Functions of Language.

In Module II, our focus in the EMTTA training is on Language, the components of language, and the language curriculum in the Montessori classroom.  There are many areas which are included in this, so it's been a lot to take in. I can't imagine what it's been like for the Chinese students who are studying from the second-language angle, as most of our information has been focused on the teaching of English curriculums.

Today, we looked at the concept of function in language. I had never really thought about the various functions of language, and how most people use functions in different conversations. What I learned, though, was that most of our words flow in one directional function.

Go back. Incase you're not aware of the different functions of language, I will go through them quickly:

a. Instrumental Language: Used for getting things, for satisfying one's needs.
                                           "I want the color pink."


b. Regulatory Language: Used for controlling the actions and behaviors of others and yourself.
                                         "Don't do that!" // "Can you please be more quiet?"


c. Interactional Language: Used for maintaining and establishing relationships with others.
                                           "Will you play with me?"


d. Personal Language: Used to identify and express personal feelings and attitudes.
                                     "I want to be a doctor when I grow up."


e. Heuristic Language: Used to discover, seek information, solve problems and explore.
                                     "What makes it run? Why?"


f. Imaginative Language: Used for imaginative purposes, as a means of creation a world of one's own.

          "This is the caterpillar, and he is going to eat a lot of purple strawberries."

g. Informative Language: Used for conveying information to someone who doesn't know, to formulate propositions about the world.

"This is black."

We went through a few different common dialogues a teacher might overhear in the classroom, and there was a lot of tension between classmates and Marlene over the function of several sentences. It was hard for many of us to believe that what we consider as polite remindings could really be seen as strict, regulatory, controlling language.

For example, in the central conversation we looked at, three children are building a bear together and discussing how to do it. At one point, one child says, "The head is too small. If you stuff more newspaper in it, maybe it will fill out some."

Several students said that the statement, "The head is too small" should be considered as informational language, as the child is seeing something and remarking on it. However, Marlene noted that this would be considered regulatory language -- the child has one opinion, that the head is too small, and is forcing the idea on the other children working. The child continues using regulatory language when he/she says, "If you stuff more newspaper in it, maybe it will fill out some." It's like saying, "If you wore dresses more often, you'd find a boyfriend." When you say something like this, you're not asking for anyone else's opinion -- you're telling them what you think is the right thing to do. That, in essence, then, is regulatory language.

In fact, when you walk in to a classroom, more than likely 90% of what you hear both children and teachers saying is used in a regulatory functional way. It just may be shrouded in a veil of politeness. But saying please and thank you doesn't mean that you're not trying to control a person.

As teachers, we need to allow our children to understand and use the different functions of language within the environment they are adapting to. And the only way children will be able to understand the functions of language is when TEACHERS MODEL the functions of language.

It's all about the modeling. So we need to look at the way we talk -- to each other, to ourselves, and to the children we teach -- and try to use as many functions as we can on a regular, shifting basis.

How do you use language?

Until the next time...

A Thought Today.

"We desire the old because we fail to understand the new, and we always look for past grandeur without recognizing in lowly simplicity the new stirrings of a germ that must develop."

-- Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child 
     (Chapter 14: Written Language, pp. 200)

I thought this was just so...so very Montessori.

Saw this today on Facebook. 

I can feel exactly where this person is coming from.

"The Whale"

I have always been a worrier.

From a very young age, my mom used to chide me for my worries. I would always ask her, 'But what if...?' and she would say, "What if the world ends tomorrow? Then what are you going to do?" I never had an answer for that one. I always thought she was silly one, and had no understanding of me. 

It's hard not to worry. It's become such an integrated part of our culture to think long-term, make the right decisions, consider your actions and worry for the best. And I've found, in life, that it is only when I stop worrying that the best things happen. If I had worried my way to the moon and back, I would never have made it here to China, and had this wonderful opportunity to study Montessori.

I was shown a beautiful commercial today from Japan, that focuses on the negative impact of worry in a classroom. One of the biggest concerns teachers have focuses on the issue of worry -- When should I worry? Do I worry too much? Do I worry too little? We feel so responsible for our children, they are OUR children, in so many ways. And so we worry. But sometimes, we need to step back and look at the bigger picture. 

Parents are always looking at the little things, and worrying about what the little things mean. I believe that's inherent in becoming a parent, for many. But as teachers, we need to be able to look at both. We need to be able to understand the little things, and piece them together into the big picture, to give the parents a better understanding of their child. This video highlighted that message perfectly, and I hope it means as much to you as it meant to me.

Until the next time...

Marshmallows Anyone?

"The Marshmallow Experiment" (as it is now commonly known) was a famous research project done in 1972 on the effects of delayed gratification in young children. Put together by Walter Mischel, of Stanford University, the experiment consisted of a child sitting in a room in front of one big marshmallow. Before leaving the room, the scientists would tell the child that they had 2 choices:

They could either eat the marshmallow RIGHT NOW.

