Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange (December 2016) PDF

The Quarterly Periodical of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance | December 2016 Innovations In Early Education: The International...

The Quarterly Periodical of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance | December 2016 Innovations In Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange Inside: Children are Citizens: The Everyday and the Razzle-Dazzle page 4 Building Possible Worlds: The Special Friendship between Reggio Emilia and Professor Jerome Bruner in Three Acts page 16 The Conditions of Creativity as Explored by Jerome Bruner page 24 Excerpts from the Daily Life at Colorado State University Early Childhood Center: Relationships Matter page 26  Innovations In Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange Introduction Published Quarterly by the North American Reggio In this issue of Innovations, we focus on the is an essential pillar of the Reggio schools. Emilia Alliance rights of children to participate in the life of Sustaining the strong bond between children’s December 2016 - their community, to develop and maintain rela- and adults’ destinies has characterized 50 Volume 23, Number 4 tionships, and to have a voice in asserting their years of dialogue and cultural and political EDITORS rights. The first section in “Identity and Aims collaboration between the city of Reggio and Editor: of the Infant-Toddler Centres and Preschools” its municipal preschools and infant-toddler Judith Allen Kaminsky in Indications—Preschools and Infant-Toddler centers.” In fact, Indications states that the North American Reggio Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia infant-toddler centers and preschools are Emilia Alliance [email protected] concerns the rights of children: “[q]ualified in a system of relationships”: Education is the right of all, of all children, Associate Editor: As an active and dialoguing part of the Lella Gandini, Ed.D. and as such is a responsibility of the com- community life of the city, the infant-toddler Reggio Children liaison in the munity. Education in an opportunity for the centres and the preschools are constantly U.S. for dissemination of the growth and emancipation of the individual Reggio Emilia approach engaged in developing a close relationship and the collective; it is a resource for gaining [email protected] with the territory, interacting and collab- knowledge and for learning to live together; Consulting Editors: orating with the entire system of cultural, it is a meeting place where freedom, democ- Carol Bersani, M.S. educational, and economic offers of the city racy, and solidarity are practiced and where Kent State University managed by both public and private bodies. the value of peace is promoted. (Istituzione Jeanne Goldhaber, Ph.D. (Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio University of Vermont of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, p. 7) Emilia, p. 8) Eileen Hughes, Ph.D. Western Washington University The first article in this issue, “Children are The “Voices: Conversations from North Amer- Gigi Schroeder Yu, Ph.D. Citizens: The Everyday and the Razzle-Daz- ica and Beyond” column features “Building Albuquerque Public Schools zle,” includes experiences with children in Possible Worlds: The Special Friendship be- the city of Reggio Emilia and in Washington, tween Reggio Emilia and Professor Jerome DC, and is co-authored by Mara Krechevsky, From an agreement by Loris Bruner in Three Acts,” a tribute to Jerome a senior researcher at Project Zero, Harvard Malaguzzi in concert with Bruner from the children, parents, teachers, Eli Saltz in 1992. Collaboration and Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, atelieristas, cooks, and pedagogistas of the consulting with Reggio Children MA; Ben Mardell, a principal investigator at and the Istituzione Scuole e Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centers of the Project Zero; Tiziana Filippini, a pedagogista Nidi d’Infanzia, Municipality of Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Innovations and former member of the Pedagogical Coordi- Reggio Emilia, Italy. Supported also published tributes to Bruner, who passed nating Team of the Preschools and Infant-Tod- by Amelia Gambetti, Paola Riccò, away in June, in the September 2016 issue. and Emanuela Vercalli, Reggio dler Centers, Istituzione of the Municipality Then Margie Cooper, president and executive Children International Network of Reggio Emilia; and Maddalena Tedeschi, Exchanges. director of Inspired Practices in Early a pedagogista and member of the Pedagogi- Education, standing chair of NAREA, and a cal Coordinating Team of the Preschools and member of the board of the Reggio Children- Infant-Toddler Centers, Istituzione of the Mu- © 1992 Innovations in Early Loris Malaguzzi Center Foundation, writes Education: The International Reggio nicipality of Reggio Emilia. Early in their ar- “The Conditions of Creativity as Explored by Emilia Exchange ticle, Mara, Ben, Tiziana, and Maddalena Jerome Bruner.” state, “The recognition of children as citizens As an active and dialoguing part of the community life of the city, Image Credit the infant-toddler centres and the preschools are constantly Image on cover from La Bambina del Profumo project–© Preschools engaged in developing a close relationship with the territory, and Infant-toddler Centers – interacting and collaborating with the entire system of cultural, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia educational, and economic offers of the city managed by both public and private bodies. –Indications – Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia 2 Innovations in Early Education  NAREA Mission Statement Children possess extraordinary potentials for learning and change, The North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA) is a network of as well as extensive affective, relational, sensory, and intellectual educators, parents, and advocates seeking to elevate both the quality resources that manifest in an ongoing exchange with the cultural of life and the quality of schools and social context. and centers for young children. We envision a world where all –Indications – Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia children are honored and respected for their potential, capabilities, and humanity. Our mission is to build a diverse The “Voices” column also features “Excerpts voice,” NAREA and phase one host community community of advocates and from the Daily Life at Colorado State Univer- children, educators, and families collaborated teachers to promote and defend sity Early Childhood Center: Relationships in the development of the “NAREA Children’s the rights of children, families, Matter” by Emily Murphy, a mentor teacher Rights Video,” which was posted and shared and teachers of all cultures through a collaboration of at Colorado State University Early Childhood in mid-October and again on November 20 in colleagues inspired by the Reggio Center in Fort Collins, CO. In this article, Emily recognition of Universal Children’s Day. Emilia philosophy. shares stories of friendships between the three- and four-year-old children in her class and how REFERENCE NAREA BOARD she and her colleagues realized that they “were witnessing a level of maturity that [they] pre- Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres, Co-Chairs viously thought only capable of adults.” In the Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Barbara Acton, M.A. first principle of the Reggio Emilia educational Emilia. (2010). Indications – Preschools and Ohio project, Indications states: infant-toddler centres of the municipality Margie Cooper, Ph.D. of Reggio Emilia. Reggio Emilia, Italy: Georgia Children possess extraordinary potentials Reggio Children. Board Members for learning and change, as well as extensive Jennifer Azzariti, Ed.M. affective, relational, sensory, and intellec- Washington, DC tual resources that manifest in an ongoing Karyn Callaghan, M.Ed. Ontario exchange with the cultural and social con- Simonetta Cittadini-Medina text. (Istituzione of the Municipality of Florida Reggio Emilia, p. 10) David Fernie, Ed.D. Massachusetts Finally, the “Perspectives in NAREA” column Angela Ferrario, M.Ed. features “The Power of the Collective Voice: Massachusetts ‘The Wonder of Learning’ Exhibit Project” by Brenda Fyfe, Ed.D. Judith Kaminsky, NAREA exhibit project co- Missouri ordinator and Innovations editor. This article Amelia Gambetti highlights the initiative that NAREA organized Reggio Emilia, Italy Lella Gandini, Ed.D. for host community representatives of phase Massachusetts one (2008–2014) of “The Wonder of Learning – Jeanne Goldhaber, Ph.D. The Hundred Languages of Children” exhibit Vermont project during and immediately following the Jennifer Kesselring Twelfth NAREA Summer Conference in Toron- Oklahoma to, ON in June 2016. Judith discusses the inten- Beth MacDonald tions of the initiative as well as the dialogue that Minnesota took place during the three days of meetings in Susan Redmond South Carolina order to better understand the significance of Jennifer Strange, MAT the NAREA exhibit project in host communi- Missouri ties and throughout North America. In order Pat Tarr, Ph.D. to begin to realize “the power of the collective Alberta December 2016 3  Children are Citizens: The Everyday and the Razzle-Dazzle By Mara Krechevsky, Ben Mardell, Tiziana Filippini, and Maddelena Tedeschi Mara Krechevsky is a senior researcher at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Ed- ucation in Cambridge, MA. Mara has been conducting educational research for over 30 years, including directing “Making Learning Visible,” an investigation into documenting and assessing individual and group learning from preschool to high school. Ben Mardell is a principal investi- gator at Project Zero and the project director of “Pedagogy of Play.” Ben has been associated with Project Zero since 1999, initially on the “Making Learning Visible” project. Mara and Ben co-au- thored Visible Learners: Promoting Reggio-Inspired Approaches in All Schools with Melissa Ri- vard and Daniel Wilson. Tiziana Filippini was a member of the Pedagogical Coordinating Team of the Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centers, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia from 1978–2015. From 1994–2010, Tiziana coordinated the Documentation and Educational Research Center of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. She also participated in the collaborative research project with Reggio Children and Project Zero titled “Making Learning Visible,” which was pub- lished in a very well-known book in North America and around the world. Maddalena Tedeschi has been a member of the Pedagogical Coordinating Team of the Preschools and Infant-Toddler Cen- ters, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia since 1991 and was a teacher at the Rodari infant-toddler center from 1981–1991. Maddalena is the pedagogista at the preschool and primary school at the Loris Malaguzzi International Center. “DC belongs to anyone who takes care of it really good. The other people have to practice.” Maya, 4.7 years, Washington, DC “You know how you share food with people? That’s what it’s like living in a city— you share the whole city with everybody. It’s like a house that you share with your family.” Ingrid, 5.1 years, Washington, DC “Reggio Emilia is big because lots of houses fit in it, and that way we can be friends with other people.” Francesco, 5.6 years, Reggio Emilia “People have always built cities because without cities everyone would have to stand up all the time and just walk around.” Laura, 5.2 years, Reggio Emilia 4 Innovations in Early Education Children, Their Schools, and Their Cities (We use the word city as an all-encompass- Cities belong to the adults and ing term to refer to towns, suburbs, and oth- er communities where people live together children who live there—even within some form of organized government.) young children, who are capable How do children get to know their city and of generating compelling insights the city get to know its children? How often about their communities. are children asked their opinions about their –Mara Krechevsky, Ben Mardell, Tiziana city? The UN Convention on the Rights of Filippini, and Maddalena Tedeschi the Child (1989) established that in addition to children’s human rights to protection from harm and provision of an adequate standard to school the farmer and the factory worker, of living, children also possess civil rights to to hear their stories, their problems, the participate in the cultural and civic activities conditions of the work, and to understand of their communities. We, the authors of this the meaning of life, to feel they are part of article, maintain that children are indeed cit- a wider community. (see also Cagliari et al., izens from birth with the right to participate 2016) in the civic life of their cities. Cities belong to How might we help children imagine the adults and children who live there—even their futures as active members of their com- young children, who are capable of generating munities? Schools are an ideal setting for fos- compelling insights about their communities. tering a dialogue between children and the The recognition of children as citizens is an es- city. Like the ancient Greek agora, classrooms sential pillar of the Reggio schools. Sustaining can serve as laboratories for life in a demo- the strong bond between children’s and adults’ cratic community—places where knowledge destinies has characterized 50 years of dia- and culture are both created and transmitted. logue and cultural and political collaboration When children encounter other perspectives— between the city of Reggio and its municipal when they discuss, argue, and compare ideas— preschools and infant-toddler centers. Loris they are building understanding and making Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia edu- public that which had been private. Cities also cational philosophy, believed that schools are provide a construct that three-, four-, and five- a critical context for fostering the relationship year-olds can understand—places they can ex- between children and the city. Once Malaguzzi perience and to which they can respond. said: This article is written for those who wish to fos- Our children go outside of the school as ter a relationship between children and their often as they can. They go to discover what cities. We start with two examples of children’s is there or not in the city and to reflect and contributions to their communities, one from maybe conquer, with the help of the adults, Reggio Emilia—a city with a long and rich his- what could be there... [They go] to strength- tory of connecting children to their commu- en relationships with cultural and sports in- nity, and one from Washington, DC—a city stitutions, to run