Five days in Reggio Emilia
By Blakely Fetridge Bundy '66
Just as every baseball fan yearns to visit Cooperstown, every early childhood educator dreams of going to Reggio Emilia, a small city in Italy reputed to have the best preschools in the world. So when Professor Vicki Bartolini, chair of Wheaton's Education Department, mentioned that she was taking a group of students to the firstever Students and Professors Study Group, an international conference to be held in Reggio Emilia in February 2006, I was thrilled to go along and learn firsthand about these world-famous schools.
Bartolini and Marge Werner, director of Wheaton's Elisabeth Amen Nursery School, attended a small pilot program in Reggio in 2005 and became convinced that this would be a valuable experience for Wheaton education students. How did I get to go? Just lucky, I guess. I've spent my entire career in early childhood education, starting as a student teacher in the nursery school during my senior year at Wheaton and, since my 1966 graduation, serving variously as a teacher, administrator, writer, editor, photographer and advocate. But I'd never been to Reggio. This was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.
The Reggio Emilia preschools started after World War II, but were a well-kept secret for decades. In 1991, Newsweek's report on global education
declared them to be to be the "best preschools in the world." A traveling exhibit called "The Hundred Languages of Children" vaulted the Reggio Approach to worldwide prominence. Since then, Reggio has had a significant impact on the field of early childhood, as educators recognize the value of these extraordinary schools and seek to emulate them.
How do Reggio schools differ from U. S. preschools?
The difference between Reggio preschools and U.S. classrooms is obvious when you walk through the door of one of these schools. In a typical American preschool classroom, you might find primary-colored plastic furniture and toys, commercial or cartoon figures such as Disney characters on the walls, displays of identical artwork produced by all children in a class, and reheated meals served on paper plates. Many American preschools are housed in space created for another use, such as a church basement or a former elementary school.
Reggio schools, on the other hand, are located in buildings specifically designed for that purpose, using the collaborative input of teachers, parents and architects. While each Reggio school (there are more than 50 preschools and nearly 20 infant-toddler schools) is unique, they all share some common elements, including:
a large piazza or enclosed atrium-like space which is the heart of the school with all classrooms opening onto it
four classrooms, usually divided by age with never more than 24 children with two teachers
a special art studio called an atelier, staffed by an artist
a kitchen and dining room where children enjoy freshly prepared meals, served atop china
a staff room
bathrooms designed specifically for infants, toddlers or preschoolers, with changing tables and child-sized toilets and sinks
perhaps other special spaces, such as a music room or a sleeping room for infants
Reggio considers the environment to be the third teacher of the child, and the care and thoughtfulness in its construction are obvious. The schools are open, airy, clean, and feel comfortable and inviting to adults and children alike.
While the classrooms are richly appointed, the rooms are well-organized and children learn how to put their materials away before moving on to the next activity, so the classrooms never feel cluttered. Floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors lead to an adjoining playground and, inside, there are well-tended plants throughout the school. Light and its exploration is another important factor. Classrooms have soft, incandescent lighting instead of the glaring fluorescent light common in American schools. Light tables with brightly colored, translucent objects to explore are found in most classrooms, as are overhead projectors that produce patterns or colors on white walls. Mirrors are located in unexpected places helping children learn about themselves and explore different points of view. For example, you might find a mirror over an infant's changing table, inside a large triangle apparatus that allows children to climb inside and view themselves from several angles, or as the surface of a table where children play with small blocks.
A differing image of the child
Also different is the contrasting image of the child. Americans often view the child as weak, vulnerable and in need of protection. As Dr. Mel Levine, a University of North Carolina researcher and pediatrician, says, "Parents really have a sense that their kids are fragile." American children are rarely allowed to structure their own play, but are carefully supervised and put into organized programs and lessons from a very early age.
In contrast, the Reggio philosophy sees the child as powerful, strong, competent, and filled with potential, a constructor of his own knowledge and learning. The late Loris Malaguzzi, a teacher and great pedagogical thinker, was the first head of Reggio schools and his influence is still felt at Reggio. The child, he said, "possesses many resources at birth and with an extraordinary potential which has never ceased to amaze us. ...This is a gifted child for whom we need a gifted teacher." Malaguzzi referred to "the hundred languages of children," meaning that children express themselves in many different ways, through many different media, including art, music, body movement, words, etc. Reggio schools provide a wide variety of opportunities for children to express themselves in these many different languages.
American preschools often move children through a fast-paced day that might include specific times for art, free play, music and outdoor play, and curriculum themes that change daily or weekly (autumn, dinosaurs, holidays, etc.). In contrast, at Reggio schools, children are allowed large blocks of time to explore their environment and to delve into projects that interest them and which might take days, weeks or even months to complete.
