Parents perspectives third installment. School concerns

I've been home for more than a week now. Elizabeth, a colleague at my office told me of a German word that has no translation in English and it intrigued me to hear it. We are used to the term 'home sick', which I may have felt a bit at the beginning of my trip. I certainly felt teary as I left my husband at the gate and went through to board the plane that first morning. The term that Elizabeth shared with me is 'fenweh'. I love this word. It means 

missing a place you have visited in your travels and the closest literal translation we have is 'distant sickness'. I think I have this. I am really missing the places I visited, the people I met and the experiences I was enjoying. I'm glad to be back home with my husband and my dog Danni, and Being back at work is great. I love my job and I'm very busy, consistently challenged and I enjoy the collaboration with colleagues, but I'm fenweh. I'm sad about all that I left behind. 

Anyway, that's not what this post is about. I want to make a last comment about the parents perspectives that were shared with me. Tonight I want to talk about the concerns that parents had about schooling. My experience in Australia when you ask about how children might settle into school after their prior to school experiences is often along the same theme. I hear regularly that children are not being prepared for the rigors and formalities of school, that the Early Years Learning Framework does not make children ready for school. I answer with the same response each time, that the EYLF is not about preparation for school, it's about fostering dispositions for learning, life long learning that will set children up for life. It's always frustrating for me to find myself bailed up in a school car park or in the corner of a staff room to be told that we are getting it wrong. The research and evidence around what makes up a quality early childhood learning environment doesn't seem to be valued within our school systems and is a constant source of professional angst for me. 

So when I asked parents about this on my travels I was pleasantly surprised to hear their responses. In reading the comments below you can see that what worries them is that school is expecting too much of their children at too early an age, and that what they are getting from the prior to school experience is a vital and treasured aspect of their early years, based on a value for children being small and free of formal structures of learning. 

"I saw D go from a confident child who was interested in his surroundings  and who was really keen to contribute to his surroundings to this little soul who's voice wasn't useful anymore. Nobody wanted to know what his opinion was. On a day to day level he had to do what he was told"

"They are at their most imaginative at four and by ten they need to conform"

"He just has a different take that they don't really get at school but maybe one day he'll be the person who will think up new ideas and bring humanity forward. If he doesn't I don't care but I just hope that we don't squash that out of him by undermining his confidence and taking the ability to think differently away from him."

"They don't want people to think differently they just want them to do the same as everyone else. He was forever cutting things out. Or coloring in or joining the dots. There was no free thinking. Schools have to get everyone on the same level"

"There are years ahead of him being in a regimented classroom. That they can still be babies means such a lot to me."

There was also an attitude that the quality of their children's early years experiences gave them fantastic foundations for future challenges and learning . The following comment demonstrates this feeling:

"As I write this, we've just found out that M has his school place for September, which fills me with mixed emotions. I will be so sad to see him leave the nursery yet I know he's had the best possible start by having been there. 

And then there was the excitement that parents were able to share their knowledge of early childhood to the school. At Boldon it is often the parents who question the school as to how their programs are adapted to the individual needs of their child. Parents were able to see the value of schools introducing play based pedagogies that utilize natural elements:

"My other son attends the reception class in the school at the moment and it seems the teachers there are starting to embrace the outdoor classroom idea- this week they are building a mud kitchen in the garden!"

This last comment leads me to the final aspect that seemed to be a common theme as I interviewed parents. That in connecting with nature and being given the freedom to play and explore, children were receiving quality early childhood education. The comments below demonstrate this:

"It's a much more natural way for children to learn and the longer they can keep the better, because as soon  as they get to school they beat it out of them"

"Teachers need to see that outdoors is a classroom too, not just a novelty. They would learn from the children when they can see that children can think more freely being outdoors"

"The determination! M's first day we had a shockingly cold winter. It was Never above minus 8. M was little, only two. We got her clothes and dropped her off at 9 and picked her up with her cheeks rosy and eyes sparkling and she just wasn't cold. They are hardy kids. They get half the sniffles than D was getting at school."

