A Wealth of Knowledge....

I have been very blessed this past year to be able to travel, learn from, and talk with educators from all over the world. The initial purpose of my travel has been to enhance my study and understanding of the Reggio Approach which began over 17 years ago. The most recent reason is the other important facet of our school, and that is our duty as a public school to insure the academic success of all our students. My background in education began with early childhood and Reggio, but evolved into a professional practice devoted to the language arts and teacher preparation. As a professor at Aquinas College, and an instructor at Michigan State, I worked to prepare teachers, especially in the area of literacy. My approach to learning to read is very much aligned with the Reggio philosophy. That is, it is holistic in nature and cannot ignore the developmental levels of the child. The six language arts: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing cannot be separated from one another, which means each is necessary for all of the others. Just as humans cannot learn effectively in isolation from one another, all subjects must coordinate for each of us to make sense of our world and the knowledge we gather. As I sit and listen to all of the research, ideas, and innovation from my colleagues, mentors and peers, I see that the work each of us engages in each day cannot be separated either. The professors and researchers need our classrooms to further their work, and understand more about how children learn, and how teachers instruct. As educators, we need the findings and professional opinions of those in higher education and the field-at-large to help us improve our practice and increase the achievement of our students. The greatest parts of this past weekend at the International Reading Association Annual Convention is the validation for the work we are currently doing, and the opportunity to do even more, I attended several thought provoking and valuable presentations, on topics such as current research, the value of summer reading programs, using literature to address bullying, helping English learners, the importance of professional development, trends in children’s literature, culturally relevant practice and much more. I look forward to sharing these experiences with my staff and families over the coming months as we move to draft a strategic plan aimed at helping us set clear goals to enable us to overcome current challenges and enhance our many successes. One way to begin the conversation is by your participation. We have several opportunities coming up in these last few weeks of school [Portfolio Day, Parent and Principal Coffee, Spaghetti Dinner]. The GRCDC works because of the dedication of staff, the motivation and interest of our students, and especially through the involvement of our parents.

Malaguzzi on Creativity

Dear Readers, I am in San Antonio, Texas this weekend for the International Reading Association Annual Convention. I hope to find some inspiration at the sessions as we continue to work at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center to combine our progressive approach and the traditional model of the American public school. Stay tuned! - emm

The Earth without Art

Malaguzzi

Cognitive Process

Dear Readers, I am not trying to be lazy, but am forced to curtail my writing for the Blog until my project is finished for my Ed Administration course at MSU. I hope to finish this weekend, so will be back at the keys soon! Thank you for your interest and support! Sincerely, Erin

Collaboration

Control

I hope today finds all members of our community rested, relaxed, refreshed and renewed. As the annual break approaches each year, I always wonder why we have it. As a young girl growing up in Kansas City, I never remember having a week off in the middle of the year, but now as an adult I am thankful for the respite and reflection this time provides. At breakfast this morning I noticed how happy the children were to be back in school, connect with friends, and update me on their “adventures” during their time off. I realized we all need this time – staff, parents, and especially the children. This week’s message is on the issue of control. I learned quite a bit about my own capacity to gain and release control this past Spring Break, and the realization that I really have very little control over life’s events, but I have total control over my response to those events. Nothing made this fact more clear this past week than technology. I was unable to access or send email for a week, and had very limited and inconsistent text messaging ability. At first, this was quite frustrating and scary, but after a day or two, quite liberating and refreshing. Without our smartphones and laptops, my daughter and I had conversations, read books, slept, shared stories with friends over meals, and just enjoyed life. All of the members of our group also quickly realized how reliant we have become on our technology to communicate and coordinate. We could not send a text to say “meet me at 10:00” or “where are you?”, we had to go find that person, and communicate face-to-face to let them know we wanted to be with them and share the day, or that we were alright. Those of us who are older remember as children, leaving the house in the morning, and being told to come in “when the street lights come on”. Yes, it is a very different time, and no, we would never do that with our own children today, but I do wonder how our parents were able to remain calm and feel secure without the ability to ‘check in’ with us at a moment’s notice. While the ‘technology break’ was satisfying, I must admit to checking my phone every hour on the last day of my trip, and as soon as I could, got on my email to check in and communicate with my staff, friends, and family. The week off also made for a very quiet trip home, as all the teenagers were engrossed in checking their Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and I do not know what else. The bright side to all of this is that our children, and succeeding generations will have gained a facility with technology that most of our generation will never possess. The openness, willingness, and opportunity to access technology, media, and communication really are traits and skills of which our children are able to take advantage. While none of us will ever be able to totally control technology, our attitude toward its strengths and weaknesses will determine its utility and benefit in our lives. As I think about this more, we could use this as a metaphor for all facets of our lives such as relationships, policies, and events. Cancelled flights, natural disasters, SNOW IN MARCH, misunderstandings and hurt feelings are examples of frustration, tragedy and discomfort, but all can be overcome by our ability to accept and respond with a positive attitude. Of course, we are not perfect, and we cannot always summon the ‘bright side’, but we can commit to always trying. So happy everyone is back! Peace, Erin

Michigan Night Light article highlighting the GRCDC