At the end of SLOCA High School’s winter and spring terms, students are “immersed” in a short-term elective course. These Immersive courses include a wide range of options: from Textile Art, Film Studies, and CAD/3D Printing, to Marine Biology, The World of Tolkien, and Psychology (among many more!). This past winter immersive included a course called “The Teaching Life,” in which students who have an interest in working with young children and/or education have the opportunity to be mentored by our Grammar & Middle School Director or Early Education Director, as well as a classroom teacher. They are essentially folded into the world of one of our highly qualified SLOCA teachers to participate in the daily routine of a classroom.
This short series of blog posts, authored by “The Teaching Life” students, gives us a glimpse into their experiences and takeaways from this incredible immersive. See the first two installments here and here; today, we invite you to enjoy this post from Lyla Dillon and Finn Eschenbach, who both spent their immersive on our Little Wonders campus.
Learning from Learners
by Lyla Dillon
When I first set foot on the Wonders campus, I was shamefully ignorant, I didn’t even know the difference between preschool and kindergarten. I am pleased to reflect that I have not only learned more than I ever thought I could in two weeks about teaching children, but I believe that spending this time surrounded by such wonder and innocence has helped me develop as a human.
My very first observation was how beautiful it is that young children have the power to create anything with their minds. Along with this realization, I also grieved the loss of my own ability to imagine so vividly. Within five minutes of my first day with the toddlers, a girl was wailing about a moose that was poking her and her friend. I was suddenly flooded with disappointment that I could not see the moose she was referring to. And the more I thought about it, the more I noticed things in their interactions that I wish carried into adulthood. As I watched them figure out how to know what they wanted and then voice those feelings, I saw how truly honest they were with each other. Because they haven’t yet learned to conceptualize the pressure that we have to preserve other people’s feelings, they are unafraid to say what is simply true for them. While they are so (sometimes brutally) honest, they are also quick to forgive and forget.
They may not understand it yet, but with my perspective I could see that, even though it may seem so drastic in the moment, they move on in minutes and forgive their friends. It was so refreshing to see how they don’t even consider grudges because they can’t comprehend it. I couldn’t help but wish that, while social conflict becomes more complex as cognitive comprehension increases, we could once again reach the simple, sincere solutions we did when we were children. I believe that people are this way innately, and that the pressure that society holds to us to present as “polite” damages our ability to handle things simply. I wish I could have noticed when that began to slip away, but it took me until now to realize how invaluable it was. The more I watched them with each other, the more I took note of how every action of theirs was so incredibly sincere. I watched an interaction between two girls who had just woken up from their nap and had been provided with drawing materials as a quiet activity. They drew rough sketches on opposite ends of the table, but after careful consideration, one girl got up and walked over to the other. She presented her friend with the drawing she had made, who accepted it like it was a pot of gold. She then handed over her own drawing with the same formality.
To us, it would seem like such a small gesture, but to that little girl, her friend’s drawing clearly meant so much to her. In the same way that they are openly caring towards each other, they are also honest when they have a problem with something. As I mentioned before, they don’t yet have the pressure of needing to preserve each others’ feelings, which leaves them free to express themselves honestly. With the preschoolers, who have learned a little more emotional regulation than the toddlers, they tell each other when they are frustrated, what they want from each other, and they are learning to judge when they need help, which is equally as important. I found myself wondering, what if everyone spoke to each other that way? (With the exception of the occasional screaming match!) What if we all displayed our love and our frustration for one another honestly? The beauty of kids is that that’s all they know, but the beauty of adults is that they can choose how they interact with one another. These children have inspired me to choose to be true to how I feel, not only in situations of distress, but also when I have the opportunity to show another human what they mean to me.
