I can.

Important Point 1:

Montessori looked at children and thought about what they can do. Parent's always look at their children and think about what they can't do. ("My child can't write! My child can't read!").

The best kind of research out there looks at what children can do, and goes from there. When you want to make good decisions about the development of a child, think about what they can do.

This kind of positive thinking is what we need to change the world.

Cookies and Cupboards Mean Humming.

Lev Vygotsky

This is Lev Vygotsky. A handsome man, for a Russian childhood educator at the turn of the century, right? Vygotsky remains today as one of the more important contributors to ideas in early childhood development to this day, despite his sad, early death of T.B in 1934. 

Vygotsky had one experiment, which I learned about today and thought was quite fascinating. One of his main theories was that development could only occur through social interactions with others. To explore this idea, he went through the following experiment. 

Vygotsky first invited a group of children into a room that held one large cupboard. On top of the cupboard sat a cookie (maybe more), and two large sticks. He told the children that they could eat the cookie, if they could figure out a way to use the two sticks to get it. Then, he would leave the room, telling the children he had to make a call but would return shortly. The children were quite smart. Together, they talked about different strategies, and eventually they were able to use the sticks to get the cookies down. 

The second time Vygotsky went through this experiment, he again left cookies and two sticks on top of the cupboard. He told the children the same thing, that they could eat the cookies if they could figure out a way to get them down. He left the room, telling them he had to make a call but would return soon.   However, this time, when the children began to talk about what to do, they would suddenly hear a loud thump on the door. Vygotsky told them there was a sick baby in the next room and they weren't allowed to speak. Each time they spoke, they would hear the knock. By the time Vygotsky returned, the children had still not figured out how to get the cookies down.

What's the point?

When you stop children from talking, they are not able to learn.

Too often, when you walk into a kindergarten classroom, you find the teacher rushing around, telling the children 'Shush! Shush!' (What does shush even mean?? When did we begin to make that sound and associate it with an order to be quiet?) Classrooms should be humming. We should allow our children to ask questions, to talk out loud, to make noises and explore with their bodies. That's how we know they are learning. 

Until the next time...

Transmission vs. Constructivism

A brief background on the two major paradigms of learning which one should know before teaching:

1. Transmission Paradigm

When you walk into a classroom, with a teacher who follows the Transmission Paradigm of learning, the learner is always the most passive one in the room. The teacher, standing at the front, is most likely repeating a mantra within their mind that follows along the lines of, "I am the teacher, you are the student. I will transmit the information to you....I am the teacher..." When using the transmission style, emphasis is placed mainly on the work the student produces and brings home. Learning is an individual activity, and often, paired work or group work is discouraged. Those who follow the Transmission paradigm, particularly in early childhood education centers, believe that there must be a strict distinction between work and play; Work is hard and boring, but leads to education. Play is meant for fun, and to be done outside of the classroom. The belief, then, is that children would rather play. Therefore, the role of the teacher is to maintain order and control children and the curriculum being taught. Learning, is of course, hard work. Children must be persuaded to work, and this is eventually what leads to rewards and punishments in the classroom. Complex processes, like reading, can be best taught by building up from the smallest parts (the sounds of the letters), to the larger wholes (the sentences themselves). This is a MICRO --> to MACRO environment. The big picture comes last.

2. Constructivist Paradigm

When you walk into a classroom with a teacher who understands and adopts the Constructivist paradigm, you will find the learner is the most active member of the environment. The learner is always creating and formulating new hypotheses by doing things within their environment. The teacher, then, is what we will call the facilitator, who creates a prepared environment, filled with structured activities that will provide the learner with opportunities to direct his/her learning. In this classroom, the emphasis is on the process, rather than the product. Learning becomes a social activity, where collaborative learning between students is highly encouraged. There is no distinction between work and play. In fact, children are introduced to real life activities in many different areas -- teachers emphasize these meaningful, relevant ideas and activities. Teachers must observe children constantly without interruption, and recognize children's errors, using these to make accurate assessments on their level of development. Learning in this kind of classroom becomes an effortless process that goes on continuously without our even trying. Under the Constructivist paradigm, complex processes like reading can best be learned by moving from the whole to the parts, and in seeing parts in the context of the whole. This is a MACRO --> MICRO environment, where the big picture and the small picture and integrated together. 

