Autumn 2007

Early childhood education & care

A better start

Visiting Reggio Emilia, in Italy, strengthened Judy Holland’s resolve that by slowing down the rush into formal learning, we allow children to establish a basis for all future learning.

Having taught in the prep–year 1 area of the school for many years, I have for a long time felt that we push some of our young students into formal learning far too quickly. It worries me that those not ready for formal learning are placed under pressure to perform tasks that they are simply not ready to tackle. Most of us have at some time experienced the feeling that everyone else around us seems to easily understand a new concept with which we are struggling. It is not an affirming or confidence building experience!

I’m sure we have children in our classrooms that constantly have that feeling of inadequacy and it is easy to understand why many of those simply ‘turn off’ because it is all too hard. As adults, we often avoid the tasks we find hard. Why wouldn’t a five year old do the same thing?

One of the most difficult tasks we master is learning to speak our native language, and yet most of us have this fairly well under control by the time we are four years of age. Children learn to speak because we expect them to speak. We become very excited about those first words that resemble daddy, mummy, etc., and accept approximations, encourage attempts at new words and generally provide a supportive environment in which to learn. Just as importantly, we accept the differences in learning styles and timelines and are not too perturbed when another child the same age as ours begins to walk or talk earlier than our child. Why then do we expect all children to learn to read and write according to a strict time schedule? Why can’t we be just as relaxed about our child’s progress in reading and writing as we are about their acquisition of spoken language? I believe an unwillingness to accept approximations and to encourage every attempt sets up a real barrier to reading and writing skill acquisition in those not ready for formal learning. The pressure to read or write accurately can be so great that the young person decides it is all too hard.

My firm belief is that we all need to relax. We need to immerse students in rich learning environments, make sure that we are not expecting them to run before they can walk and support them by accepting their approximations and offering correction in an affirming manner.

In 2003, I was fortunate to join a group attending the Reggio Children Conference in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where a series of municipal preschools make a concerted effort to provide young children with a different type of education. The philosophy of the learning centres which cater for one–three year olds and four–six year olds is that learning should be child-centred and that adults and children should learn together. One adherent of the philosophy summed it up when he said that those who work with young children should wipe their eyes and clean their ears very carefully each morning. That’s right! Lots of observing and listening. Lots of encouragement and no expectation of formal reading and writing—even for the six year olds. All this sits beautifully with another Reggio philosophy: If possible, everything with joy.

I took a particular interest in the centres catering for the four–six year olds. The experience was amazing. Children worked in bright, light-filled areas with an adult to student ratio of 1:5. The children were totally immersed in data-projected images, large posters, pictures, books and music that supported their area of study. There was continuous discussion, close inspection of detail using cameras, shadow boxes and magnifying glasses along with many opportunities for drawing, painting and the making of models.

Each learning centre had a ‘pedagogista’: a person skilled in learning theories who led the teaching and learning in the centre. They ensured that the children had every opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue and observation in a challenging but comfortable environment.

What was absent was any attempt to formally introduce these children to reading or writing. Yet, I observed drawings completed by five and six year olds where the level of detail was incredible. It seemed that after the children had looked at pictures of spiders (for example) with magnifying glasses, discussed what they had observed, responded to careful questioning by the adult and then painted/drew/made models of a spider they had wonderful knowledge of spiders. Their powers of observation were highly developed as was their ability to discuss their findings. The preschool atmosphere was totally relaxed and children moved freely from activity to activity.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to visit a school where the seven-year-old children who had participated in the Reggio Emilia experience were then exposed to formal learning, but my expectation would be that these children who had such rich preschool experiences would be better prepared for formal learning. I am sure that their highly developed observation and discussion skills would stand them in good stead!

I came back from Reggio Emilia more convinced than ever that we must gently introduce our prep children to formal learning. There has been comment in the media of late about the testing of prep children and its potential to label young learners. I believe that we do need to assess our prep intake to ensure that we are not over taxing those who are not ready for formal learning. The testing must not be threatening or over formal but we do need to carefully and accurately gauge where our young students are in their learning development. If we don’t do this, we are setting some of them up for failure and others for boredom.

At St Mary’s we believe that all children can learn. We also believe that it is paramount that we know where on the developmental learning continuum each child is situated. We can then engage them in learning experiences that gradually build on their present level of skill development. Students will be at all stages of development. What we monitor is each child’s progress!

There is also a huge parent education component. Parents need to feel confident that their child is progressing. Our meetings with parents stress that children learn at different rates and in different ways. In a competitive world, we are constantly reminding parents not to compare their child with the child next door. It is useful to remember that the child who walks at nine months of age does not develop into a better adult walker. The same principle applies to reading.

My experience in Reggio Emilia convinced me that all our students beginning school need lots of hands-on activities, regular opportunities to talk, chances to discover things for themselves and, most importantly, the time to process what they have learnt.

Our five and six year olds at St Mary’s School don’t have lots of recorded work in books. What we do have are classrooms full of children engaged in authentic experiences and activities that build their confidence, their creativity and their knowledge of basic concepts. At the end of each teaching session, we give the children time to share their experiences and tell others what they have learnt. This is a crucial segment of the session when they are able to articulate their learning. We firmly believe that by slowing down the rush into formal, recorded learning we are allowing the children to establish a firm basis for future learning.

There are constant outside pressures to push formal learning onto our school beginners. Those of us who work with these wonderful young people need to be strong and articulate in our reasons for providing a more appropriate and enjoyable learning experience for all our prep children. As educators, we know what will give them the optimum start to their formal learning. It is our duty to give them the best!

Judy Holland is principal at St Mary’s primary school in Mooroopna.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au