Teaching Connectedness

"The role of the teacher is to put the child upon the right road to his own perfection and encourage him to follow it, watching, suggesting, helping, but not imposing or interfering." Kireet Joshi

So what does it look like to educate the "whole" child as I previously referred to? First we need to integrate the two educational goals (self knowledge and world knowledge). Integral education begins with the inborn qualities of each child (curiosity, trust, love, self-expression) and introduces curriculum in the humanities, arts and sciences to help the child's inborn qualities take shape. If successful, this kind of integrated education will allow children to discover their unique life purpose. Now you might ask how that works in the early childhood classroom.

Where to start:
1. Focus on the process and not the product of an activity.
2. Notice when children have special interests and abilities and let them explore them more.
3. Ask open-ended questions which helps children to think creatively or outside of the box.
4. Provide hands-on experiences, projects and field trips.
5. Make sure the environment is a rich source of intellectual and creative inspiration, freedom of movement, and ample resources.

The goal then is for children to learn the more traditional academics within this kind of a classroom environment and to be responsible for their own happiness and emotions.

Please share any activity ideas or projects you have done with children that support this philosophy.