I have experienced both, I have seen work for different ages. However, at this point in my life, I believe that teachers who understand and adopt the Constructivist paradigm within their classrooms will find much greater creativity and exploration -- but this is just my belief.

Your thoughts?

Until the next time...

Creating Categories

I really want to read this book. It looks so fascinating, and was mentioned in our class today when talking about our beliefs, and how we categorize our beliefs into different areas. The way in which we categorize objects, people, ideas is often incredibly abstract, based on beliefs we have created for ourselves that we often spout out as knowledge. I'm not too confident, however, about this entire subject, which is why I'd really like to read this book -- just looks so fascinating. Anyone read it before?

Doe a Deer

We have been struck with Flashmob Mania, and we are to learning how this is educational.

Marlene showed us this video, today -- and even did some of the moves, which was so fantastic. Before watching it, however, she asked us this:

How...No, why is this an ideal Montessori classroom?

Montessori Hits Antwerp

How can a flashmob be an ideal Montessori classroom? I was struck for a few moments. When I have thought of Montessori in the past, it has been placed in a box of educational philosophy and jumbled up with some real life experiences and kept in that consortium within my brain. Now I suddenly had to think outside of the box (which was exactly what she wanted). With the help of the other students in the classroom, we came up with the following ideas:

1. The dancing begins slowly, and as you watch the people around the square, they look confused, if not even irritated by the sudden distraction. However, as the music continues, they start to tap their feet, shake their shoulders, and the next thing you know -- they're dancing. In a Montessori classroom, this process happens each and every day. Children watch other children in a state of confusion, wondering what they are doing with all of these strange materials. However, slowly, as they start to gain a sense of order and understanding, they join in and in time, your Montessori classroom becomes a humming, buzzing world of learning.
2. Flash mobs are so enthusiastic and exciting! Watching all of the people dance incites a powerful feeling within! And guess what? Montessori classrooms are exactly the same. When visitors come in and see children preparing their own food, cleaning their own messes, working on high level manipulative mathematics and sorting and matching items in hundreds of different ways, they are filled with the same feelings of excitement and enthusiasm that we feel watching this video.
3. The flash mob is self-regulated. They are doing the dancing on their own, keeping each other going, without a conductor at the front telling them what to do. A Montessori classroom runs the same way. The children help each other, and regulate themselves. The teacher is instead a guide, who is available to help when children choose to ask for help.
4. This is an orderly event, done neatly with everyone joining in -- again, like a Montessori classroom, where there is an order which children are aware of and are able to regulate on their own.

I could go on. But I'd like to hear other ideas from people who know about Montessori and who enjoy this video as much as I do -- what do you think?

Until the next time...

Day 2: The Power of Names

We began the day today by doing a mini-workshop on names. We wrote out our names on large pieces of draft paper and discussed how we felt about our names, the stories behind our names, and the challenges we may or may not have felt our names presented us in our lives.

When living in a growing bilingual country, you notice how much or little emphasis is put on names. In China, many people have both Chinese names and English names. This is an expanding trend which is grounded in popularity, love for Western culture, and as well a desire to make it easier for foreigners to remember their names -- or so I've heard from my Chinese classmates. For the most part, though, an English name is just a nickname. When the Chinese students in my class had to really connect with a name, they went back to their Chinese name.

Going through the stories of many of the Chinese names, it struck me how many of them have a background in beauty. Many of the women are named 'Beautiful Sunset', or 'Beautiful Country', when translated. There is a passionate nationalism infused in several of the names I came across today, as well. While some may see this as a negative, I find it very fascinating that humans have created such a strong connection to their own country through the power of a name.

The power of a name. Names are powerful, when you get right down to it. My name is Charlene -- but throughout my entire life, every person who has held any kind of position in my life has always called me Charlie. That's who I consider myself as. Charlie. When you call me Charlene, it makes me feel very formal -- I straighten my shoulders and sit right, prepared to be called upon to speak. Two names with two very different personalities. That's the power to my name.

When a child first enters your classroom, it is essential to help them to remember their name. They need to know who they are in order to begin creating their personality and learning about themselves within your classroom. If they don't know their name, they can too easily lose themselves in the distractions. It is the first step, then, to play name games, hand out name cards, and exercise the power of a name with the children in your classroom.

