Our Eclectic Dialectic

Loooooooong Time

2009-06-19T10:54:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

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

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

Educate the optically insightful like they were blind

Would you rather

Educate children through natural interests/creativity/ability/whim

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!

Not Bored! BOARD

2009-04-25T17:31:00.001-07:00

Composite of friends working on the same piece of wood. Click the photo for a larger image

Friends hard at work

On April 22nd in the 4-5 yr. old room, we went outside again to draw on wood for the show on May 8th. Instead of blocks, I brought in 12 foot long boards that will span the space creating something that at times might feel like a ceiling and can hold clamp lights (very useful!). I had these boards up in my space before and planned on using them but saw an opportunity to make the installation space even more "touched" by the friends. So, again, markers and tape were provided but this time the task was less focused on material explorations since the friends couldn't handle the wood individually. Instead, the wood and it's task became a social space for not only the room I was working with but also friends from the other rooms! It was great seeing the range of approaches and expressions once again. I hope to facilitate more projects in which classrooms can interact more. It seems to me that part of developmental discovery and growth can come from learning, teaching, observing, and playing between different skill and developmental sets. I feel this mostly because I myself have grown significantly by working with, learning from, observing in the presence of, helping out and playing around with the preschool's friends and staff. I am extremely grateful to have this experience not only as someone who is interested in education as a profession but also as someone who is interested in education as a lifestyle. Thank you :)

Opening Up

2009-04-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

On April 21st I presented the 2-3 yr. old friends with a gift!

What could have been inside?

To explain, I think that maybe

seeing is different than looking,

feeling is different than touching,

listening is different than hearing,

savoring is different than tasting,

smelling is different than sniffing,

Right?

I am working with a new sort of model for letting the friends explore, especially the Westport friends. I want to present the friends with opportunities for meaningful experience that are in many ways outside of the art studio. I have a feeling that being out the studio with materials or objects that come from a different kind of experience other than an "artistic" one will help them focus more clearly on direct investigation. Also, I wanted to present a present in the present to establish a sort of atmosphere for the materials. Gifts are valued. Gifts show care. Gifts are for things. Gifts are cared for. Gifts that are wrapped hold mystery and build tension. That's why I want to propose all future materials as wrapped presents.

The friends were all intrigued by this day's particular proposition. It was interesting to see how they cooperated with each other in ways I haven't quite seen with this group. They cooperated to get the present open and see what was inside! Also, they took more care in listening to me when I was presenting the present; the friends seemed to be more intentional in their respect since they were receiving something. When they opened it and realized it was "bugs" they went wild! They had the somehow normal reaction which was "ew" and "ah!" but soon settled to actually investigate the crickets. I let five loose in the room and told them it was important to watch them so as not to lose them. Unfortunately, two were stomped quite quickly but once questions of safety and care came up, the friends respected the crickets to not try to squish them. Some friends never quite warmed up to the little insects but some others were following them, touching them, watching them, getting close, and investigating the crickets with careful curiosity. I was surprised however that they were not more physical with the crickets. Even after I had handled one for a while and even after it was touched, the cricket never got to roam on a friend's arm or hand. I thought because the Westport friends were so physically inclined at their developmental stage that they would get a lot out of playing with a cricket or feeling it on them. I have talked to another (more experienced!) worker about this and she noted they are still afraid of materials they aren't in complete control over. This is great thing to note.

Below is a picture of a friend from another, older room handling two crickets after we took them outside for release. Seeing the very different reaction of these friends which snatched up the crickets immediately just highlighted the huge developmental differences that come from so much growth in such little time! I want to use these kinds of activities with all of the classes I get to engage with as a sort of platform for highlighting those very differences. If I can explore how different age groups act towards the same materials, some of the distinct developmental traits may become more apparent making it easier for me to choose future materials and activities that will be full of intention and meaning.

How Now Black Cow?

