Active v passive
Some people I have been listening to are concerned about children using technology to the detriment of developing creative thinking skills.
OK; screen time - television, playstation, xbox, winning/losing games, baby genius....
Do these promote creative thinking? I agree - they do not.
Kidpix, digital blue camera, digital blue microscope, paint, artrage, audacity, photostory and others do promote creativity, problemsolving, trial and error, perseverance.... many of these are available as free downloads, and those that are not free are well worth the price.

Beware

Beware Readers,
I seem to have been using my blog as a place to write and save my 'book'.
Of course this may not be accidental.
I am of course anticipating your learned comments, all of which could contribute
to the development of a learned text one day.
Maybe or maybe not.
Christine

The ulearn07 conference in Auckland was huge.
So much to see and do, so much to be inspired by
and good food and wine and entertainment.
but most importantly were the connections made,
both within our cluster, and further afield too.
Already emails are coming through from connections
made at breakout groups and at social times.
The Natural Environment seems uppermost in peoples minds.
I love the way we can use ICT to show our values to our
community and beyond. A major theme I took from ulearn was
"through and with ICT rather than about ICT."

OTT Praise.

Darling, Sweetie, Love,
That is fantastic.!
You are a genius!
No he is not. He is working at his best level. Let's not put a limit on his capabilities.
He can probably do more than we have ever dreamed about.
Do not tell him his work is genius or fantastic.
He has done good work, but he may do even more deep work if he feels empowered to.
Who are we - parent or teacher - to judge him anyway? Let him be pleased with himself.
Let's say to him - "You can be very pleased with your work.
If we want him to extend his thinking and learning we could say - 'What else can we find out about this?"

What about darling etc.. ... I don't know - but I think we should call children by their name. "Darling' sounds insincere when coupled with "your work is absolutely fantastic!" - rather superficial I think when I know what words teachers can use to empower children.
Teachers at Lucknow use words that are only ever - positive, empowering, open-ended, oh and sincere!

Christmas

At our recent kgtn conference, John Hornblow challenged and provoked the issue of Christmas. For me, Xmas issues go much deeper than his implied cultural difference issues. All year we promote children directing their own learning. Why would we then, from Labour Weekend till 21.12 provide Xmas resources, sing Xmas songs, decorate the kgtn with the intention of creating this 'magical' time of the year. Is it magical because of the glitteryness or because of the imminent presents. It certainly is not because of 'love and goodwill to all men'. Instead, adults set children up for less than desirable behaviour and then say "If you don't behave, Santa Claus won't come." No magic there. Financial issues deepen along with stress at work, stressed marriages, too many office parties, sadness, loneliness, confused children, tired shopping mothers. No magic there. I see commercialism, materialism, greed, shiny junk mail, TV advertising adding to all these social issues.
Then with yearly clean up due, the teachers throw out the Xmas tree. It's been up for so long it is yellow anyway, but imagine when the children see the tree on the compost pile. The magic gets very confusing now. Is Xmas really three days away or is it over?
So with some 9 weeks till Xmas, teachers have forgotten all about the possibilities that children bring when we follow their own interests and children direct their own learning. Yes they may choose Xmas as an interest, and that is fine for as long as it is their interest. Children who are empowered in their own learning are able to use resources to create expressions of Xmas in their own way. But meanwhile the caterpillars are growing, the vegetables are ready for harvest, the sunflowers are reaching the sky, there are rocks to be overturned, there are other songs and stories that we love too.
And yes cultural differences must be listened to. Te Whariki our valued curriculum states under 'Contribution Goal 1, Children experience an environment where there are equitable opportunities for learning irrespective of... ethnicity or background. ... Children develop confidence that their family background is viewed positively within the earlychildhood setting.' The choice left for families who do not celebrate Xmas is either to remove their child from kgtn during the lead up to Xmas (9 weeks) or to ask their child to sit out of mattime while the Xmas songs are practised. Both choices are very sad and confusing.

Intrinsic rewards

Hi everyone,
ICT capabilities are strengthening all the time because we support each other.
If I can master this form of communication, I have a lot I want to say to my readers.
I may write a book one day. "Life according to Chris Critic" Is that title too 'self- important'?
I firmly believe that the social issues of the world: the country; the Friday night street racing; pub brawls; the prisons; the courts; the police cells; the school playground; the sports field: the work place; the diet clinics (get the point - I mean everywhere that positive strategies would make a difference) can be changed positively when citizens are empowered to aim for intrinsic rewards - those where they achieve a good feeling inside for a job well done, rather than extrinsic rewards like a 'sticker' for the first story you write on your first day at school or a sticker when you tidied the blocks at kindergarten, or a lolly when you do what you are told, or food/ alcohol that continues to fill that space of rewards.
Let children feel empowered by their story or their task because they are pleased with their own work. Children at Lucknow Kindergarten know that their ideas are valued, but more importantly they can feel pleased with themselves. Our teachers do not say "I am proud of you." We say "You can be very pleased with yourself/ your ideas/ your contribution to the story/your participation in sorting out the blocks on the shelf. "
People continue to require rewards as they go through adulthood. Large numbers of people go shopping in malls and they come home with rewards, - new appliances, new clothes, new trinkets they think they should have but do not need- and this is closely followed with problems with their bank account - but at the time they 'deserved' that reward. ( a new vibrating chair/ a new waffle maker/ an electric nose hair remover... ) Bank account problems can lead to desperation, poverty, crime fraud. This over-shopping is also linked to problems with our environment - overloading of the worlds landfills with all the old appliances, old clothes, throw away packaging...
After a lunchtime discussion our team have highlighted another reward system - that of the sports field. Teams have learnt to seek the winning experience. But have you ever felt that good feeling inside for a game well played when you have lost the game? This leads us to another link to extrinsic rewards- teams who drown their sorrows for a loss with alcohol/drugs. Another social problem ensues - potentially unsafe decisions - driving, anger, violence, crime...
What about bullies? - in the school playground, the workplace, within relationships - Are bullies rewarding themselves with a good feeling inside at other peoples expense? These bullies deserved the opportunity of authentic quality earlychildhood education and to feel the genuine love of teachers/adults who truly listened, who truly supported positive resolutions and truly promoted positive learning experiences.
My son has just told me that some students at his school are promised $1000 for every NCEA subject they pass. What! What about passing subjects for yourself? Are these students going to expect payments or rewards every time they achieve something? Could the reward be the pleasure of a job well done?
"Grooming" the process of gaining the trust of a child over an online environment is a serious safety concern. Children who are developing their own positive self-image through practising finding the value in intrinsic rewards, rather than those given by others, need not listen to a potential offender with only harmful deceit in mind.
I do not see how an "affirmation card for today" will support this 'real' learning. How can we tell children that the word for today is kindness or sharing or listening? Our team believes that these moments arise everyday for children and we are lucky to have the opportunity in ECE to think with children about what we and they will do and say; and we and they can feel very pleased with our interactions towards positive relationships. Ours is not a quick fix solution - but it is long lasting. It is for life.
Let's support the intrinsic reward achieved within - empower children to build their own positive self esteem.
The image of the child is and remains strong rich and capable.
CC