In addition to math and language opportunities, visits to familiar locations boost children's confidence. We need to reconsider the structure of our schools. Like most American schools, we have become victims of tradition and teacher contracts. Instead, because teachers work with the same students and parents for three years, there is a family atmosphere in which cooperation and group work are emphasized. We need to follow their example and create schools that are like families, not factories.
Teachers plan and work in teams that also include parents.
In this way they can share skills, learn from each other, and provide more diversity in instruction. We need to focus on teaching on children, not subjects. In Reggio Emilia, schools do not have written curricula with unit and lesson plans. There are no ditto, and teachers don't assume that their teaching automatically results in learning. The emphasis is on particiapation, and learning is viewed as the result of children's own involvement.