in the fields, to meet the that has more recently built child-community farmers... [They go] to discover people’s connections. We close by identifying three les- most beautiful trades, where and how their sons learned about engaging children in their fathers and mothers work, to make friends communities. with the elderly in their nursing home— images that are missing from their eyes and minds but that are essential to launch them- selves into life, into the future. They invite December 2016 5  La Bambina del Profumo (The Perfume Girl): A Gift for the City Throughout the history of Reggio Emilia’s project that make visible how children con- municipal infant-toddler centers and pre- ceive of their role in the supportive context of schools, the city has often been the subject the school. of, and participant in, project ideas suggested by children and adults. Each day, schools and From the beginning, the educators worked centers seek to build meaningful relations with the children to contextualize such a top- with the local area (territorio), city, and people. ic in a public place. The city spaces were not The surrounding environment is a concrete only inhabited by the children, they were also resource that can be interwoven with curricu- thought up, designed, and re-signified by them lum design. with intelligence and sensibility. Children, therefore, became city protagonists and city “For a Scaffolding” was one of these jour- planners. neys—a six-month project by five- and six-year- old children about a historic place of particular Initial conversations in school were generated significance for the people of Reggio—the old by seemingly simple questions by teachers: covered market in the city’s central street, Via “What is desire?” Emilia. The idea—promoted by the Municipal- “What does it mean to desire (or wish for) ity of Reggio Emilia and Reggio Emilia’s mu- something?” nicipal Istituzione for Infant-Toddler Centers and Preschools, Reggio Children, and the Ac- “In your opinion, can everyone and everything cademia di Belle Arti [Arts Academy] in Brera, feel a desire for things?” Milan—was a proposal made with the input of The children gave “broad” answers, open and children and artists to design large works to rich in empathy for other beings, living and “inhabit” the scaffolding that covered the mar- non-living: ket building during its renovation. “Desires are everywhere.” Lorenzo, 5.8 years The Department of Culture in the city suggest- “Everything can have a wish, because if noth- ed that the scaffolding project be developed ing wishes for anything, there would be noth- around the feeling or expression of desire ing. Animals can wish, ants, a heart, fingers, (the Italian word desiderare means to wish or hands, everyone.” Margherita, 6.6 years desire). In this article, rather than narrate the “Even a line can wish. It can wish to be drawn entire project, we focus on those steps of the one day, to be given life.” Arianna, 6.10 years The city spaces were “My wish is to smell the perfume of flowers not only inhabited by with my nose. You can buy flowers, but you can’t buy their perfume.” Lu Yi Sha, 7 years the children, they were also thought up, These fragments of conversations speak of desire as a free and universal sentiment right- designed, and re- fully belonging to one and all. Desire is a feel- signified by them ing that drives knowledge and taking part in the world. As the philosopher and cultural an- with intelligence and thropologist Umberto Galimberti reminds us, sensibility. “Desire is the great revolutionary machinery –Tiziana Filippini and of life.” Maddalena Tedeschi Teachers, with the children, identified ideas to set thoughts in motion and create passion around a theme. Ideas easily multiplied into more ideas made of words and subjective men- tal images. The teachers felt it was important that the children identify possible ways of giving shape to these ideas—to translate them into figurative ideas. The same idea can take different forms, so it was important for chil- Children encountering the scaffolding with the work of dren to share mental images and give form the artists 6 Innovations in Early Education to them, even just an outline, so that they be- At this point, the children and teachers met to came public and inter-relatable. For each idea decide how to proceed. The idea of perfume in the children proposed, the teachers and chil- the words of Lu Yi Sha, “My nose desires the dren collected objects, materials, and images, perfume of flowers,” was one that emerged bringing to life small visualizations. Togeth- over time. It was both an intuition and an in- er they made “tables of ideas,” first to remind creasingly consolidated and shared direction. themselves of things to look for, and then as a real collection of small but visible “cells” of For the children, perfume was a concentrate the ideas. of certain fundamental characteristics. It could be the wish of a person, of many peo- ple, of a place, or of a city. Perfume and desire share similar identities in that both generate Children partook well-being. It was a lovely idea that could gath- er together the many meanings the children in their own ideas, were seeking. discussing and “Everyone can smell it, and all its friends will adjusting them in a feel good.” Elena, 5.7 years democratic practice “The wall wants to be perfumed.” Artur, 6 that considered years content along with The design of the project the children inhabit- the procedures that Table of ideas ed daily always tried to maintain a visible, ac- The tables were physical and mental tive relationship with the destination of their being part of a group places where ideas could take time to settle work. Photographs of the scaffolding were al- implies. in relation to each other, each legitimized in ways available, which enabled the children to –Tiziana Filippini and its existence. They were places that helped to make multiple and rapid simulations. Maddalena Tedeschi make the group process visible to children. Research often develops in multiple direc- It may seem distracting to stretch time out, tions simultaneously. At the same time that but it allowed us to build more intense rela- children’s projects were focused on an over- tionships with and between ideas and then to all vision of the environment that their work make choices together or find a new idea. The would transform, the children and teachers tables were contexts that sought to give val- also felt the need to explore specific elements ue to subjectivity through dialogue and con- such as perfume. The teachers asked, struction of thought with others. “What is perfume?” The adults’ intention in the scaffolding “How many perfumes can we distinguish?” project was to seek coherence between the realization of an exhibited work and the par- “What are they made of? How are they made?” ticipatory dynamic of shaping it. Children “How can we tell their story?” partook in their own ideas, discussing and adjusting them in a democratic practice that considered content along with the procedures that being part of a group implies. The children’s ideas about desires and wishes The design of the project the children inhabited daily began to dialogue with the project’s intended always tried to maintain a visible, active relationship with destination in ways that revealed their empa- the destination of their work. thy and capacity for listening. In fact, the chil- dren were absolutely convinced that the scaf- –Tiziana Filippini and