Marlene asked a very interesting question to the students at the end of this discussion, which I am still puzzling over at this moment. Often, children come into our classes, and they have three different sets of names -- Their Chinese name might be Wang Jia Yi, but their nickname might be Jia Jia, and their English name might be Jackie. So what should you call them? If you had to make a school policy, which name would you make children use in the classroom? Their Chinese name? Their English name? Their nickname? Why? 


I'm still not sure. I'm under the belief that children should know their whole name, as that's the family name given to you -- but sometimes children identify more with nicknames as they are easier for all to pronounce. Any thoughts? Would love to hear feedback on this subject.

Until the next time...

Day One of EMTTA Training: OVER.

Exhausted? Check.

Spent entire wad of money on 7 books all about children? Check.

Thrilled to be on one of the most important transformative changes of my life? Check.

The first day of class is always the introductory class, but this was unlike any group introduction I've ever had. We shared names, and stories of names, and views on names, and the importance of names. Then we moved on to beliefs and knowledge, asking each other whether our beliefs stem from our knowledge or whether our knowledge stems from our beliefs.

Think about this for a moment. What about you? Is the knowledge you hold separated from the beliefs you hold? Do you integrate them in your mind? Or does one stem from the other?? 


So interesting.

I could go on, but honestly, I'm beat. I'll share one interesting idea I've taken from today. We were watching a beautiful video of a Montessori classroom in Japan, children ages 1-2. They were making cookies together, collecting chicken eggs, watering vegetables, and using all of these things to make a lunch which they then set the table for and ate together in peace and harmony. Such a beautiful, hopeful vision of the world.

I noted that in the video, the teachers were very rarely speaking. Most of their teaching was done with hands. Marlene talked about how from birth, children begin as visual learners. They watch everything and take in understandings from what they see. She asked us which part of the body children will draw first, and usually draw the most.

Do you know?

Typically, it's the face. Children will draw the face because this is the first thing they see and something they see often -- the face, when mothers are bending over them and changing their diapers. Children become very familiar with this, and it is translated through their drawings.

Fascinating, right?

So much more to come. Off to bed.

On Erikson.

Required Reading #1: Erik Erikson, Childhood and Society

  I really enjoy reading Erikson, so far. His ideas on child development revolved mainly around these major stages of 'Psychosocial Development', ranging from birth to old age, each of which feature certain patterns that influence a person's actions/interactions throughout life. 

 I've focused mainly on the stages that cover children ages 2-5, as that is the main age range I will be teaching. Erikson writes that children go through two major stages in this age period;

• 2-3 Years Old: Automony vs. Shame and Doubt: These are the years where children begin to acquire a sense of independence without suffering shame. Toddlers struggle throughout these years between both holding on to their loved ones and as well letting go. It is when a child is able to develop a strong sense of self control without the loss of self esteem that they will begin to feel proud and confident in themselves.

• 4-5 Years Old: Initiative vs. Guilt: The main goal of a child at this age is to acquire a sense of purpose. Children begin to initiate and work through activities in order to get things done, rather than for the sake of individual control. With the help of good teachers, preschool children should be able to use their energy in active ways, allowing their confidence to grow. If this doesn't happen, if teachers focus on the mistakes of children who are on their way towards developing new skills, the child's sense of initiative can turn into guilt and discouragement.

It's quite interesting looking at the role of the teacher, and how much influence they really can have in the future of a child's life. Erikson serves to remind me of the incredible power that is held in the role of the teacher -- and shows poignant reminders of how that power can be abused. 

One thing I picked up on was the common use of rhetoric in preschool language employed by teachers when talking to children. I don't think I noticed this as much when actually working in school, but it's something I'm definitely going to be more aware of in the future. As Carol Garhart Mooney writes in the book I'm reading now, An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Paget & Vygotsky: 

"Many teachers make the mistake of offering toddlers a choice when there really isn't one. It's very confusing for a child who is trying to learn how much control they really have to be asked a rhetorical question. Adults and school-age children can understand that "Would you like to do the dishes?" is a request or the polite phrasing of an expectation. Toddlers cannot distinguish between this kind of question and a real choice. For this reason, teachers are sometimes surprised when they ask, "Would you like to go out to play now?" and the child who thought she had a choice wails at being thrust into her jacket against her will."

She goes on to note that it's better to rephrase questions like this, so as to offer a choice of how, rather than whether, the task will be accomplished. Provide limits for the child, but still with options of independence. For example, "We are going out now. Would you like me to help you put on your jacket, or do you want to do it yourself?". This states that you are going outside, but still allows the toddler freedom to incorporate his own choice.