"When we had driving rain for a month I asked M if she was getting bored with it and she said 'eye mummy, it's just so muddy', but she went each day and was happy to go."

 

"It's going against the grain a bit, I rarely see them inside the class. That's good. The world Is a classroom, being in the open air, being outdoors"

"In going to the woods, my children really enjoyed the 'adventure' of getting ready, taking their own snack, experimenting with the space, the pond, the trees and everything"

I saw that parents had very real insight into the value that their children were getting from being outdoors in natural play environments. Is this perhaps because such programs attract parents with such beliefs and ideas? Or is it because the centres do a fantastic job in communicating the benefits to parents? Can such ideas take hold in Australia?

I guess I'll leave it at that for now. The photo below shows how happy Danni and I were to see each other on my return. She loves me a lot. 

Inspiring Scotland. An organization in defense of play.

While here in Edinburgh I was introduced to a fellow called David Hardie. As a semi retired lawyer David is now involved in a philanthropic organisation called 'Inspiring Scotland'. I met him here at a social occasion and once we got talking about his work I realized that I wanted to know more. He very kindly set up a meeting with himself and his colleague Eilidh Chalmers. 

As has become a common experience on this trip I was within the presence of an incredible inspiration, vision and passion. The people within this organisation are there to make a difference in the lives of kids and I'd like to tell you about it. I hope I can do justice to the work they are doing in this blog entry. Please refer to their website if this prompts further interest, it is well worth a look. 

www.inspiringscotland.org.uk

What initially sparked my interest in talking to David was the concept of getting children out to play. Inspiring Scotland funds a variety of worthwhile projects and initiatives that support children and young people, including a Go2Play fund that invests in play ventures. 

If you are reading this blog you probably have an understanding of the importance of play in children's lives. One thing that excited and impressed me was in talking to David and Eilidth, here were two executives who 'got' play. Their background is not education, not early childhood, but they understand the fundamental importance of play in children's lives and that it is not just for fun, it's vital. Because governments are recognizing the economic advantages of a healthy society and that play sets these foundations, organizations such as Inspiring Scotland exist. 

Go2Play is an investment in play ventures. This involves community charities in coming forward with innovative play ideas. David told me of one community that had a woodland within its environs, but it was used as a place for drinking and drugs. This space was reclaimed by children who went there regularly with 'Play Rangers', adults who facilitate free play, and it is now an attractive place that all can access within the community. This reclaiming of green spaces is happening in other places too, and play rangers is a growing phenomenon. Other ventures have included schools, where playgrounds are becoming 'grounds for learning', being developed into more natural spaces that provide for open ended free play. Playgrounds are changing, involving the voices of children, janitors, parents and school staff. All that become involved learn to articulate the benefits of play. The funding provided comes with clear expectations  and rigorous evaluation, so outcomes are monitored. An evaluation of each venture along with support, advice, training, capacity building and mentoring promotes its success and its future. Where does the money come from? I'm glad you asked. Some of it comes from philanthropists, individuals and organizations who want to invest their money into the future good of society. Because the money is managed so well and the outcomes are so effective, the government in Scotland also invests large sums of money. 

The whole exercise is not just grant giving. It comes with targets, plans and engaged support that works within the context of each community venture.  It was disappointing to hear that not many private donors are interested in funding play. It still has a perceived element of frivolity in it that is hard to compete with more regular charities and what is considered more dire needs such as drug and alcohol support or crime prevention strategies. I think our societies have a lot to learn about the value of play for children and beyond. The results from these ventures are collected as data to show the effectiveness of the programs, and there is much international research that shows how vital play is. The challenge for those of us that understand the play ethos is to defend and advocate for play, not only for our littlies but for older children as well. 

Why is play so hard to defend?

I wish to thank David and Eilidh for their time and interest in what I'm investigating here in the UK, and for giving me their very special take on it. I would dearly love to see this sort of thing happening in Australia and such things always start with an idea, a passion and a vision. It's another little seed planted in my head, and maybe yours?