Maddalena Tedeschi folding also had desires and wondered: “How can we understand his wishes seeing as he can’t speak?” (The Italian word for scaffolding has a male article.) December 2016 7  Sensitive thoughts and interpretations in mark-making and drawing—capable of conveying the qualities of perfume—emerged from the children. “Perfume is subtle.” Artur, 6 years “It moves with the wind.” Desiree, 6 years “Perfume draws its shape in the air.” Sara, 6.1 years “It talks with all the other perfumes, so the world becomes all perfumed. It makes the city feel good, and so there is perfume for everyone.” Elena, 5.7 years In speaking of the well-being generated by smell, the children were focusing on a relation- ship between perfume and the body. In their The perfume of a rose theories—in words and drawings—the body was understood as an intelligent element, a place of experience, and a context in which they rendered desire and perfume perceptible. The children recognized similarities in the behaviors of desire and perfume: “When a perfume is inside us, we don’t feel the same as before because a perfume makes us dream.” Artur, 6 years “Hands can smell, too. The perfume comes in through the nail, and then goes inside.” Margherita, 6.6 years Two boys, Hansel and Michael, and two girls, They are the shapes of a perfume... Arianna and Margherita, began to give shape to the encounter between perfume and body. Their drawings included subjective hypothe- ses which, when discussed and reinterpreted, led to a visual theory. In the large drawing, the brain children interpreted the relationship between perfume and body as a cycle of life that gener- ates reciprocal transformations. In explaining the drawing, the children said: Thanks to the hand’s contact with the flow- shoulders ers, the perfume gets into the body through the fingernails. It is very powerful. It de- scends and enters the body. It goes into the brain, where it is still powerful. It spreads through the body and gradually gets lighter. When it leaves the body, it is very, very thin. back arm It meets with flowers again and recharges, then part of it spreads into the air and the space around it, and part goes back inside Artur’s drawing the body through the hands. 8 Innovations in Early Education With this drawing as a starting point, the teachers proposed to all the children that they each create their own personal interpretation. This became the basis for work on a new large drawing. The emerging theory The children at work remained for several months until the reno- vation work was completed. The inauguration “We have to do the journey of the perfume.” took place during a large street party in the Margherita, 6.6 years heart of the city that was open to children and adults and accompanied by a perfume atelier “The perfume goes inside the arm. It spreads created by the school in a flower shop nearby. The inauguration of the Perfume Girl out and goes into the whole body... It’s all strong perfume. The hand is where there is most perfume.” Kevin, 6.4 years The atelier became a space where this scaf- folding could be simulated, and children tried out possible installations on different scales. Children made evaluations together in order to choose between multiple possibilities. Pro- jections onto a wall became a worktable for the group for trying out various combinations of the different elements of the project, simulat- The perfume atelier ing a view from underneath the scaffolding, and trying to understand perspectives and “We have given the wall a new desire.” proportions. Elena, 5.7 years The children’s final work was printed on a “If everyone keeps a wish, it gets bigger and larger scale on canvas and mounted on the bigger, because so many people hold it tight.” scaffolding of the covered market, where it Lorenzo, 5.8 years December 2016 9  “The Story of Rayo” The Reggio schools have a more than 50-year One result of this effort was the book history of connecting children to the city. Washington, DC, Belongs to Everyone!, co- What if a city does not have this tradition? authored by DC’s youngest citizens. The book How does a city establish a tradition in which shares children’s perspectives and emerging young children are considered not just future, theories about the city in text and images; it but current citizens with their own distinctive includes 10 chapters that describe the results contributions to make? of children’s explorations of different aspects In 2014, Jim Reese of the Washington Inter- of the city such as the Metro, monuments, national School and Nathalie Ryan at the Na- museums, public sculptures, and playgrounds. tional Gallery of Art in Washington, DC came For example, one classroom of four-year-olds together with Ben Mardell and Mara Kreche- from the Smithsonian Early Education Center vsky to develop an initiative called “Children investigated museums and shared a collective- Are Citizens: Children and Teachers Collabo- ly imagined story of how the security guards rating across Washington, DC” (CAC). Their came to own the museums. How does a city goal was to build informed, meaningful, and We have our own ideas about how the museums got reciprocal relationships between children and here... establish a tradition the city. During the 2014–2015 school year, 331 in which young children and 23 educators from five schools throughout the city—Sacred Heart School, Sea- children are ton Elementary School, School within School considered not @ Goding, the Smithsonian Early Education just future, but current Center, and the Washington International School—explored the idea of young children as citizens with their citizens in the here and now, with the capaci- own distinctive ty to contribute to their community in power- ful ways. Seventeen classrooms from PreK3 contributions to through 1st grade spent the fall and winter make? discovering and researching places in the city – Mara Krechevsky and that interested them. Ben Mardell Across the city, children played, talked, wrote, drew, photographed, and created three-dimen- sional models. Children shared their work with each other, soliciting feedback from classmates in their own schools as well as from schools in other parts of the city. Their research was sup- ported by field trips to the National Gallery of Art and Imagination Stage (a children’s the- The Cinnamon Bears’ (4-year-olds) view of who owns ater company and another cultural partner) museums and school visits by arts educators. Teachers Another class of three-year-olds from the Sa- and arts educators participated in monthly cred Heart School, a Catholic dual language professional development seminars, which school in Northwest DC serving a signifi- emphasized documenting children’s learning cant number of children receiving free or re- and supporting learning in groups to foster duced-price lunch, chose to investigate the children’s inquiry into the city. The tool of doc- Metro under the guidance of their teacher, umentation—the practice of observing, record- Anna Ramirez. Anna was a new teacher at the ing, interpreting, and sharing the processes Sacred Heart School. She taught a Spanish im- and products of learning in order to assess and mersion class of 13 three-year-olds, 11 boys and deepen learning (Krechevsky, Mardell, Rivard, two girls. The children decided it was the Met- & Wilson, 2013)—helped teachers stay close to ro that made Washington, DC special. To pro- children’s thinking and learning by enabling voke the children’s thinking, Anna