e r i e - c a n a l :: p a r t - t w o

He began the day joyfully singing the same song. Over and over again. He then asked to learn more about the Erie Canal. We spent the day acquiring some learning materials. We met a sweet librarian who helped us find books on the subject matter. And although very sweet and helpful, she insisted that these books were not my son's grade level. {More on that later!} Upon arriving home, with the books of course, Isaak's first discovery was this:

"Mama! We have to go to Sofia & Juliette's house NOW!" he said. "Why?" I asked. "Because mama, I have to play this music on their piano." he replied. "Let's call them and see" I said. Turns out, our friends were not available. So we moved on to the next best thing:

Papa's guitar! And although neither of us know how to read music or play either instrument, we strummed and sang with all of our might. And it was delightful. We then pulled out a map of New York state. Of course, Ezra had to be right in the middle of it all. Literally. We found Lake Erie, we found the Atlantic Ocean, and we followed the route of the Erie Canal. Another song that Isaak has been enjoying has been about the United States, so he is familiar with the names and locations of many states. We then looked at our map of America to locate New York in the midst of the U.S.

After a little break, a little play time, and a whole lot of asking, we returned to our studies. We began by discussing what we already know about the Erie Canal and also what we would like to learn more about. We read several books that we acquired from the library. The illustrations alone taught us so much.

And then, off to bed he went. Singing, of course!

As mentioned in the erie-canal :: part one post, as we go through this learning experience I will be contrasting the Charlotte Mason and Reggio Emilia approaches to education. Mostly, for my own education. But also, for those interested in the whys and hows of what we do as we school. Let's take a look at ::

THE VIEW OF THE CHILD

Charlotte Mason ::

"We hold that the child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet, with which it is prepared to deal; and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does foodstuffs." -Charlotte Mason

"We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life." -Charlotte Mason

"A Child learns from 'Things.' We older people, partly because of our maturer intellect, partly because of our defective education, get most of our knowledge through the medium of words. We set the child to learn in the same way, and find him dull and slow. Why? Because it is only with a few words in common use that he associates a definite meaning; all the rest are no more to him than the vocables of a foreign tongue. But set him face to face with a thing, and he is twenty times as quick as you are in knowledge about it; knowledge of things flies to the mind of a child as steel filings to magnet. And, pari passu with his knowledge of things, his vocabulary grows; for it is a law of the mind that what we know, we struggle to express. This fact accounts

for many of the apparently aimless questions of children; they are in quest, not of knowledge, but of words to express the knowledge they have. Now, consider what a culpable waste of intellectual energy it is to shut up a child, blessed with this inordinate capacity for seeing and knowing, within the four walls of a house, or the dreary streets of a town. Or suppose that he is let run loose in the country where there is plenty to see, it is nearly as bad to let this great faculty of the child's dissipate itself in random observations for want of method and direction." -Charlotte Mason

Reggio Emilia ::

"What children learn does not follow as an automatic result from what is taught. Rather, it is in large part due to the children's own doing as a consequence of their activities and our resources. " -Loris Malaguzzi

"Children construct their own intelligence. The adult must provide activities and context, but most of all must be able to listen. Children need proof that adults believe in them. Their three great desires are to be listened to, to understand, and to demonstrate that they are exactly what we expect." -Loris Malaguzzi

"They [children] are autonomously capable of making meaning from their daily life experiences through mental acts involving planning, coordination of ideas, and abstraction.... The central act of adults, therefore, is to activate, especially indirectly, the meaning-making competencies of children as a basis of all learning. They must try to capture the right moments, and then find the right approaches, for bringing together, into a fruitful dialogue, their meanings and interpretations with those children." -Loris Malaguzzi

The Hundred Languages of Children

No way.

The hundred is there.

The child is made of one hundred.

The child has a hundred languages

a hundred hands

a hundred thoughts

a hundred ways of thinking

of playing, of speaking.

a hundred, always a hundred

ways of listening

of marveling, of loving

a hundred joys

for singing and understanding

a hundred worlds to discover

a hundred worlds to invent

a hundred worlds to dream.

The child has a hundred languages

(and a hundred hundred hundred more)

but they steal ninety-nine.

The school and the culture

separate the head from the body.

They tell the child to think without hands

to do without head

to listen and not to speak

to understand without joy

to love and to marvel

only at Easter and Christmas.

They tell the child

to discover the world already there

and of the hundred

they steal ninety-nine.

They tell the child

that work and play

reality and fantasy

science and imagination

sky and earth

reason and dream

are things

that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the child

that the hundred is not there.

The child says

“No way – The hundred is there.”

-Loris Malaguzzi

{Although the Reggio Emilia approach was a collaborative effort in formation, all quotes are from Loris Malaguzzi, the main directive/founder of the method.}

I have much yet to learn about both methods of teaching. And comparing the two is new to me. I am excited about the journey. I know that there are many similarities as well as differences between the two. I do believe, however, in the overall view of the child we see many intertwining aspects. With the exception that Charlotte includes the child's spiritual estate, which to me is an essential component as we view the child.

I

look forward to hearing your thoughts...

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Postscript ::

As I was preparing dinner tonight, I felt the need to clarify this post a bit more. This is going to be a difficult task, comparing these styles of education. There is simply an enormous amount of material that cannot be covered in such a condensed way. So please know that this is hardly a detailed description or a complete account of each method. I am sharing what strikes me, personally, as I go through certain aspects from each educator. After I published this post, I began thinking of the ways in which each method viewed children differently, because there are, in fact differences. However, as I mentioned before... I have shared here what stands out to me. So please, read in the knowledge that there is so much more to be digested! Thank you.