A cog in the machine

I discovered this journal entry in one of the notebooks I was hoping to repurpose today.

This was a written back when I was considering putting 1 year old Knox into nursery during my postpartum month, and later to continue my education. I was also learning a lot about Montessori at the same time, but felt that surely the standard nursery education should have come a long way and would adequate. Alas, after exploring the options, I decided to continue as a SAHM.

note: The 3 schools I visited where those that were closest to the place we were living at the time. They are an extremely small sampling and is in no way representative of the general quality of nursery schools in Qatar.

2013/6/12

Visting 3 nurseries about here today. Am very worried. You could say the space was colorful, varied, and lively – but what I saw was chaotic, bedazzling, and distracting. I feel that it would be irresponsible to put Knox into such spaces, where there is no rhyme or reason to the decor. Yes they have child level furniture, yes they have toys that fascinate him – but are they what would help him form into a person who can take mastery of his environment? I fear it merely offers a holding space for him, to hold him alive, healthy, and fairly content during this age of immature capacity and maximum inconvenience to adults.

I am sure much thought is put into some activities, but is the effect to seemingly instruct and/or entertain – or is it to put education at the higher level – to allow the children to create for themselves, to allow the children to be capable of taking care of themselves and contribute to the community, to build their capacities in this way, using means/language that is theirs?

That they may seem occupied by a performance may not mean that they are truly learning. Man’s highest understanding comes from going the journey. I recall many activities that were presented to me in the foggiest of manners – that were presented so well as a product could be made at the end of a 45 minute session – a painting, a fabric doll – but no understanding of what had taken place was established. Perhaps it is, as they say, planting a seed. But I would have dearly loved to have learnt how to create my very own rag dolls, rather than be given patterns for construct without understanding I would have preferred to attempt something sub par … had that space been given. Instructorship in that manner only proves the superiority of the instructor, not to the growth of the pupil. I was taught to acquire the skills of craft, but only at the level of a cog in the machine.