Documentation of children's learning is another noticeable difference in Reggio schools. Documentation panels adorn every wall, illustrating the children's process of learning. Teachers document children's learning using many tools including video, tape recording, photography, work samples and narration. They reflect upon and discuss this learning with other teachers several times a week and keep parents informed with daily journals.
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg in learning about Reggio Emilia schools. People spend years studying the schools and, because the Reggio Approach is not static but a continuing process that is constantly evolving, it is impossible to know everything about the Reggio Approach.
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Readers who are seeking further information about the Reggio schools may wish to review the following publications: Wurm, Julianne P. Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner‚s Guide for American Teachers. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2005; Edwards, Carolyn; Gandini, Lella; & Forman, George, eds. The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach˜Advanced Reflections. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1998; Hendriks, Joanne, ed. First Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall, 1997; and Cadwell, Louise Boyd. Bringing Reggio Emilia Home: An Innovative Approach to Early Childhood Education Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1997. |
Meet the students
Five Wheaton students were chosen to participate in the Students and Professors Study Group at Reggio Emilia. They include:
Amy March '06, from Pennsylvania, student taught in the Norton schools. She was licensed to teach early childhood in Massachusetts by graduation and she knows she wants to be a teacher. Amy is an economics major and education minor.
Tessa Manolopoulos '06, from Maryland, also student taught kindergarten in Norton. Tessa is a psychology major and education minor and she, too, was a Massachusetts licensed teacher in early childhood by graduation.
Jocelyn Horton '08, is Bartolini's research assistant. Jocelyn, who has volunteered in a Reggio-inspired daycare center for infants and toddlers in her New Hampshire hometown, wants to work with this age group.
Kyle Beaulieu-Jones '06, a history major from Connecticut, is interested in secondary education. He first learned about Reggio in one of Bartolini's classes last year.
Abby Browne '06 is an artist and studio art major from Vermont. Abby is a four-year volunteer in the Wheaton Nursery School, where she first heard about Reggio. She was intrigued by the strong art component in the schools and wanted to learn more.
In preparation for the trip, the students read The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach--Advanced Reflections, a book that explains the Reggio philosophy. The students met with Bartolini several times to share responses to the readings and to generate their own questions to consider while in Reggio. Each student kept a journal. About two weeks before we left, I visited Wheaton to meet the students and join them for dinner, discussion and the video, "To Make a Portrait of a Lion," describing how children studied the lion statues that guard one of the plazas in Reggio Emilia. Bartolini noted, "It's exciting to realize that we are a unique community of learners, including current students, faculty, and an alum, about to travel together to Italy!"
Day 1
The conference takes place at the brand-new Loris Malaguzzi International Center--the first event to be held in the center. Checking in, we notice a display of flags of the nations represented at this conference--35 in all! There are four simultaneous conferences--our Students and Professors Study Group; the International Group (mostly teachers and directors); the Leadership Group (policymakers, superintendents, and other leaders); and the Atelierista Group (studio artists).
"As soon as I walked in the door, I knew that this was something big!" Browne said.
As we enter the auditorium, we hear Italian opera over the loudspeaker and notice large vases of gorgeous flowers adorning the speakers≠ table˘not the usual atmosphere for an educational conference, with the Italian sense of style very apparent. All the important Reggio leaders are there--people whose names I've heard many times over the years.
After lunch, we return to the students≠ hostel, which is housed in a former nunnery, replete with arched ceilings, a courtyard, fresco paintings on the walls, and a director who doesn't speak English.
Next is a walking tour of Reggio. Because the preschools' collaboration with the town is so important to its structure and philosophy, a tour is included as part of the conference. With jet lag still taking its toll, I return to my hotel to trace a lost suitcase, while the students find a little restaurant for dinner (and then on to a gelato place that they'll visit every evening).
Day 2
My suitcase is waiting for me outside my door--its fresh clothes and my camera a welcome sight. At the Malaguzzi Center, which still smells charmingly like its former life as a Parmesan cheese factory, we find the large classroom where the Students and Professors Study Group convenes. This English-speaking group has students and professors from nine countries and six U.S. colleges and universities: Tufts, Lesley, University of Vermont, Clemson, University of Colorado and Wheaton. Most of the students are graduate students and classroom teachers or directors. How fortunate these Wheaton students are to discover Reggio at the beginning of their careers.
The entire first day is devoted to background information about the history and structure of the Reggio schools. Various dignitaries discuss budgets, tuitions and teacher training. Frankly, it's a rather dry day. Beaulieu-Jones jokes that the discussion was all about collaboration, hands-on learning, and dialog, but that we had just sat and been lectured to for hours. Those who have been to Reggio before tell us to be patient.
Day 3
The morning begins with a visit to Reggio Emilia's famous openair market, where the students choose gifts. Horton is thrilled to bargain down the price of a colorful cashmere scarf.
