Have you ever travelled to a place that felt like your home away from home? A place where you were overwhelmingly happy and could not stop smiling? A place that both intrigued and inspired you? That place for me was Reggio Emilia, Italy. There really is no other place in the world quite like it, especially if you are an educator passionate about the Early Years!
According to Edwards, Gandini, and Forman (2012),
Reggio Emilia is a small city in Northern Italy that shines with a bright light for what it has accomplished and what it stands for in the field of education. For the past 50 years, educators, working together with parents and citizens, have built a public system of child care and education long recognized as a centre of innovation in Europe and now widely recognized as a point of reference and resources and inspiration to educators around the world. (p. 5)
A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of participating in a study group in Reggio Emilia, Italy. This wonderful and thought provoking experience was arranged by NAREA (North American Reggio Emilia Alliance), where educators had daily lectures and school visits. Within this post I have included various photographs from the town of Reggio Emilia, and a few quotes that resonated with me during my stay there. Unfortunately, we could not capture any photographs within the enchanting/extraordinary schools, but I was able to purchase a number of resources to remind me of what I saw.
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| A photo similar to this one taken during my trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy is what I have selected to use as my profile picture. It was a very significant and an intentional choice for this blog! "The beginning of the story coincides with the aftermath of war. There was a wish to rebuild what had been destroyed and above all the sense of power you have when coming through some terrible catastrophe. You feel strong, you are inevitably tempered." -Loris Malaguzzi |
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| "Once a week we would transport the school to town. Literally we would pack ourselves, the children, and our tools into a truck and we would teach school and show exhibits in the open air, in the square, in public parks, or under the colonnade of the municipal theatre. The children were happy. The people saw; they were surprised and they asked questions." -Loris Malaguzzi |
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| Study Group Participants "Children-teachers-parents are competent co-authors in/of a community of learning." -Daniela Lanzi |
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| Light tables made out of recycled garbage cans at the REMIDA. "Light provokes wonder, marvelling and curiosity, to stimulate creativity and deepen investigation." -Ray of Light Atelier |
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| "You don't understand the schools in Reggio Emilia if you don't understand the city and community." -Jerome Bruner |
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| "Every culture makes its own definition of the child... determines tasks and choices we make...our pedagogy...There are many different notions of the child (image of the child)... requires great awareness... determines how we teach, our choices, our expectations, and the culture of the school..." -Daniela Lanzi |
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| "But the educator in Reggio Emilia is, in my understanding, a reflective and democratic professional; she is committed to the values of research, dialogue and participation; she recognizes and welcomes education as an inescapably interpretive and subjective activity." -Peter Moss |
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| "I cannot imagine an educator who works without hope or who ceases to seek freedom." -Paulo Freire |
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| "Teachers should not be seen as an object of study but as interpreters of educational phenomena." -David Hawkins |
Learning about the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education in Reggio Emilia, Italy was both unforgettable and undeniably inspiring! My deep admiration for the time, care, and attention to detail that the Italian educators provided when designing their learning environments and provocations will CERTAINLY bring me back there again soon... I would return to this wondrous place in a heartbeat... Until next time... Ciao :)
References:
Edwards, Gandini & Forman (Eds). (2012). The hundred languages of children the Reggio Emilia experience in transformation. 3rd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Lanzi, D. (2011). Lectures for NAREA Study Group. Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Amazing! I would love to visit someday. Wish my classroom environment and pedagogy could be more Reggio-inspired! Thanks for sharing : )
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