“The Reggio approach is built on the premise that every child is a competentlearner, who is capable of rigorous research and intensive focus.”This calm environment also createsthe perfect setting for a pedagogy whichis based on active listening. Teachers areattuned to exchanges between learners,focus on thoughtful interjections andquestions and seek to enhance and amplifythe child’s thinking. Teachers practisea pedagogy of listening that involvesthe use of pedagogical documentation(photographs, videos, scripted sessionsand the work of the children) as a form of‘making visible’ the learning that is takingplace for all the learners.Inspired by the educators from Reggio,who call us all to respect all children ascitizens with full human rights, the learners’ideas, opinions and hypotheses need tobe present in the choices and decisionsof the community. Reggio-inspiredpedagogy continues to be the object ofstudy of pedagogical experts around theworld, including renowned developmentalpsychologist Professor Howard Gardnerfrom Harvard University’s Project Zero,and has inspired both public educationalsystems and private curricula including theIB Primary Years Programme, in whichmany aspects of the Reggio approach canbe observed.Whilst all educators can be inspired bythe approach, schools cannot choose to“become” Reggio schools in the same waythey can subscribe to other curriculummodels on a “pay to play” basis. AlthoughReggio has evolved from its original andinformal community-based organisationinto an official non-profit structure - ReggioChildren - being recognised in any formalfashion requires a long-term commitmentby a school, a direct and ongoing dialoguewith experts at Reggio Children and otherrecognised organisations such as the NorthAmerican Reggio Educators Alliance, andsustained investment in staff training anddevelopment, as well as clear expertise fromthe pedagogical leadership in the school.Being a Reggio-inspired school is a journeyof a lifetime, but given the synergy betweenEcolint’s mission to educate for humanity’sfuture and that of Reggio Children to foster“education and research to improve thelives of people and communities, in ReggioEmilia and in the world”, it is a journey inwhich Ecolint is very proud to engage inSwitzerland.Jennifer Armstrong is a Canadian national. Passionate about languages, bilingualism andholistic, child-centred pedagogy, Jennifer followed a BA in Canadian Studies and FrenchLanguage and Literature with a second Bachelor’s degree in Education, both at theUniversity of Toronto. After teaching for several years, Jennifer completed a Masters inCurriculum and Applied Psychology, with a dissertation focused on Bilingualism. Havingbeen successively a teacher, French language consultant to the Trillium Lakelands Boardof Education, Director of Academics, Vice Principal and Principal of schools in Canada,Jennifer was recruited by Ecolint in 2009 to open and run the new Primary school atLa Châtaigneraie, devising the innovative new approach to bilingualism that is in usetoday. Jennifer is also a highly-experienced practitioner and advocate of the ReggioEmilia approach to primary learning, which is the underpinning of the PYP pedagogicalapproach. She is the Founding President of the Ontario Reggio Association and a boardmember of the North American Reggio Educators Alliance. Jennifer has also lecturedand delivered keynote addresses at many Reggio-inspired conferences and universitysymposia in the USA, Canada and Singapore and is the author of a chapter in a NationalAssociation for the Education of Young Children textbook for education programmes onReggio-inspired practices in primary school.Resident in the Geneva area since 2004, Michael Kewley read for a BA and MA in ModernLanguages at Magdalen College, Oxford. Passionate about language and communication,Michael worked for 17 years at Procter & Gamble in a wide variety of local, regional andglobal brand management roles, as well as providing communication consultancy andtraining for the EMEA region. Alongside his professional obligations, Michael has beenan elected local councillor in France since 2008, and a volunteer fire and medical firstresponder since 2007.INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT AUTUMN 2019 | 24
Tobogganingin GstaadExplore the three varied toboggan runs in Saanenmöserand Schönried – endless fun for the whole family!Daily ticket for adults: CHF 40.–Daily ticket for kids: CHF 20.–(price includes toboggan rental)
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