December 2018
Coming along on the journey of discovery
I recently had the honor of attending the national conference of the Association for Constructivist Teaching. Dr. Bruce Marlowe, chair of the Education Department at the University of South Carolina and author of many significant texts on Constructivist Education, was the keynote speaker.
He spoke about what educators can and must do in response to the growing number of regulations and directives being imposed on teachers by state and federal education agencies. Dr. Marlow offered alternatives, including a “more uplifting pedagogy.” He urged the educators to think of pedagogy not as teaching children but as “walking with children.”
As educators (parents and teachers) we must accompany our children along the journey of discovery as they learn from the world around them and construct their own knowledge. In our school, teachers always strive to create environments that will pique children’s curiosity and encourage them to wonder and ask questions.
Every Monday in the ECC we gather to bid farewell to Shabbat and welcome our new week by reciting Havdalah. This beautiful ritual encourages us to use all of our senses to take in the world around us, bid farewell to Shabbat, and get us ready to start the new week.
We taste the wine, smell the spices, look at the fire, and listen for the sizzle as we extinguish the flame in the wine. Often young children ask, “Where did the fire go?” As Dr. Marlowe suggested, we “walk with the children,” encourage their questions and their wonder, and let their curiosity guide them to constructing new knowledge.
Teachers need not be the ones to give the answers or provide the information. Teachers are the ones who encourage children’s natural disposition as learners. We hope all our young families will join us on Saturday, Jan. 4, as we come together to share the beautiful Havdalah experience, filled with awe and wonder.