facilitated them to revisit children’s work and words. a “thinking routine” called “See-Think-Won- This process was critical to informing the next der” in which she showed the children capti- steps. vating images of the Metro and asked them to describe what they saw, what it made them 10 Innovations in Early Education think, and what it made them wonder. Emily, ly impressed by the speed of the train, by the a teaching artist from Imagination Stage, also Metro traveling above as well as below ground, visited Anna’s class and led children through a and by how many train lines met at the Metro reenactment of a Metro ride. Center stop. Facilitating the “See-Think-Wonder” routine The children suggested to Anna that the class take a ride on the Metro. Armed with clip- boards for sketching and iPads to take pic- tures of what they deemed important for other children to know about the transit system, the children began their field research. When the Metro station manager saw the group of chil- dren with clipboards and iPads, he was skepti- cal until he asked the young researchers what they were doing. “Investigating the Metro” was their reply. The children were especial- Anna showing children map of the Metro At first, Anna struggled to use documentation. When she collected documentation, she was not sure what to do with it. But, over time, she came to see the value in revisiting the docu- mentation to plan the next steps and sharing the documentation with the children so that they could build on what they had learned. Anna printed selected photographs from the images taken on the iPads for the children to review. They then drew pictures based on the photos and created their own Metro maps. They also developed theories about where the trains slept after working so hard all day (“in the tunnels where it was dark”). Children on the Metro Children looking at photos from their iPads December 2016 11  Teachers in the “Children Are Citizens” seminars photographed and shared children’s work from their own classrooms with other teachers so that children could exchange feedback across schools. Because Rebecca Courouble’s PreK4 French immersion class from the Washington International School was also studying the Metro, Anna’s class shared their early drafts of the Metro map with Rebecca’s class. Anna requested photographs of the children looking at the maps, because she wanted the children “to be able to see and feel what it’s like to have someone you don’t know, look [at] something you created.” The feedback from the children in Rebecca’s class was specific and direct. Their comments helped the children from Anna’s class to create better maps and to realize that they could change their ideas if other suggestions appealed to them more. Sharing feedback on Elija’s map “The red line should start from the top, then turn, then go back up.” Helen “Try to do a better blue line. We do not see it well.” Sammy “Maybe practice the scientific eyes when he looks at the Metro map.” Imogen “Try on a bigger paper.” Derek Sharing feedback on Joshua’s map “He did a good job because he put the yellow and the blue together.” Helen “The green line should not be broken. It is supposed to be connected.” Linnea “The orange line should also be next to the blue line.” Sonia 12 Innovations in Early Education When children grow up in a culture and begin their schooling with support for thinking, feeling, and acting in groups, they are more likely to participate in and practice democracy as informed and caring citizens. –Mara Krechevsky and Ben Mardell The children’s response shows that they both their schooling with support for thinking, welcomed other points of view (“He did a good feeling, and acting in groups, they are more job, because he put the yellow and the blue to- likely to participate in and practice democracy gether”) and retained their own points of view as informed and caring citizens. (“The green line should not be broken”). Chil- dren identified problems and made sugges- At the celebration of the book launch at the tions. Ultimately, with support from Anna and National Gallery of Art, every child received Kristen Kullberg, the Integrated Arts Special- his or her own copy of the book, along with a ist, the PreK3 children at Sacred Heart shared red author’s sticker. The joy, wonder, and excite- what they learned by writing a story about a ment of the adults along with the children were special Metro train named Rayo (“Because palpable. Each school donated a book to the Rayo means lightning in Spanish... and be- local public library. One year later, the books cause he is so fast!”). have been checked out of the libraries numer- ous times, and the authors of “The Story of Rayo,” now four, are described by their teacher as children who hold themselves accountable for listening to each other and giving each oth- er relevant and respectful feedback. The first page of “The Story of Rayo!” Throughout the CAC project, children shared knowledge and ideas and reasoned logically to solve problems. They drew on their mathemat- ical skills to make aesthetic decisions about their book pages (e.g., planning how to include their most important ideas in the eight pages allotted each class) and developed literacy Authors at the celebration at the National Gallery of Art skills (e.g., using new vocabulary to explain their ideas, conveying their ideas in words and images, and learning how books were made). When children grow up in a culture and begin December 2016 13  Lessons Learned We hope the examples from Reggio and Wash- Making learning and learners visible: ington, DC will inspire readers to undertake The value of the razzle-dazzle projects to engage children in the civic life of their cities. Elsewhere we have shared exam- Holding public events like the celebration at ples of other projects in the U.S. (Mardell & the National Gallery of Art or the inauguration Carpenter, 2012; Mardell, 2011). We have also of La Bambina del Profumo in the center of Reg- shared a preliminary framework for creating gio take a great deal of work. So, why do them? such projects (Krechevsky, Mardell, & Romans, As Malaguzzi suggested, children should 2014). Here, we share three lessons learned. go outside the school as often as they can to discover “images that are missing from their eyes and minds, but are essential to launch Choosing topics that connect children and themselves into life, into the future.” We want their communities to make children’s hearts and minds visible to How can one identify a topic or a project that themselves, to their teachers and families, and connects children with their communities? In to the communities and policymakers whose La Bambina del Profumo, educators were alert guidelines and programs influence their lives. to opportunities such as the canvas construc- We want to make tion scaffolding in the heart of the city. Oppor- Venturing beyond the classroom and creating a shareable product accomplish two things. children’s hearts tunities like this abound. In Providence, RI, First, they challenge adults’ assumptions and and minds visible to educators realized that the National Associa- beliefs about young children’s capabilities. tion for the Education of Young Children Pro- They encourage adults to look at children dif- themselves, to their fessional Development Institute, with the par- ferently and perhaps to take them more seri- teachers and families, ticipation of 2,000 early childhood educators ously. Second, making children’s