humanity, reciprocity and a shared practice of doing good for others that comes from working together for a joint purpose...

Over the course of the last few months, I've received many emails asking me to post the evolution of a class project. I'm sharing this one in hopes that it helps those who are struggling with finding their path. I must stress that this is only our way of working and it should be used as a guideline if it fits your practice. Most school years, project topics present themselves quite readily. However this year, there hasn't been much buzz about one particular area of interest. There are many smaller experiences floating about as well as our work on the changes in the season and all that it presents. We decided that a provocation was needed so we decided to see if we could somehow expand our inquiry into what makes each of us unique. The children had already made their portraits and addressed what makes them special.  We considered the possibility of inviting the children to consider how each of them fit into their community. Communities are made up of individuals all working ...

People, especially teachers, should wake up each day charged with the desire to learn or experience new things. This keeps life interesting and helps us to become the best version of ourselves. When we stop seeking, inquiring, researching and reinventing our perspectives, we grow old, dull and complacent. Complacency is a teacher's downfall. Days, months and years of repeating the same experiences, rolling aimlessly from one day to the next and never finding joy in the moment makes a dreary classroom. We see this in the teachers who flutter from one job to the next. They are the lifeless, the disengaged, seeking environmental change to motivate them. The truth is that these grasshoppers lack internal commitment to their craft. Children are children and the work is the work  no matter where you hang your hat. It's astonishing to see how many "teachers" lack the ability to form meaningful relationships. This is a core flaw, not in teaching skills, but in a person's ...