2009-04-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

On April 16th, a parent invited me to work with her on a project she was putting together in the 3-4 yr. old room where one of her sons plays, learns, and explores. Instead of trying to describe what we were doing, here is a snippet from an email she sent me before the activity took place:
(need a poster...) "advertising the Shatto organic milk tasting which I think is planned for 4/21 in the atrium. My initial idea was to have a large cut out cow and let the kids decorate it (maybe a black cow and they could decorate with white supplies--crayon, cotton balls...) but I am TOTALLY open to suggestions, especially since I am not sure how to cut out the shape of a cow from poster board :)"

Parents are awesome, right?
A cow waiting. It laid on the white table and snuggled with the packing peanuts (which dissolve with moisture), plastic chips, cotton balls, chalk and white paint.

The friends are just beginning...! The girl with the great smile, was more invested that usual with this activity. She, and others, took careful time playing with materials in different ways by combining materials, using them differently and really feeling each materials' qualities. Great focus!

The parent was there to facilitate this wonderful activity! She designed the activity to be open to materials but focused by using the cow format and the limits of a black/white color relationship.

The friends started using materials like the sponge wand which weren't initially presented. They were definitely active in their explorations and took appropriate and encouraged control.

This child is presenting the evidence of her play.

The cow got covered! If you can look closely, you can see how they drew in the paint with their paint brush tips. Also, the clumps of cotton balls and peanuts show how they really grabbed, molded, touched the materials. Incredible response to the activity!

Thank you to a wonderful parent! I have had some trouble figuring out how to work with the friends from this room but seeing them work this way gave a tremendous amount of insight into how they are interacting with their environments. The friends from this class are still taking in much of their understanding through visceral interpretations; I, as a facilitator, need to make sure their hands are busy and full a well as focused enough to really think about how they are interacting with the materials.

Bettering Blocks for a show

2009-04-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

On April 15th (whew, time can slip by if you don't watch where it runs!) the friends from the 4-5 yr. old room drew with Sharpie markers on some pieces of scrap wood I cut to emulate the blocks that they have in the Block Area of the classroom. In the past few weeks, the these friends have been preparing work and ideas for the May 8th art show they are putting on at my school's final show. We are going to transform the space with their work to make my studio space reflect the activities, perspectives, and models that their school proposes and moves with the the children through. So, I have been bringing them into the art studio to experiment with materials and make basically whatever they wanted to put in the show! That set up worked really well for some of the friends who tend to work in the Art Area more often or have more exploratory impulses when art making; I can always count a handful ofn friends to get deeply invested in materials and experimentation. I noticed however that some other friends that weren't coming to the studio were still expressing themselves in other areas with blocks, magnatiles, figures, costume and general play. So, in an attempt to make sure the work in the show included as many friends as possible and to represent the range of activities and sensibilities that make the 4-5 yr. old room experience so rich, I thought about letting them work with blocks. The blocks, after being decorated, can be played with during the show. The friends signed the wood they worked on which I think will help make the distinct, individual responses more evident. Enough talking, here's some pictures!

Above, two children used the surfaces as picture planes. Another, above this text, decided to complete his piece by coloring one side completely green. It is interesting the different ways in which the friends approached and engaged the same materials. Below, a friend is making her own block shapes by combining blocks with tape. Another pushed blocks together and considered them together when depicting a house that is apparent in the form which is stacked with a triangle roof and the surface which includes a window. I think this activity really highlighted the differences in individual perspectives that make creativity such a robust aspect of life.

The block in his left hand is two triangle blocks connected by tape.

Like she spelled it

Above is a candid photo catching one friend investigating another friend's work in progress. I like this photo because it captures an example of a way in which we learn from each other: looking.

Like I noted before, difference continually informs and reinforms creative production or expression. At the school, I think this would be considered a form of "co-constructing knowledge". This idea is an expression of collaborative investigation; it is dialectical knowledge. The children use their observations in active dialogue with their peers' views to create a more holistic vision of reality. I think co-constructions go beyond childhood learning; perhaps that is why it is so important to encourage the growth, appreciation, and trust of collaboration, different perspectives, and active investigation of whatever is around. I personally view the world, our reality included (culture, language, etc.) as a field of entangled relations. When anything moves, it naturally informs something else's movement. But that influence is hardly ever as discrete as a one to one reaction. Everything is included. Have you ever, been at work or school or at home and someone involved in that environment is in a sort down mood? Can you notice how it affects other relationships that seem at first to be separate from that individual's presence? New Age ideas aside, I find it useful to consider that everything is connected even if by extension. I say it useful because if you consider something to be somehow entangled in our life by default, then it helps to feel motivated towards positive, productive affection.

