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Lessons learned from Reggio Emilia


Youth, as quoted from a very popular phrase is wasted on the young. A remark made in the context entirely from an adult sphere of experience. To be able to see the world again, through the eyes of a child, to be able to make sense of the entirety of human experience through a prism of innocence, what adult will deny himself such an option. A drop of water from the fountain of youth, quenching man’s quest for immortality.

When the world was a swirl of fun and games, when Mickey Mouse and fairies were both real and imagined playmates. When dreams were of French fries and McDonalds, when a day was always a series of moments and unknown expectations; one of joy, one of wonder one of real and imagined fears. An endless array of feelings and sensations lost and diminished on a child, before age and responsibility will finally take over.

A useful lesson of the Reggio Emilia approach is that there is no reason to believe that teachers must choose between encouraging realistic or imaginative visual expression as two mutually exclusive alternatives.

A teacher, to be able to have a grasp of flows and ebbs of a child thoughts must have on his/her disposable not just the patience but also the materials of the visual graphic utilized as a medium of a child languages For so many years, I have thought and practice the idea of kids doing graphic and visual works as nothing more than a cognitive and psychomotor exercises. I would-more often than not- make an assessment on the quality of work based on aesthetics. Appreciation of colors, some gained expertise on the use of materials associated with arts work but never as a tool for reading the child’s thoughts and his perception of the world around him/her. This might not be a novel idea on the approaches made so far by the teachers of Reggio Emilia, but it is to me.

Today’s child is perceived as a rare and precious object.

The child might end up as the president of his country, a priest of his church, a pilot of his plane, a teacher to her student, a father to his son or a mentor to his ward. His presence eventually causing great influences both to his life and to the people close to him. With this in mind, Reggio Emilia’s approach towards the raising of the child was not only fitting but would be the most appropriate.

Mainstream practice of teaching a child mainly relies on the expertise of the teacher and the quality of the curriculum that encompasses the teaching learning continuum. The early years of parents’ participation in the Reggio Emilia’s ‘experience’ was mainly influenced by the ideologies and ideals of the past. Nowadays, the people involve in this approach recognizes that these influences had changed and parents participation are now governed by opportunities for personal growth. The very thought of the system recognizing such change of influences on the part of the parents’ participation in the triad gave it more resilience and thus, identifies its’ strength in terms of the approach of the ‘project’s’ enthusiasm and sustainability.

The parents role in this triad is and was never considered as an intrusion, rather it was taken as a positive contribution to the thesis that ‘ the kinds of participation and cooperation that gives the best results are those that accommodate and welcome many different personal contributions’.