Our first session on documentation, presented by a pedagogista (or child development specialist), is the most engaging presentation so far. She touches on both the theoretical and the practical aspects of documentation and illustrates it with appealing images of children. But the best comes in the afternoon--our first visit to a Reggio school. Browne and I sign up to go to Arcobaleno Infant- Toddler Center, while Bartolini and the four other students visit Rivieri, another infant-toddler school.
With foreign visitors allowed only rarely inside the buildings, especially when children are present, we feel fortunate. The minute we walk in the door, we know that we are in a very special place! The very rich environment is adorned with brick walls, tile floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, some beautiful antique furniture, the scent of incense, and the use of light--both soft, as in lamps and lighting fixtures--and bright, in the use of overheads to shine patterns and lights on large wall and hanging sheet spaces. There is such thoughtfulness and care in every aspect of this space, from tiny toilets for toddlers to specially built cribs, which rest on the floor with an opening at the foot to allow children finished with their naps to crawl out when ready for company. A "casetta," or little playhouse, has small holes for children to enter and large slits in the roof for teachers to view them. Strictly forbidden to take any photos inside Reggio schools, Browne makes a few sketches to capture the beauty of this place.
Day 4
Today is another school visit--this time to a preschool. Bartolini and I sign up for the Anna Frank School, while the students will visit Pampolini. Anna Frank was the second preschool built in Reggio in the mid-1960s. (It's named for the World War II teenage diarist; parents and teachers vote to name all schools.)
We walk around the school, wander into classrooms, and observe the children for a full hour. The school is in full session, with about 70 three-, four- and five-year-olds in four classrooms. We are thrilled to see a Reggio school in action. We notice that children are allowed to leave their classrooms to come into the atrium to play by themselves. (This would never be allowed without direct adult supervision in an American school and illustrates perfectly the differing images of the child.) We see a girl and a boy come out to play on a mirrored table. They take out a container of small blocks, build happily for many minutes, and, when they are finished, put the blocks back into the container and return to their classroom.
The art produced by Reggio children is world-famous. We watch with fascination the work of several children engaged in a drawing project in the small atelier or studio adjacent to their classroom. The teacher helps the children draw animals. A large, colorful art book with animal illustrations is used as a model for the projects of three four-year-old boys. One works on an eagle, another on a tiger, and a third on a snake. First the boys sketch their animal with a pencil, with much input from the teacher, who points out details repeatedly. When the teacher and child are satisfied with the sketch, each child carefully paints his animal. The boys work on this project for a full hour and we have to remind ourselves that these are four-year-olds! In another classroom, the five-year-olds are using clay to sculpt an image of one of the girls. Again, the teacher works closely with each child, pointing out details and making suggestions.
After our visit, we meet up with the students and learn that they have been just as enthralled as we have. Horton is amazed by the intense concentration and focus of the children as they work on projects. March mentions how children move smoothly through the day with minimal adult intervention. Manolopoulos is impressed that children as young as three are able to use delicate, sharp tools effectively, which would never be allowed in the U.S. The relaxed, European lifestyle that he's observed is reflected in the schools, says Beaulieu-Jones. Everyone speaks about the inviting classrooms and beautiful equipment. What an inspiration for the students!
We spend the afternoon at the Remida Recycling Center, where new but discarded items from Reggio industries are collected and distributed, to be put to creative use by Reggio schools and other citizens of the town. Apparently this project has been so successful that other cities in Italy, as well as in Denmark and Australia, have copied the idea. After a presentation, we "play" with the materials, including exploring light and shadow and "listening" to inanimate objects made of metal, plastic and cloth with a stethoscope. The students talk about starting a mini-recycling center at Wheaton.
Day 5
The students spend the day strolling the streets and shopping for gifts to take home, stocking up at the supermarket on locally produced olive oil and Parmesan cheese. We meet at the plaza with the lion statues featured in the video that we'd seen before the trip, and we take a few photos. Before our final dinner in Italy, we gather to reflect on the past five days.
"Have your experiences at Reggio changed you?" I ask. All five students nod.
"The class environments in Reggio are amazing," said Horton.
"I'm going to go back to my kindergarten classroom and pull all the plastic off the shelves," Manolopoulos remarked. "It gave me such new respect for children."
The implications for secondary education struck Beaulieu-Jones: "It makes me want to make my students≠ days more interesting. I want to find ways of teaching creatively instead of lecturing."
Browne, always the artist, noted her enchantment with the light, color and space she observed in Reggio schools. "But I also want to go back and create my own recycling center. It brings together environmental issues, aesthetics and children."
"I want to open my own learning center and design the building myself," Horton sighed. "Most importantly, I want to show more respect to the children and the
work that they do so that they, too, respect their own work."
Five students and five days at Reggio Emilia. Imagine the impact as those five students carry the messages of Reggio Emilia into their work after graduation from Wheaton.
Blakely Fetridge Bundy '66 is the executive director of the
Winnetka (Ill.) Alliance for Early Childhood.
