Loooooooong Time

It is has been quite a long time since I have updated due first to my graduation and preceeding finals etc.  Then, the week after, I became quite ill for almost a month.  So, updating will resume soon enough.  Having time away has certainly made issues appear and disappear enough to make me feel as if changes are occurring.

I feel like I have been able to shift some of my values in the art studio and as an active member of the school's community.  I think these might show up subtly or overtly in the activities that will be shown soon to come.

I have been thinking more and more about teachers' roles and also curriculums' roles.  I have been thinking for fun about an ideal classroom.

"If you could design a classroom/school with limited but sufficient funding, what would it entail?

Where is it?

Who would it be for?

What happens there?

What is being taught?

What is being learned?

What do you want/need to accomplish this?

Why?"

Within these questions and on all of their tangential limbs are a web of entangled problems and personal confrontations.  How do you think we learn?  How do you think we teach? What is worth learning and what is worth being taught? Where do we get these values from? and as you can imagine, it keeps reaching out which position us in front the most daunting question "When do you stop planning and how can you act?"

Personally, I have been attracted to deschooling and unschooling movements.  My interest in these philosophies come from personal experiences as a student, teacher, learner, observer, participant, and collaborator.  I have recently decided I would most like to be a P.E. teacher if in a standard schooling system because it is more open ended and experientially driven.  I don't really know how I feel about many things, or at least not certainly enough to go into great detail. BUT!!! I would like to hear from anyone else on their ideas concerning anything presented in the post and anything that steps beyond its borders.  My email is rcharliem@gmail.com or use the comment feature on this blog!

Mirror rorriM

On May 6th in the 4-5 yr. old room I brought in my computer so that I could record responses to some questions I was wanting to ask. I asked about art, what artists do, why do we make art, what materials did each friend particularly like, etc. On this particular day, I had face paint on and one of the friends asked if they could have some face paint for themselves. Following their interests and perhaps spotting an opportunity for incentive to sit and answer questions, I added face painting to the interviewing process. What happened as a result was a wonderful exercise in perception, intention and a bit of fun.
The picture right above this text shows a friend using both he mirror and the computer to apply his makeup. The interesting aspect of this combination of reflections is that the mirror reflects a reverse image which we are most accustomed toand the computer displays what the camera sees which would be an inverted reflection in that when you move right, your move left on the screen. This dynamic provided a challenge to how the friends made intentional marks on their face. Also, the difference helped highlight the challenges, changes, and comforts of certain points of view that we use everyday; I think the friends became more aware of themselves and their fine motor skills.

This child is happy to poke the dots!


In the two above pictures, taken as screen shots from video I captured with the built in computer camera, a friend is shown looking at the computer as reference (top) and mirror as reference (bottom).

This friend decided not to paint her face but decorated her nails instead!

He is admiring his work!

Worm Wonders

On Cinco de Mayo I found myself back in the Purpose Room or Trolley Room (seems to depend on who is talking) with the 2-3 yr. olds friends with yet another gift!

What could it be this time? Crickets again? Before opening the gift up, we discussed what it might be by having the friends ask me often yes or no questions. It had no legs, it was not a snake, it would not bite, and it did not have ears...

WORMS!

Using another worker's observation that though these friends liked exciting and perhaps "chaotic" discovery, they needed some sense of control to still feel safe in the situation; a sense of safety allows for more focused attention to be placed on the subject at hand. So, I decided to bring in a much more handle-able creature and one whose simple, slow, slimy form was much controlled/controllable compared to small crickets hopping about. The friends were much more receptive of the worms based on what was just noted combined with their growing trust/interest in the bugs I bring in. In fact, no worms were hurt at all, accidentally or intentionally, which indicates to me a developing respect for the mortal situation they are engaged in. One friend noted that he was "taking care of it by holding softly". One child, who had the most active, intense, and consistent engagement with the worms often seemed close to hurting a worm she was not working with. But before she could be warned, it became apparent she was very aware of things in the situation. Though some of her positions were risky, they were intentionally respectful. :)

I think the photos reveal some the awesome and subtle intensities of investigation!

I was also impressed by how well the friends cleaned up after themselves by placing all the worms in their container and sweeping up the dirt as best they could with their hands. One child even helped me using the dustpan while I swept!