As I reflected on how inspired I was by how much I learned from these kids, I began to contemplate how I could put it to use in my own life. I realized that so much of what I found valuable came from their inherent joy. I observed such a deep love of learning and a wonder at the world around them that touched me deeply. They are allowed to access this because they have such play-based learning. They are allowed to experience their world for themselves, in a no-pressure environment, and learn about themselves by being truly immersed. They have a chance for uninterrupted learning without input, and an outlet for their curiosity, which is vital to this stage of education, and “space to fall in love with learning” (a quote from the SLOCA Rythm video). “‘What would this child choose to do now, if not taught to do something else?’” (Gerber, 12) This is a quote from Dear Parents: Caring for Infants With Respect, from the chapter dedicated to the importance of play, that really stuck with me. Something I noticed from my time in the toddler room with Miss Lareina was an observation-based approach to their playtime, with intervention only when needed. She explained that this allows them to begin learning how to recognize what they want and need, and also how they really feel without being told how they seem.
I read a chapter in The Importance of Being Little by Erika Christakis, where the author emphasized that “heavily scripted environments” are not beneficial to kids’ learning, and that the skills they need, like self-regulation and direction, communication, and critical thinking, are learned through doing.
While I do believe that children are naturally full of joy, I also believe that the structure of their lives provides the opportunity for them to do so. Their days are chock-full of time for play, being outside, and frequent changes with variety in the things they do. There is always something for them to be working on, and they are provided with dedicated rest time. All of these things make for an environment where kids thrive, not only academically but as they learn to become fully formed humans as well. The responsibilities that come with age complicate things, but I believe that if the ideas that shape early childhood education were used more at higher grade levels, especially high school, kids would be more likely to hold on to their love of learning. Cognitive ability aside, high school is more or less the preschool of adulthood. Teenagers are coming into the world around them and learning how they fit into it, and I believe that people often forget that they are still kids, and would benefit hugely from the space to create, experiment, and play. Using SLOCA as Exhibit A, interacting with material in a hands-on, low-pressure environment even when they get older helps them grow in their love of learning. Like Judy Brown said in her poem, “Fire”, “A fire/grows/simply because space is there/with openings/in which the flame/ that knows just how it wants to burn/can find its way.”
My main takeaway from these three weeks is that all kids, even high school, could benefit from the space that preschoolers are so purposefully given. I believe we often forget that in every stage of learning, play is still important. When kids are allowed to discover, create, and immerse themselves in the world around them without being told what to believe, what to make, and how to interact with it, they have the room to fall in love. I came away from this experience with a new dedication to my own imagination. In the future, I will deliberately choose to be honest, choose to forgive, and choose to believe.
Days in the Den: Where Learning Roars to Life
by Finn Eschenbach
My name is Finn Eschenbach; I am a Freshman at San Luis Obispo Classical Academy High School. I began my SLOCA journey in Kindergarten, a place I would come to call home. As SLOCA High School students, we spend 2.5 weeks at the end of each semester in a selected class.
These immersives allow for specialized instruction and experimental learning options. I chose The Teaching Life on the Lower Campus. I spent my time with SLOCA leadership, educators, and students. I was under the supervision of Mrs. Eades, the Early Education Director.
She led us through reading material, videos, and conversations, preparing us for our time with the students. My eyes were opened to the capabilities of the youngest of scholars.
“Allowing children to assess the risk on their own, rather than do it for them, gives them the opportunity to test their boundaries and ultimately teaches them a valuable lesson. The end result is a new skill being learned and the feeling of satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something challenging. If we step in too soon, then we risk the danger of depriving them of this great learning experience.”
Merideth Eades, Director of Early Childhood at SLOCA
One of the first things I noticed was the connections between the students and the teachers. Each day was predictable in the order of what was done, yet it felt new and exciting. In the words of Magda Gerber, “Predicability brings about security.” The teachers made room for exploration and discovery and waited for an invitation to avoid disturbing the learning process. These interactions showed me the importance of giving children space to learn. I used to think children needed more guidance to accomplish goals, but now I know that when given space and time, they can figure things out independently, even if that means falling a few times. I will apply what I learned in the future by following the examples of the teachers. I will wait to step in when working with children and build connections of trust. I will be respectful in my use of language, not assuming I know what is being created. I will not take outbursts personally. To summarize, I will treat them as I would like to be treated.
“Play is often talked about as if it was a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
Fred Rogers