                Or.

They could wait until the scientist returned, and IF they had not eaten the marshmallow already, 

they would be given 2 marshmallows instead to eat. This would be a wait of about 15 minutes.

This experiment has been many times since it's first trial in 1972, but it was Mischel's results that were hailed as "one of the most successful behavioral experiments". Mischel's main goal was to try and discover at what age the control of delayed gratification develops in children. 

As you can see in the video above, children find many different ways to keep themselves from eating the marshmallow. They cover their eyes (If I don't see it, it's not there!), they jump around, they pull their hair -- all the same things we do to keep ourselves from eating another chocolate cookie, buying more useless pieces of clothing, or doing whatever it may be that our weaknesses lead us to. 

Mischel worked with over 600 children, and found that only a minority of the children actually ate the marshmallow immediately after the researcher had left the room. 

For anyone who has ever met a child aged 4-6, 15 minutes is an INCREDIBLY long time. The fact that any of the children chosen were able to resist eating the sweet treat in the period of 15 minutes deserves lengthy applause in my opinion. Most children these days are raised hand in hand with instant gratification, promised that if only they ask, they shall receive. Then again, it just goes to show that some children have stronger roots within then they choose to show to the adults kneeling down. 

What was even more interesting, though was the follow-up Mischel was able to do with the children who had participated in this experiment. As Mischel's daughters had been friends with many of these children, he was able to find out more about them as they grew up through casual conversation. Children who were able to delay gratification were significantly more competent in the classroom,  and did much better on the SATs as well. This ability to think things through, to understand cause and effect, and to delay gratification became a strong trait which children were able to hold on to throughout their life, and this of course led to lower rates of drug use, higher grades and more successful outcomes through and through. 

An interesting step in learning more about children and their markers of development. And of course, the video is an interesting one to watch!

Until the next time...

New Environments

One of the things I love about Marlene is that she is constantly challenging us to push our limits and think new, think 'I'. In presentations, she shows us pictures of schools all across the world she has visited, worked at, learned about, and discusses the different environments.

Montessori changes, in every way. In one of her articles, Marlene captured this in a completely eloquent phrase: "Diversity of practices, essence of Montessori". A Montessori school in South Korea will be much different from a Montessori school in New York City. A Montessori school in Kenya will be much different from a Montessori school in Brazil. And a Montessori school in France will be much different from a Montessori school in China. Each country has their own culture, and this will be infused into the Montessori classroom. The units we teach will reflect the practices we have in each culture -- perhaps a tea ceremony wouldn't be found in schools in the U.S, but it's common here in Beijing as tea ceremonies are a natural part of Chinese culture.

But the one thing that does connect all of these schools is the philosophy of Maria Montessori. That children love work, that childhood is independent of adulthood, that children must be given opportunities for real life experience, for independence and adaptability. In our own ways, according to our own cultures, we are each passing on this same message to the next generation. This global message is so beautiful.

Today, Marlene took us to visit a really fantastic Montessori school built up by one of her students from NYC, Yinnan. She has set it up in an apartment, and it really just goes to show you what you can do with a space if you have the passion and the dream. I was so impressed, and can only imagine the kind of creative innovation and work that goes on with the children there.

AnRic Little Montessori Room

Practical Life Shelves -- So bright.

The reading room -- Beautiful natural light source.

Art shelves.

Language materials.

Geography Lessons.

Classroom rabbits live peacefully here.

Sensorial area.

Dramatic role-play area, complete with a toy baby.

Beautiful sand/water table, this time incorporating sponges.

Metal inset work for refinement of small motor skills in hand.

Note the beautiful drawings of how to hold a pencil at the back of the table.

The amazing gymnasium at the back of the school!

If you're in Beijing, I highly suggest this school for your child. Yinnan seems like a fantastic teacher, and she has such a great setup in the school. I was so impressed. 

School website: http://www.anricedu.com/

"Theories of Childhood"

Book 1 read for the class was "Theories of Childhood" by Carol Garhart Mooney. Excellent book. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in children, early childhood development, or just how to be a better mentor for children in general. It really explains well, in easy terms, classic theories on children's learning styles, behavior attributes, and relationships to society through the 5 major theorists in this area of education: John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky.

We had to put together a mindmap that sorted out the ideas mentioned in this book. I, of course, got lost in all the interesting tidbits, and my mindmap ended up being 4 pages stuck together with one of the GREATEST pieces of technology ever made -- scotch tape. 

I could only bear to show you two because you might cringe 

at the amount of OCD perfectionist writing. I, however, love it.

So, Mindmap 1 down. Who knows how many more to come.

Until the next time.