These are such interesting things for me to take into the classroom!!

(One day left of freedom -- then onto AMS training...Still so much reading!)

If I Was Marx, I'd Wear a Pink Bow Too...

https://www.facebook.com/agirlsguidetotakingovertheworld

Thanks to "A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World" on Facebook for this beautiful portrait of our friend Marx. The pink really suits his well-done hair.

Tree Notes.

I liked this one a lot. Good advice from a tree.

I think there's a lot more out there we need to learn from nature.

Flowers in a Boot!

When winter ends, I always see people throwing their once-fancy winter boots out into the garbage, who knows where they will end up next. I've always wondered if there's some way I can recycle them into something better, as I really hate to see more of China become a garbage dump (so much garbage here, it's ridiculous). Not sure if all the Uggs would hold up as well as the boots in this picture, but I'm kind of thinking it might be worth a try. Any suggestions?

Creative Open Doors Aren't Cheap

One of the things that I love about a Montessori classroom (and I haven't even been certified yet!), is that you can be so creative with it. From time to time, I wander around the classrooms at my school and pick through all of the interesting things teachers have made, purchased, borrowed, created in order to inspire a child's own motivation. One of my favorites is Ali, a wonderful Russian friend of mine who opened the first International class at our school. She finds these amazing little doll sets that children can use for matching activities, she incorporates these beautiful magnets with traditional Chinese art paintings which children can use for inspiration, and she has all kinds of great practical life works set out -- from beads to cloth washing work, and so much more. She's a fabulous teacher, and I'm so lucky to have her supporting me from the get-go.

This open door creative policy, however, can be a littler overwhelming. At times you find yourself peering through the cricks of a grocery store, poring over every little piece wondering if you might be able to use it for your classroom. Like today. I went to buy some ingredients for dinner, just a few quick things, and I walked out with this.

I'm hoping to use this wonderful little heart ice-cube tray over Valentines Day -- which is, yes, nearly 8 months away. Planning ahead much? I think it'll make a great Practical Life activity, maybe tonging small pom-poms in the work, or perhaps some kind of water work.

I just loved these! They're so colorful. I'm just getting into the whole cooking thing (Thank you Masterchef TV). I find that all the kitchen utensil fas can be either overwhelming, or boring. So I bought these. Kids can use them for so many different things - of course, for cooking purposes, but also for measuring all different kinds of mediums. Then we can do contrasts and comparisons, maybe some graphing, maybe some play-dough making....I'm getting ahead of myself, again.

So this is what it's like. I both love it and hate it, because where I once used to be the fastest one in and out, I'm now the one lingering, the one everyone's shouting at and waiting for...

I'm just hoping this will make me the best Montessori teacher I can be :).

1 Week Countdown.

It's my last week working in a Chinese kindergarten as an English Specialist. The feeling is good. I get to put all of the dry, boring textbooks away in the cupboard, pull out my notebooks and prepare for the next step to something better.

Next week, I'm going to begin my AMS Certification training here in Beijing, China. AMS as in American Montessori Society -- incase you were thinking of some other acronym. I've heard both the best and the worst reviews of this certification program. I've seen teachers sleep on classroom couches for weeks, too overwhelmed by homework and observational records to return home. While a few finish in a year, most struggle through 2, sometimes 3 years to complete all of the homework, the essays, the records, the materials, and everything else they may ask of you. Then again, I've been told Marlene's a genius (Marlene Barron, former professor at NYU, Head Lecturer of the AMS 3-6 year old program here in Beijing), Montessori is the way of the future, and my accreditation will be the best choice I've ever made. Take the bad with the good, then, I suppose.

I'm determined to keep a record, for myself, and for others -- of daily life in the world of an in-training Montessori student and teacher. I've gone through the books, listened to the stories, heard how much people have gone through in order to create the beautiful classrooms they now thrive in today. No promises I'll have the same experience. Mainly, I want to observe myself. Observation is at the core of the Montessori philosophy, and we must watch ourselves, judge ourselves, and learn to adapt ourselves. 

Plus, one day in the future when I think I'm having a bad day, I really want to have something to look back on to remember that it is strife that makes you a better person.

Shoot for the moon - - fluent Chinese and Montessori certification, starting in 1 week. Wish me luck!