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| A new book about Elwyn's inspirational ideas |
In my early days, a long time ago, one book inspired a group of us to develop integrated student centred learning . The book was 'In The Early World' written by Elwyn Richardson and outlined his work with his students in an isolated North Auckland rural school in the 1950s.
Elwyn's book has been recently been reprinted by the NZCER and it remains one of the worlds most inspirational educational books.
All schools should have a copy
Described by one reviewer as “possibly the best book about teaching ever written”, this book is important not only as a brilliant demonstration of the creative capacities of all children but also in its profound implications as to the nature of the learning process.
Elwyn developed his school as a community of artists and scientists - more relevant than ever.
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| A lifetime of creative teaching |
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| Margaret Mac Donald |
The book has been published by the NZCER and is available for sale this week.
International customers: Email sales@nzcer.org.nz to place order and arrange shipping
If you want more information below are extracts from the forward to the book written by Prof Deborah Fraser University of Waikato.
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| Prof Deborah Fraser |
'There is no doubt that Elwyn Richardson made a hugely
significant contribution to education. Margaret MacDonald peels back the layers of influence of the man and the teacher whose innovative
pedagogy remains an outstanding example of teaching.
There are deeper lessons for all
educators in this book that are both timely and urgent.
Do policy makers today consider the education of the whole
child, or are they distracted by data entries, achievement graphs
and measurement by standards?
Do we value the legacy of outstanding teachers
such as Elwyn, and, if so, where is the evidence of this in
contemporary schools?
Where are the arts-rich schools that integrate curriculum
and capitalise on children’s natural curiosity?
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| Sir David |
When US president Obama met
with world-renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough, Sir David argued that the question is not about how to interest children in
the natural world—they are fascinated by the life they find under an
ordinary rock.
The question is: How do they lose that fascination?
Schooling has an important responsibility here. Do we fan
the flame of enquiry, or do we contribute to extinguishing that flame?
The evidence of late suggests we are eroding children’s curiosity in our
rush towards completing activities and achieving results, as measured by narrowly
defined outputs.
Teachers do not intend to erode children’s curiosity; they
do so by default, caught up in the incessant demands of an assessment-driven
curriculum. Elwyn, like Sir David Attenborough, recognised that children
are mini-scientists in the making, if only they are given the opportunity and
guidance.
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| One of Ekwyn's student's painting |
Elwyn realised education should enrich who we are and resonate
with relevance. He deliberately built the curriculum around the internal and
external lives of his students. When teachers forge connections with
children’s lives like this, they create a meaningful curriculum.
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| Screen printed cloth |
What matters is a curriculum that places children’s natural curiosity at the heart, so that they are encouraged to explore who they are and the world around them.
This is evident in Elwyn’s use of an integrated curriculum, focusing on intriguing questions that motivated children to pursue avenues of enquiry. He encouraged the freedom to explore, the opportunity to observe closely, and the discipline to record findings in various ways. He also upheld the value of the arts as a vivid means of expression and not secondary to other subjects. He also realised that one subject informs another; that scientific understanding is enhanced by the aesthetic, and vice versa.
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| Magnificent art |
His school and its surrounds reflected children’s creations,
constructions and projects. For educators to claim that new furniture and
devices create a high-quality learning environment misses the point. It is
the quality of the teaching that takes place in any space that is the litmus
test of whether an environment is conducive to learning.
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| John Dewey |
Elwyn Richardson and the early world of creative education
in New Zealand While Elwyn referred to himself more as guide than teacher
in traditional terms, he, like John Dewey, did not allow just any activity
to count as learning. (Elwyn) challenged children to explore, ask
questions, try things out, consider alternatives, and craft and re-craft to
produce high-quality work: art work worthy of exhibitions, science projects like
those of real scientists, vivid poetic and other writing which the
children published in their regular school magazine. This is teaching at its
finest.
Children, like adults, enjoy the feeling of being stretched and achieving something they are proud of. At Oruaiti they were afforded the dignity of being taken seriously as critics, writers, artists, scientists and thinkers.
Children, like adults, enjoy the feeling of being stretched and achieving something they are proud of. At Oruaiti they were afforded the dignity of being taken seriously as critics, writers, artists, scientists and thinkers.
Teacher education has much to glean from Margaret’s keen
analysis.
It is to our detriment if we perpetuate ahistorical ideas that
do not acknowledge the wealth of beliefs, movements and theories that have
informed education. No teacher education programme can cover
everything, but we need to know about the finer aspects of our past—the
people, policies
and philosophies that have shaped us and continue to shape
us—in order to reveal, as Margaret does, the rich soil from which
our best ideas and practices came. If not, we risk a mediocre deference
to—or worse, a seduction by—whatever latest trend is marketed the hardest
by those who decide what counts as fashionable, regardless of its
longevity and worth.
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| Republished book available NZCER |
We risk a superficial interpretation of complex educational
ideas that have been debated over time. This book explores central tenets in
education and associated debates on topics such as child-centred
education, the role of the teacher, progressive education and child art..
Teacher education also needs to consider what teaching as
identity- work might mean. Elwyn’s early interests and influences are
readily apparent in his pedagogy. There is a seamlessness between
his own interests and his teaching, particularly in his abiding curiosity for
the natural
world. Teachers who share their keen interests, as he did,
open a wondrous world for children—a world they may not ever experience as
enticing if such a teacher did not provide both pathway and beacon.
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| Elwyn |
The
thing we most recall about our favourite teachers is the passion they
had for a certain field or fields, and such passion, along with an enquiring
manner, is contagious. It is vitally important that teachers bring
their own interests to teaching, revealing aspects of who they are and the
satisfaction that comes from losing oneself in a subject; that delicious blurring of
self and subject, which evokes depth of focus and appreciation. In so doing,
teachers also give children licence to bring who they are and what they
cherish to the table of learning.
This important book brings together the strands of
influences that shaped Elwyn Richardson and, more broadly, the landscape of
education in New Zealand.
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| Observational rooster |
Professor Deborah Fraser
The University of Waikato
August 2015
International customers: Email sales@nzcer.org.nz to place order and arrange shipping
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| Making drums and playing music |
