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Figure 6. The seasons change because they have to blow away.
Challenges.
When the Director of the centre first introduced the concepts of emergent
curriculum during a staff meeting, she expected Layla to adopt this Reggio-inspired
philosophy that included project work. Very reluctant to let go of themes, Layla felt that
the approach was forced upon her and she was “brought into it kicking and screaming.”
During the focus group she explained the challenge.
We have been slowly implementing emergent curriculum for about six
years. It has been slow. I fully admit I was a naysayer. I didn’t like it. I
didn’t see it until I really started doing it and I turned myself around from
being almost in tears thinking about it. I used to get a terrible feeling in my
gut. I couldn’t figure out what I would do if I couldn’t plan ahead and
write things down.
After reflection, Layla realized that she felt vulnerable when she couldn’t plan
weeks or months in advance. Layla understands that, for her, it was an issue of control;
she wanted control of the curriculum. It appears from Layla’s reflections that control
continues to be a central issue in her practice. She questions whether to pre-plan the
activities that follow the daily meeting time or “take another step towards making the