What if everyone learned to care for themselves by caring about everything around them? What if sharing, trusting, and caring were the tenets of awareness? I think that is a question that Berkley proposing and children and teachers and families get to explore together.

Below are some friends from another room that decided to join in!

At the bottom, one friend used the building potential of the blocks to make a more suitable drawing surface!

Slippery Pancakes

2009-04-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day in the 2-3 yr. old room on Tuesday! It was a beautiful day out so many friends decided that s bit of sunshine was more in their interests than clay and paint. Honestly, I don't blame them, but a couple of friends hung in there and kept me inside. We had paint and clay out to see how mixing and molding would come together. Both friends have been molding pancakes from paint saturated paper, so this week the pancakes got a bit hardier with a bit of clay. They were notably slippery due to the excess amounts of hand mixed syrup. Interestingly enough, both decided to arrange their pancakes in the smaller holes of the paint palettes. I asked as I wondered what drove them to these spaces; I was told they were the ovens. No one likes raw batter pancakes, right?

It was nice working one on one with these two friends; they have been amazingly invested in art processes in the past few weeks. Both explore, test, and imagine with the most simple materials and situations. Also, if you even glance at their smiles, you can imagine what a joy they are to be around!

Models for Schooling

2009-04-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Kid Designed School

Mathscape

Thanks Colin and Drew for these great links!

My Wellness Coaches

2009-04-13T13:45:00.001-07:00

A friend and I stretching. With excellent form, he was showing me this particular stretch. The friends are always keeping me in shape!

How could a teacher reflect on their role if their title was changed to "wellness coach"? How can simple redefinitions change the way we approach situations or obstacles? For example if I am a designer instead of an artist, how do your expectations of what I do and make change? What if all teachers changed their titles to clowns? Are there new freedoms and responsibilities? Does it change the way you can relate to a child?

We begin!

2009-04-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

The idea of starting a blog that could easily share the art experience at a Kansas City preschool came up earlier in the year but never quite got off the ground. I was reflecting on this and realized that I had a concern about not getting all of the experience documented or not getting everything in the frame so to speak; I feel as if this concern kept me from moving forward on the project. So, instead of being concerned with the grand scope of this school's experience, I am going to use this space, at least for now, to share some of my experiences. I already have had an incredible time with the school and will hopefully let that history out slowly in the future, but this blog will be used mostly for what is going on currently.

I chose to name the blog "Our Eclectic Dialectic" because I feel it explains the Reggio Amilio educational approach. With proper grammatical trimming, "eclectic dialectic" can translate from the dictionary as "deriving ideas, styles, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources to investigate or discuss the truth of opinions." The "our" is meant to note the collaborative nature of co-constructing knowledge. I have a lot of trust in this process since it is one I use daily to know my environment, my peers, my culture, and my self. Communication is how we shape what is affectively real. Every dialogue, cooperation, question, and exclamation help to define/redefine how someone thinks and or feels about something. It is what we do everyday from first learning how to name objects to managing complex relationships that have developed over a lifetime. Our lives are built within and never without endless amounts of entangled relations.

One of my goals at the school has been to let myself be effectively affected as to be affectedly effective. By this I mean I want to be entangled. As I build relationships with the children, I am affected. If I am touched in this way by the friends, then it makes our interactions more meaningful since I can better understand how they think or play or build or mark or socialize. The more meaningful the interactions, then the more complex the architecture of their knowledge can become. I like to think of the teachers and myself to be on-site engineers whose roles are to insure the structural integrity of the epistemological structures that the children are erecting. I also want to make sure at every point in my process that I am there to support the children and guide them only to avoid possible perils, not to help determine their forms. To me, they know best, because the quality by which I make my value judgements is honesty. If the friends are supported to be honest to their own views, then they will hopefully, naturally respect others'.

So, this will be a space for me to relay my observations from the work site. I will stand at the base of the building, looking up and admiring the ingenious constructions that will last a lifetime.