Gooey!

On May 1st I had the exploratory experience of working with a room with children younger than I am used to working with.

The teachers were introducing the friends to the materials cornstarch and water. They also had colors available. Cups and spoons were used for stirring and pouring which are important when working with this dynamic material experience! The cornstarch, when mixed with water, becomes an ooooey goooooey slime like thick glue. It would appear liquidy but left a strangely powdery residue on your fingers after handling. What a curious phenomenon!

In these pictures a child is exploring the different properties from liquid and powder to goo without color and with color and with his hands and with his tools. This very simple activity amazed me with the range of stimulations and experiences it provided. I even was engaged by the materials when playing with them myself. I know this is an activity I have heard of and read about but was never really intrigued enough by its apparent potentials to give it a try. A lesson was learned certainly from this observation when compared to how much fun it actually was.


You should probably experience stuff to thoughtfully judge stuff.


It may seem a bit loose to make the direct connection between physical experience and complex, abstract mental activity such as meaningful judgement. But when considering that often the most meaningful judgements, advice, lessons are experientially informed and also that the intellect is physical not metaphysical. This is why I feel it is important to "live a little" and take a chance against reactionary judgements that are observed, inherited or presumptuous. In addition, that is also why it is important to be careful enough of safety and the body since it so tightly a part of our perception of the word. I think that if the time is given to living well, eating consciously, exercising in all respects, and being kind to yourself and others then the intellect will naturally flourish.
I fortunately got to know some of the friends a little better in area time where I had the opportunity to interact with puzzles I had not seen before (latches) and trucks with blocks. It was a lot of fun! I hope to spend my friends reaching out to classrooms I don't interact with regularly because the differences are always appreciated.

Crickets and Chalk

It was a wonderfully Springing April 28th in the 2-3 yr. old room when we went outside to ask,

"What do you think is in this present?"

Chalk and crickets!

The friends both drew around the crickets and drew behind the crickets. The crickets and chalk were combined to put more focus on observing and reacting to the crickets in a constructive way. By being out in the open, having tools, and having already met other six legged play pals, the friends seemed much more interested in observing the crickets without as much reservation or hesitation. I was glad to see that some friends were giving the crickets more time.

Some friends however are still exploring certain boundaries and reacting in ways that made one friend and I both very sad. Last time we explored with crickets, it was established that it was not alright to hurt the crickets because there was no reason to. We had observed that they were nice and would not bite. Though some had been harmed, the friends did not seem interested in their condition. This time, as some friends spent more time with the crickets, they began to show increased care and sensitivity to the crickets placement, movement and safety. You can see in the photograph below two sensitive friends investigating a dead cricket. Both showed sincere concern for the loss of life by noting that they felt sad and expressing this is their face and body language. I was touched by their sympathy for such a simple creature and their respect for its delicacy. I will continue to bring animals to these friends as I think it will help them focus more externally on physical "stuffs" and interpersonal "stuffs".

Let's

As a word to be used, "let's" seems to be a useful word.  "Let Us".  It is not an asking of permission from an outside force; it asks permission from within "us". In a way, it asserts and asks simultaneously.  It is a call to a group for activity that acknowledges that it often takes group permissibility to evoke the will.  It is like ending a demand with "please" because an individual arguably should know how they are relational, entangled, and an agent among agents.

So,

Let's imagine that you are lost in the wilderness?  How do you let someone know where you are or where you've been?

To Think About

I wanted to share this as my teachers have shared it with my friends and me.

I don't want to say much quite yet about what I think about this video or some of the ideas presented;

I think they might be obvious anyways.

Here are some questions spurred by this video:

Would you rather

Keep your child from attending school to home educate

or

Saturate your child's (and yours!) schedule with extracurricular activities to foster exploration and activity

?

Would you rather

Educate the blind like they had optical insights

or

Educate the optically insightful like they were blind

?

Would you rather

Educate children through natural interests/creativity/ability/whim

or

Re-educate adults through natural interest/creativity/ability/whim

?

Please leave a comment at the bottom of the post or email me directly at

rcharliem@gmail.com so we can talk about these issues or anything else.

Always feel free to contact me; I encourage it!