Every Educator Deserves This
Imagine self-care that benefits your students and community
If you’re anything like me, life is kicking my butt. War, political divisiveness, the economy, social media trolls, threats to democracy, the dismantling of institutions, and escalating attacks on the lives of children are depressing. Watching fine schools under siege while great educators quit the profession is really taking its toll. Each of these stressors can easily distract from my aspiration to make the world a better place for kids.
There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. In just two months, a few dozen creative educators from around the world will convene in Reggio Emilia, Italy for a very special learning adventure, The Language of Computation – Constructing Modern Knowledge in Reggio Emilia. In these darkest of times, I am grateful to be able to share this gift with others.
Imagine spending five days learning with like-minded colleagues in “the City of Children,” in collaboration with the remarkable atelieristas and pedagogistas of Reggio Emilia and the team who made Constructing Modern Knowledge the gold standard for learning-by-doing over the past two decades.
Our first two registrants were a Canadian and Korean educator who participated last year!
You must experience – see, taste, touch, observe, listen to Reggio – to be reminded of why you became an educator in the first place. The beauty, subtlety, focus, efficacy, thoughtfulness, complexity, courage, and playfulness of the Reggio Emilia Approach deepen with each encounter.
I’ve been to Reggio Emilia countless times and yet it is impossible to describe the uncompromising dedication to children, their rights, competence, social development, creativity, and pedagogical approach to knowledge construction developed by the educators of Reggio Emilia over the past sixty+ years. Everywhere you look you are transported to a universe of possibilities.
The student “work” displayed in the exhibition galleries of the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre, ReMida – the mind-blowing creative re-use center, and the meticulous documentation of children’s thinking are truly spectacular. Whether this is your first or tenth encounter with Reggio Emilia or the Reggio Emilia Approach, you will be inspired to make the world a better place for children, by reinvigorating your teaching practice and making your classroom(s) more learner-centered and intentional.
Participants will learn with our brilliant Italian colleagues about the Reggio Approach, constructing ateliers, and the documentation of learning. They will also explore how computation, robotics, computer programming, physical computing, and even artificial intelligence expand the breadth, depth, and range of “research” children of all ages may engage in.
If all of that were not enough, there is the food of the Emilia Romagna region, epicenter of the slow food movement. Our institute dinner begins with each participant making traditional tortelli, tagliatelle, and erbazzone, to enjoy alongside Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, Lambrusco, and other local delicacies. The other institute meals include dinner at a fantastic authentic trattoria and a pizza lunch that can be life-changing. The local coffee, gelati, chocolate, and pastries will leave you breathless.
There will be plenty of time for conversation at countless cafes, walks through the city’s parks, visiting one of the world’s oldest natural history museums, and exploring the Reggio Children book shop. One of the institute hotels is 500 years old, in a building erected 800 years ago. Reggio Emilia is a city of contradictions: modern, ancient, provincial, and multicultural.
Most of all, The Language of Computation – Constructing Modern Knowledge in Reggio Emilia promises to feed your mind, body, and soul. Those five days in Reggio are what I need to get through the next year.
I sure hope you can join us this June 15–19th. You deserve it!