thinking and from around the country, presented just such and to the communi- an opportunity. They invited children to cre- feelings visible refreshes and renews the ways adults look at the world; it reminds adults of ties and policymakers ate a guidebook called Places to Play in Provi- the joy of life and fosters empathy—the ability whose guidelines and dence. The construction of a local playground, to understand and share the feelings of others. or other shared space in a community, is also The adults who encounter “The Story of Rayo” programs influence ripe for children’s input (Hall, 2011). probably did not think of the Red Line and their lives. Green Line as their friends, just as the adults Choosing a topic can also be an outgrowth of – Mara Krechevsky, a need in the community. In Washington, DC, who walk through the historic city center in Ben Mardell, Tiziana Filippini, educators wanted to elevate the visibility of Reggio probably never thought about listening and Maddalena Tedeschi young children and the value of high quality to the walls. Of course, walls don’t speak, but early childhood education. A beautiful book perhaps one can imagine what they might say that shares children’s thoughts, stories, and if they could. Perhaps adults who ride the Met- theories about DC was the result. Other needs ro will think of the story of Rayo and smile. As may be more complex and challenging to ad- developmental psychologist Allison Gopnik dress, though they still deserve consideration. (2009, p. 246) writes, “Very young children can In 2002, when Reggio educators noticed that use their causal maps of the world—their theo- children were talking about the war in Iraq, ries—to imagine different ways that the world they decided to select some of the children’s might be.... Eventually, they enable even comments to put on banners in front of the adults to imagine alternative ways the world municipal theater. The children’s points of could be and make those alternatives real.” view became part of the debate going on at the time. We believe children’s thoughts about po- Remembering the everyday lice and safety in their cities would contribute to the conversation around issues raised by The deep and thoughtful collaboration in La the Black Lives Matter movement. In all these Bambina del Profumo and “The Story of Rayo” cases, the topics identified by adults were emerge from the everyday life of the class- broad and flexible enough to allow children’s rooms, where teachers recognize the value of interests to play a central role in shaping the listening to children and helping children to project. construct their own culture. Children do not just share what they already know—they build knowledge together. In these classrooms, 14 Innovations in Early Education children learn how to listen to each other; they for snack (in reality, there is no reason you acquire the skills and dispositions to work to- can’t have both); rather, it involves attention to gether to solve problems and develop ideas; every aspect of the day—from the way children and they are comfortable asking questions and are welcomed in the morning, to the formation finding their own answers. These practices are of classroom rules, to negotiating plans for the Democratic foundational to meaningful connections be- day in morning meeting, to engaging in long- classrooms tween children and their communities. Demo- term projects. Every moment of every day is cratic classrooms encourage children to have a grounded in a democratic vision. encourage children voice in matters of consequence and to engage to have a voice in in a process in which they consider one anoth- matters of er’s perspective in order to reach solutions. We give the eminent psychologist and honor- ary citizen of Reggio Emilia, Jerome Bruner, consequence and In this context, democracy is not about indi- viduals stating their views as loudly as they the last word. On the occasion of the 40th an- to engage in a niversary of the Reggio municipal preschools, can in order to win an argument; nor is it about Bruner said: process in which they self-advocacy, persuasion, or majority rule. Every child is given an opportunity to grow consider another’s Rather, it is about creating a community that works for each individual as well as for the into effective adults. That, to me, is the ul- perspective in order timate granting of rights to children: not group—individuals coming together to listen, putting up a sort of battle saying we are to reach solutions. to learn, and to convey and create knowledge –Mara Krechevsky, and culture. Again, think of the agora, where in favor of the rights of the children, but doing something so that they can use their Ben Mardell, Tiziana Filippini, children learn to share their own perspectives and Maddalena Tedeschi and encounter new ones, and to offer and re- rights as well. (Municipality of Reggio ceive feedback on their points of view. Emilia, Istituzione Scuole e Nidi d’infanzia, Reggio Children, & International Associa- Nurturing such cultures involves much more tion Friends of Reggio Children, 2006) than allowing children to vote about matters such as whether to have pretzels or crackers REFERENCES Resources Cagliari, C., Castagnetti, M., Giudici, C., Rinaldi, C., Vecchi, V., & Moss, P. (Eds.). (2016). Project Zero website: Loris Malaguzzi and the schools of Reggio Emilia: A selection of his writings and speeches, www.pz.harvard.edu 1945–1993 (Contesting Early Childhood). London: Routledge. Reggio Children Resources/Learning Materials Workshop website: Gopnik, A. (2009). The philosophical baby: What children’s minds tell us about truth, love, and http://learningmaterialswork.com/ the meaning of life. New York, NY: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux. reggio-children-resources Hall, E. (2011). Seen and heard: Children’s rights in early childhood education. New York, NY: Reggio Children website: Teachers College Press. www.reggiochildren.it Krechevsky, M., Mardell, B., & Reese, J. (2015). Washington, DC, belongs to everyone. Retrieved from http://www.pz.harvard.edu/resources/the-children-are-citizens-book Krechevsky, M., Mardell, B., Rivard, M., & Wilson, D. (2013). Visible learners: Promoting Reggio-inspired approaches in all schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Krechevsky, M., Mardell, B., & Romans, A. (2014). Engaging city hall: Children as citizens. Image and Text Credits The New Educator 10(1), 10–20. Images and text of La Bambina del Profumo project– © Preschools and Mardell, B. (2011). Learning is a team sport: Kindergartners study the Boston marathon. Infant-toddler Centers – Istituzione Retrieved from vimeo.com/21372133. of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Many thanks to Jane McCall for her Mardell, B., & Carpenter, B. (2012). Places to play in Providence: Valuing preschool children as kind collaboration in the English citizens. Young Children, 64(4), 78–80. translation of La Bambina del Municipality of Reggio Emilia, Istituzione Scuole e Nidi d’infanzia, Reggio Children, & Profumo. Images from Washington, DC, courtesy of Anna Ramirez and International Association Friends of Reggio Children. (2004). Crossing boundaries: Ideas Kristen Kullberg of Sacred Heart and experiences in dialogue for a new culture of education of children and adults. Azzano School and Rebecca Courouble of San Paolo, Italy: Edizioni Junior. Washington International School. December 2016 15  Voices: Conversations from North America and