Early Childhood Educator Essay Example for Free

Early Childhood Educator EssayThe inspiration for the Reggio Emilia approach came from Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italy, exclusively the preschools ar centered on this approach. It is a city run program for children from birth to the age of half-dozen (Cyert Center, 2004). The philosophy is that, childrens interactions and relationships with other children and adults ar a vital component of their accomplishment (Schiller, 1995). Reggio Emilia schools in the unify States, Italy, and other countries around the world differ greatly from standard preschools here in the United States. Some of the key differences and components of the Reggio Emilia program is its role in the connection, attention to the environment, and its emergent syllabus which functions as a p stratagem of the t from each oneers and the children. Role of the Community The community is a big p art of the Reggio Emilia schools. in that respect are regularly scheduled meetings for parents to take part in. These meetings are scheduled in the evening so that working parents are able to attend. The parents and teachers discuss issues regarding school policies, child development concerns, and curriculum intend and evaluations (Wikipedia, 2007).The parents are involved in the whole process of the education of their children. Teachers send home journals of childrens thoughts and ideas expressed in class. This kind of cooperation among teachers and parents make learning on the childrens part much easier and complete. Attention to the Environment concord to Lilian G. Katz, The physical environment of a preschool center is considered a teacher in and of itself (Katz, 1990). This holds true in a Reggio Emilia school. The environment is considered the third teacher to the students attending this kind of program.The building itself and classrooms are filled with indoor(prenominal) plants, vines, and lots of natural light. Natural light enters the classrooms through wall-sized windows letting the children connect with the outside world. All of the classrooms arrive at a door to the outside and open to a center piazza. Each classroom flows well with each other and the surrounding community. The lunch rooms, courtyards and bathrooms are designed in a way to encourage community among all the students (Wikipedia, 2007). Incorporated into each school is a common space available to all children in the school that includes dramatic free rein and work tables (Cyert Center, 2004).Each classroom is connected with a phone, passageway or a window. The classrooms are equipped with art centers called atelier (Gandini, 1993). In the atelier are easels, watercolors, crayons, markers, paper, and any art materials children need to be creative. Another part of the classroom has books about artists and a place where children can film comfortably (Schiller, 1995). Displayed around the classroom, among all the photographs of the children and carefully placed mirrors in the school, are works co mpleted by the children with transcriptions of their discussions about the work.The physical environment of a preschool center is considered a teacher in and of itself (Katz, 1990). Emergent political platform There is no time schedule where at some part of the day the students are learning about science, then language arts, and then math. The kind of schedule the students follow is that on that point is a congregation meeting when the students arrive in the morning. Then there is a work period, play period, lunch time, play time, nap time, and then another work period or play period (Hertzog, 2001). For their work period, there is no set curriculum that the teachers mustiness follow.The curriculum is an emergent curriculum which is child centered. Emergent instrument that is builds upon the interests of the child. The teachers have broad goals but can follow the lead and interests of the children (Schiller, 1995). During the work periods, a teacher get out work with one smal l group on their project while the other students are prosecute in self selected activities. The projects are teacher directed and child initiated and begins with the teacher observing the children and asking the children questions on a point that interests the child.The students then do in depth studies of the subject that interests the children of that group (Wikipedia, 2007). The project moves in unanticipated directions. To avoid confusion the teachers help children make decisions about direction of study, how to research the topic, and how to represent the topic (Cyert Center, 2004). The projects can range in length from one week to the whole school year. When the students are content to be complete with their project they depict their knowledge through drawing, sculpting, dramatic play, or writing.At every(prenominal) school, there is a visual art specialist, an atelierista, who works closely with the other teachers and children (Gandini, 1993). The atelierista guides the children into appropriate media choices to complete their ideas and projects. Because art is such an integral part of all activities, the students old works, finished and unfinished, are available to them to finish or add on. While they work on their art projects, the teachers talk to the children and write down any thoughts or ideas the students have.They display the students discussions with their art work around the classroom and school (Schiller, 1995). In order for this curriculum to work, the teachers must also learn with the students. The teachers take turns with the following roles observing, note taking, and recording observations between children. After all observations are recorded, they are shared with other teachers and parents in the planning of the students projects. It is crucial that teachers become skillful observers of the children. Their observations guide the curriculum planning and implementation (Wikipedia, 2007).Conclusion The Reggio Emilia approach to learni ng is a constructivist approach where the students learn at their own pace and guide the curriculum. It is all about the children. The childrens interests lead them into a project that is researched in depth at a level that they can understand. The childrens thoughts and ideas are implemented into the curriculum and planning and are shared with the community. Reggio Emilia works because the children are learning what they want to learn with the help of their parents, teachers, and the community.