Risk and the Role of the Teacher
In Anji Play schools, an environment of love allows children to engage in meaningful experiences of joyous, self-determined risk. A close observer of this video may note the following:
The deeply engaged presence of the teacher. She is both engaged in observation and video documentation, and instantly responsive in the adjustment of her distance from and interaction with the play that is taking place. From her stance it is clear that she knows these children and the materials and communicates to each child her confidence in their individual abilities.
In the experience of self-determined play with minimally-structured open-ended materials, children gain knowledge of their own ability. Each child is making judgements about her own level of ability, and is adjusting her participation to create the conditions for deep engagement in the joy of the experience of play.
In the experience of extensive, uninterupted enjoyment of self-determined play, children engage in complex problem solving around physical factors (structure, balance, weight, leverage) and social factors (lining up, establishing rules and order, assisting and helping to gaurantee the safety of friends) and increase the level of difficulty and challenge based on their knowledge of their own level of ability.
The joy and risk experienced by the children is also experienced by the teacher.
Important context note: this arrangement of materials (barrels, ladders and planks) was constructed by the children. It was not set up by adults, and they were not expected or urged to take part in this type of play. These children have also attended this school since the age of three and these materials have always been present in their outdoor play space, if not always utilized by this particular group of children. Risk can become danger when children are pressured or expected by adults to take part in risks that they have not been given the freedom to self-select.
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