Beyond Building Possible Worlds: The Special Friendship between Reggio Emilia and Professor Jerome Bruner in Three Acts The following tribute to Jerome Bruner is from the Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centers of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, including the children, parents, teachers, atelieristas, cooks, and pedagogistas. The quotes by Jerome Bruner are all excerpted from transcriptions in Italian of interviews and meetings that took place in Reggio Emilia between 1995 and 2012. The original English was not transcribed; therefore, the English versions in this article have been translated from the Italian. Cultural Interweavings In 1981, in an ongoing search for cultural in- terested in defining and redefining cognitive terweavings and potential interlocutors that experience. could enrich and further the educational thinking and practice of the municipal ear- Back in the 1960s, Malaguzzi had appreciated ly childhood project, Loris Malaguzzi asked Bruner’s ability to make connections between Lella Gandini* to interview Jerome Bruner for disciplines, keeping old and new knowledge the journal Zerosei.** Professor Malaguzzi’s together. Cybernetics, ethology, and psycho- curiosity and culture always traveled together linguistics, also through Bruner’s thought, closely. So it was that Jerome Bruner, already contributed to the development of new ideas an important point of reference in Italian and about cognitive development. The book international pedagogical culture, entered di- Processes of Cognitive Growth: Infancy, written rectly into dialogue with the educational ex- by Bruner in 1968 and published in Italian in perience of Reggio Emilia and with the world 1971, consolidated and reinforced his thoughts of infant-toddler centers and preschools. The around infant behavior: “The child’s behavior article in Zerosei included other information is intelligent, adaptive, and flexible right from in addition to the interview, to enable differ- birth” (Bruner, 1968). ent interpretive possibilities and keys to un- * Lella Gandini, writer and author The young pedagogistas of the first pedagog- of books for children and teachers derstanding, as Malaguzzi wanted all of these ical coordinating team in Reggio Emilia, as and former professor at the possibilities to be available to the individual well as those that followed, had explored the University of Massachusetts readers, who were mostly women. at Amherst, has been a special theories and thoughts of Jerome Bruner in friend of the Reggio Emilia That same year, the exhibition “The Hundred their pedagogical and psychological studies. educational experience since the In the 1970s, an important collective process 1970s, making an important Languages of Children” had its first important contribution to the construction international showing at the Moderna Museet of professional development and ongoing re- of the dialogue between the in Stockholm. It was a time of great and vibrant search began in Reggio Emilia that involved, United States and Reggio Emilia. cultural ferment. Years before, Malaguzzi had at different levels, teachers, atelieristas, ped- most certainly read with interest about the agogistas, auxiliary staff, parents, and com- ** The journal Zerosei (1976– 1984), founded and directed by Woods Hole Conference of 1959, where new munity members. These meetings, often or- Loris Malaguzzi along with relationships were formed between education- ganized by Loris Malaguzzi, would become a Ferruccio Cremaschi, was one al policy and ideas about learning. The Center permanent feature of the Reggio Emilia edu- of the first Italian publications cational experience. dedicated to discussions on for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva, founded the important issues of early and directed by Jean Piaget, and the Harvard Throughout our history, many notable peo- childhood education. Center for Cognitive Studies, founded and ple have appeared. Our good fortune is hav- directed by Jerome Bruner, had become es- ing found them, being able to meet them sential reference points for those who were in- 16 Innovations in Early Education  along the road, and above all, getting to know them in person. [There have been] af- finities and also differences, but always in a dimension of great civility. All this helped to refine our ideas and enabled us to put them together and build an organically defined project, a project that was both theoretical and operational at the same time. –Loris Malaguzzi, 1993 (Barsotti, 1994) In 1991, Newsweek magazine designated the Diana preschool, representing the early child- hood educational institutions of Reggio Emil- Conference on “The Processes of Social Construction of Children’s Knowledge,” Romolo Valli Municipal Theater, ia, as the most advanced in the world, leading Reggio Emilia, September 12, 1995 to broad international exposure. tice—an effort to study how law is practiced Malaguzzi would have been fascinated by the and how its practice can be understood by us- interpretation that Jerome Bruner was devel- ing tools developed in anthropology, psychol- oping in the 1990s around the field of law and ogy, linguistics, and literary theory.” by his view that laws are a response to the big questions pondered by men, women, and A few years later, in September 1995, upon children: “... how the law shapes our think- the invitation of Giordana Rabitti, president ing, talking, and feeling and, in turn, is shaped of Reggio Children from 2000 to 2007, Brun- by them” (Bruner, 1993). It was a search for a er came to Reggio Emilia for the first time and human dimension that would increasingly be- spoke at a public conference held at the Rom- come a cultural and social dimension. olo Valli Municipal Theater to open the school year of the municipal infant-toddler centers Bruner’s position as Meyer Visiting Professor and preschools. The experience showed good at New York University School of Law provid- prospects for these elective affinities to be ed a special backdrop for his research around longstanding and to become an ongoing these themes, as attested by this course defini- cultural dialogue. tion: “Colloquium on the Theory of Legal Prac- The Beautiful “Crossings” Bruner was known worldwide for being the impossible enterprises” that Bruner referenced first psychologist to cross the Atlantic Ocean during a meeting with the children, teachers, in his own sailboat. It was quite an adven- and parents at the primary school at the Loris ture, which he undertook with his wife Carol Malaguzzi Center, inaugurated in 2009, a new Feldman, and he always enjoyed telling the project of continuity and experimentation that children in Reggio Emilia about it during his has seen important developments over the last yearly visits to the city. This story of a journey several years. across the ocean would become a metaphor, an invitation to undertake “adventurous and December 2016 17  “Inside the schools, you find yourself in the world; you enter into life.” –Jerome Bruner, 1995 Dr. Carol Feldman said of these first visits: “For my husband, coming to Reggio Emilia and seeing what he has seen has been extremely important. He said to me: ‘I’ve spent a lifetime saying that it was possible, but lately I feared that it might not be. Now I am sure that it can be done’.” What struck me about the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia was seeing how the imagina- Dedication to the Diana Municipal tion is cultivated, at