The Power of Expectation

Roy Rist in the Harvard Review

This is Ray Rist. Another important name when looking at the state of education in the U.S.A. 

In the 1970's, Ray Rist made an extraordinary contribution to the field of research in education. His thesis centered around the idea of 'The Power of Expectation'. 

Ray Rist began to visit a kindergarten class for African-American students. The teacher as well was African-American. In the classroom, the teacher had assigned students to specific seats and tables, according to their ability. This meant that those students who had better results in the classroom sat close to the teacher, while those who had poorer results in the classroom sat at the furthest table away from the teacher. These seat assignments, unfortunately were only based on the teacher's perception of the student skills. There had been no prior testing to verify their actual skill level. 

In examining these students more closely, Rist found that the students who the teacher had identified as 'better learners' were students from higher social classes, while those who were considered 'weak' were from lower social classes.

Risk stayed in the classroom and monitored the children for a year, finding that the students who sat close to the teacher received the most attention, and therefore performed much better. The students who sat far from the teacher, however, performed much more weakly. The further the student sat, the worse they did. The study was continued for several years after that, and Risk found that the labels the children had been given in kindergarten continued with them throughout their schooling.

So what's the point? 

If you tell a teacher that your child is 'bad at math', your child will probably end up doing poorly in math. This isn't because your child is actually bad at math. It's most likely because the teacher will treat them as though they are bad at math, and will never challenge them in this subject. 

Although no teacher would openly admit it, it's difficult these days in the educational field to believe that all children have the power to succeed. We'd like to think so, but we are warped by news of cultural, socio-economic, gender, intelligence issues that are challenging our children in different ways and making our future generation unequal and unstable. We would never blame the teachers...but it might just be the teachers fault.

As a teacher, you MUST look at all children equally as having the power to succeed. When you believe in a child, they believe in themselves. Challenges arise and they are ready to come to the line. This is how we can empower generations to come. This is what we must enforce in the field of education from now. Thank you Roy Rist.

Until the next time.

Outdoor Schools

I love the rain. But only when I'm inside a cozy room, reading a book.

No. That's not true. I love rain when I'm standing in the middle of a green mountain forest. I love rain when I'm drinking hot coffee somewhere with a friend. I love rain when it's loud and bright after a hot summer day. I do love the rain.

But I can't imagine going to school....in the rain.

I watched a video today about preschools in Northern Norway, where the children go to school nearly all day, all year round, outside. These children are some of the toughest, strongest children I've seen. These children are exploring their environment in the rain, the snow, the sun, the ice, and loving it. For the most part.

The woman who runs these schools is brilliant. She has such adept, intelligent ideas on children and the major issues with education these days, and I can only imagine she is a force to be reckoned with. As she so wonderfully says, "There's no such thing as bad weather. There are only bad clothes."

There are people out there who would object, I'm sure, saying that in some way or another this is torture to a child. But the thing is, the children love it. And their activities allow for some of the best motor development to be seen. The children walk through different terrains of all kinds, including a rocky beach down to the water. It's been found that children who engage in walking on different terrains like this have better developed motor skills, better coordination and better balance than children who play on smooth, artificial playground surfaces.

Perhaps one of the things I really took out of this short documentary, though, was the tribute to the idea of danger that we are constantly pressing on our children. Everything is dangerous. I hear mothers always saying, 'Don't do that! It's dangerous!' But for a child, 'dangerous' is a very abstract concept. What is dangerous? They don't understand. Children need to go out and learn how to develop their motor skills (both large and fine). We need to let our children take chances and develop themselves, motivate themselves through stretching their limits. It's scary, and I understand that, but if you never give your child a chance, they will never be able to learn.



Until the next time...

Edison's Day

I was shown a short video today, called 'Edison's Day'. It focuses on two Montessori teacher parents, with a young son named Edison. They have set up their entire house in order to allow Edison to be a part of the family in the most Montessori way possible. It is a testament to the idea that truly, Montessori is everywhere.

In the video, Edison does most things for himself. He spreads his own peanut butter and toast for breakfast, he helps to wash the dishes, he picks out his own clothing and puts it on. He is responsible for his own learning, and one can truly see how this style works in the child's best interest.

I can't find the video now. It's offered by NAMTA (North American Montessori Teachers' Association), so you can look for it there. I suggest everyone who has an interest in early childhood education, or just children in general, to watch it. It really is amazing.

One of the best moments, for me, was when Edison's father said: "We don't live around him. We live with him." Edison is included in activities and decisions in the household, and knows that he has a role in the family. This is so important to me. Too often I see parents telling their children to Hurry up!, Walk faster!, Don't do that! Parents often forget that children are people too, and that they must adjust their pace of life to the child as well. Watching this video really put that into place in my mind, something I will never forget.

Until the next time...