Last year, my daughter explained how appreciative she was of her white college professor who, as she began facilitating a face-to-face discussion in her Black history class, opened varied channels for discussion. All students were expected to “participate in class” but they were also expected to be thoughtful about how and when and where they added their own perspectives to the discussions that began there. This was important, my daughter explained, because as a white…
My visit to Reggio reminded me that learning is a social construct. It’s not an accumulation of knowledge, but a construction of meaning that emerges from learners’ interpretation of the world. Materials matter, which is why several of my previous posts in this series focused on their thoughtful use. As I listened and learned more throughout my tour, it was increasingly evident that the way we construct the learning environment matters as well. In fact, it…
This morning, we kicked off the first week of the WNY Young Writers’ Summer Studio, a new writing camp for middle school students, which I’m holding on the grounds of Daemen College in Amherst. I’ve been eager to write with kids again, and today’s session was a whole lot of fun. It was also unique in that I found myself in the position of being observed for the first time in many years. Teachers have been…