the same time strength- Preschool, Reggio Emilia, September 1995 marked the beginning of a ening in children a sense of the possible September 11, 1995 friendship comprising many “crossings”—.... The teachers show respect [towards the crossings of the ocean, always the Atlantic, children] as if they were dealing with Nobel and crossings of ideas, thoughts, educational laureates. –Jerome Bruner, January 1996 practices, and stories. The relationship be- tween Professor Bruner and the educational Bruner’s presence in Reggio Emilia over the experience of Reggio Emilia was, above all, years coincided with the first public recog- one of talking and storytelling. There were so nitions of our educational experience by the many meetings, exchanges, dialogues, and af- Italian government and the Ministry of Edu- finities, along with some disagreements and cation. Bruner had significant experience as The particular Reggio characteristic of a pedagogy that was deliberately non-academic, that inhabits and is constructed in the infant-toddler centers and preschools, met happily with the affection of Jerome Bruner, now mature in age and in his thinking about narrative and the value of narrative as a human condition, a condition of humanity. criticisms, always necessary—all of which an interlocutor for governments in the devel- made it possible to build and maintain a vi- opment of national “curricula,” and the meet- brant and important cultural discourse. ing in Reggio Emilia with Italian Minister of Education Luigi Berlinguer became a special The particular Reggio characteristic of a peda- opportunity to highlight the culture of edu- gogy that was deliberately non-academic, that cation of the Reggio municipal infant-toddler inhabits and is constructed in the infant-tod- centers and preschools. This political and dler centers and preschools, met happily with cultural backdrop set the stage for the open- the affection of Jerome Bruner, now mature in ing of the 1996–97 school year at the Romolo age and in his thinking about narrative and Valli Municipal Theater. Like at other times in the value of narrative as a human condition, a the history of the Reggio educational experi- condition of humanity. The privileged context ence, this special international dialogue also of these stories, as well as their main subject, is supported the development of new national the municipal infant-toddler centers and pre- dialogues. schools and the children’s learning, and it was precisely this practical, concrete dimension The relationship between the city of Reggio that attracted Bruner from the outset: Emilia and Jerome Bruner grew, and in June 18 Innovations in Early Education  personally. “Creativity has nothing to do with overly or- dered organizational structures. A context that supports creativity should be a contin- uation of the disorder that is in our heads.” In Reggio Emilia, –Jerome Bruner, June 2009 Jerome Bruner In this dialogue with the infant-toddler centers contributed to the and preschools that unfolded over the course of fifteen years, many harmonies and affinities development of of ideas took shape that would trace a sort of innovative cultural Antonella Spaggiari, Mayor of Reggio Emilia (from 1991 common humanistic thought running through to 2004), on behalf of the Municipality, confers honorary different areas of knowledge. In a meeting at strategies that started citizenship on Dr. Jerome Bruner, Sala del Tricolore, City Hall, Reggio Emilia, June 20, 1997 the Balducci preschool in which teachers, ped- with the infant- agogistas, and atelieristas presented research toddler centers and of 1997, he was awarded honorary citizenship on the subject of theater carried out in the in- by Mayor Antonella Spaggiari. fant-toddler centers and preschools, Bruner preschools and, as talked about the development of the theatrical has often occurred in “In Reggio Emilia, I feel like a citizen of the “alphabet” in very young children, reflecting world. These wonderfully creative schools do on the value of pedagogical documentation our history, came to not exist in a vacuum but are an integral part, as a lens for making this development visible. involve the entire city. an expression of this wonderful small city.” – Citing Giambattista Vico and discussing the Jerome Bruner, 1997 idea that theater and theatrical forms are not copied from one culture to another but repre- The same year, Bruner received an honorary sent similar archetypes that are present in all doctorate in Communication Sciences from cultures, he posited that the genesis of theater the University of Bologna, presented by Pro- could be seen in the play between three-year- fessor Umberto Eco, who described him thus: old Mario and a shadow, which he had seen in “An intellectual legend, which is difficult to en- one of the documentations presented. The ex- compass with any of our words.” periences from the infant-toddler centers and preschools presented highlighted the scenic In Reggio Emilia, Jerome Bruner contributed space as a space where different relationships to the development of innovative cultural strat- took place simultaneously, where the game of egies that started with the infant-toddler cen- relationships became both a very cheerful and ters and preschools and, as has often occurred very serious game of collective construction of in our history, came to involve the entire city. identity. With Reggio Children, established in 1994, a new modality for the development of the en- “Theater and actors are part of human activi- tire educational system was being explored. ty; it is one of the most human activities that Starting in 1998, Bruner’s meetings with ped- exists. Just consider the fact that dictators of- agogistas, teachers, and atelieristas of the in- ten eliminate first of all those who write for the fant-toddler centers and preschools became a theater.” And then: “Theater? It simply makes fixed annual event, often in the month of June, a human being more human.” –Jerome Bruner, providing a valuable opportunity for further 1998 interpretations and thoughts on the projects carried out and still in progress. During these This passion for narrative and storytelling and visits, Bruner always asked that time be set for the need and the right of each story to find aside for him to spend with the children in the a listener became the strong foundation for infant-toddler centers and preschools, as he the construction of a culture of education that was fascinated by the construction of educa- would have new developments in the thought tional contexts, and he liked to “inhabit” them of Jerome Bruner. Starting from the idea of the December 2016 19  This passion for narrative and storytelling and for the need and the right of each story to find a listener became the strong foundation for the construction of a culture of education that would have new developments in the thought of Jerome Bruner. infant-toddler centers and preschools as places whenever they encounter new things; the chil- where culture is constructed, for Bruner, this dren are already ready.” –Jerome Bruner, 1999 idea of culture and knowledge extends through the different areas of knowledge. The collec- Bruner underscored and appreciated the per- tive investigation develops around contexts spective of this research, which supported an through which “the most complex cognitive approach to new technologies that is collec- processes work to take us beyond what is real tive, group-based, and surpasses the child/