By Rizina, Stanford junior
Bing Nursery School staff members teach a few Stanford courses at the school each quarter, among them, “Psychology 147: Development in Early Childhood.” Students taking this undergraduate course attend weekly seminars and interact with children in the classroom under the guidance of a Bing liaison teacher. In this article, one of these students describes her experience in the West PM classroom during the 2019 autumn quarter.
Early childhood education, while immensely pertinent in the holistic development of an individual, is often undervalued. My deep interest in the Psychology 147 course arises from a fascination with educational pedagogy, an appreciation of the nuanced inner world of the child, and a desire to contribute to the prioritization of early childhood education.
On my first visit, I was largely in awe of the nursery school, wishing that I had been able to attend Bing Nursery School as a child. The dedication of the teachers, the ample resources available to the children, and the emphasis on learning through play impressed me. This being my first visit, I expected to be met with coldness from the children. However, I was surprised and impressed by their welcoming nature. They asked who I was, what my name was, and if I would join them in play.
Looking back, what stands out most about my first week is that I was already starting to gain insights about the inner world of the child and was beginning to connect the theoretical with the practical. Prior to my first day, I read Playing to Get Smart by Elizabeth Jones and Renatta Cooper. They note: “We teach young children to play by providing them with the space, time, and materials; offering them support in problem solving; presenting new problems for them to solve; paying attention to their spontaneous interests; and valuing their eagerness to learn about the world in which we all live together.” During my first week, I saw this philosophy appears to have been actualized successfully at Bing Nursery School.
Students taking the course are required to keep a weekly journal reflecting on their experiences in the classroom and to connect them with assigned reading materials. Included below are a few of my journal entries.
Cherry Pies and Pizzas
Oct. 22, 2019 From the sand area, a number of exuberant voices arose. I ventured over, curious to see what had transpired. Maddie and Ellie were cooking up a feast. Cherry pies and pizzas, made with sand and the buds of playground trees, were being crafted with a mix of fastidiousness and flurry. All this had been created with unstructured and basic materials, which, as Elinor Griffin asserts in Island of Childhood, provide the appropriate inspiration and freedom to explore and innovate. The pies, upon being “baked,” were placed on a table. Both children stood appreciating their creation, “becoming more aware of their own powers and their influence on the people and things around them.”
Making Hot Chocolate
Oct. 29, 2019 Taking the basic concept of a chocolate drink, Denali, Isabelle and Drew first tried to understand its components. “When we make hot chocolate, we put milk in it,” said Denali. Isabelle responded: “We don’t have milk here.” Subsequently, I asked, “What might we use instead of milk?” They stared at one another quizzically, hesitating. “Water!” yelled Drew. “Yes!” Denali and Isabelle both responded excitedly. Hoping to continue this learning opportunity, I asked: “Why is water OK to use?” They considered this momentarily. “Because they’re both wet,” Isabelle said, shrugging.
Quickly they got to work. Measuring, pouring and repouring, they excitedly mixed their concoction. Although I was present, the activity was entirely child-directed. Even when encountering challenges in the execution of their idea, they hesitated to ask for help. Instead, they worked with one another to reach a resolution. Upon reflection, I would attribute this to the availability and integration of basic materials and the children’s ability to independently determine the direction of their play. The latter ability appears to have been cultivated through the emphasis on learning and personal growth at Bing, whereby teachers facilitate the children’s learning, rather than enforcing or directing it. In support of this philosophy, early education scholar Lilian Katz warns of the negative ramifications of teacher dependency. She states in A Developmental Approach to the Education of Young Children: “When young children are required to learn about things that are not real to them, they are obliged to be teacher-dependent; children are dependent upon adults for many important aspects of their lives; excessive dependence on adults in learning may undermine the development of intellectual dispositions (e.g., to be curious, experimental, analytical, exploratory, investigative, thoughtful, and to construct and test hypotheses).”
Rushing River Rocks
Nov. 5, 2019 “I think this could be lava,” said Derin, referring to a tube. Vik responded, “That would be fun. But what would the balls be?” “I don’t know, maybe we should do something else,” replied Derin. Then Raya proposed an idea, “Maybe water.” Derin and Vik, both enthused by this idea, agreed. Eventually, it was decided: The tube became a river, in which animals and humans swam, and the balls became rocks that could endanger swimmers. In reaching this conclusion, Raya, Derin and Vik were all engaged cognitively, physically and socially. They had to grapple with the different ways in which a tube and tennis ball could be interpreted, and then communicate their respective ideas in order to choose one as a group. As they did so, they threw the tennis balls and maneuvered the tube: flipping it, moving it and even smelling it. At times, they needed one another’s help—the tube was too heavy, or it got stuck—and they worked together, solving problem by problem. This observation is reminiscent of the ideas of Jonathan Tudge and David Caruso, who write in “Cooperative Problem Solving in the Classroom: Enhancing Young Children’s Cognitive Development”: “Free play activities involving construction or building present opportunities for creative problem solving because children are already involved in pursuing objects intrinsically interesting to them.”
Being immersed in the children’s dramatic play was eye-opening. While observing and interacting with the children, I was flooded with questions: What will happen next? How will they resolve this situation? How will they carry this? All three children exhibited significant complexity in their responses to the varying stimuli and situations they encountered, creating—without any formal instruction or academic imperative—an intellectual and imaginative wonderland.
Woodworking: Making a Ginormous Flower
Nov. 12, 2019 Sienna moved to the woodwork table. “I’m going to create something,” she said, her voice brimming with confidence. Her eyes moved rapidly between the tools and wood, deciding what she would create. She began simply, placing one diamond block next to another. “They have to be aligned,” she said. “Why?” I asked. “So that it stays together and there aren’t any gaps. It wouldn’t look nice,” she responded, then nodded furiously, as though appreciating her own response. I watched with care as she diligently arranged six blocks, then 12, then 18, across the woodwork table. Each was aligned exactly with its corresponding diamond block, demonstrating her ability to quickly process information about the spatial characteristics of shapes. Sienna stared at her arrangement with immense interest and then said, in a reflective tone, “I made a flower. It’s ginormous.”
Next came the wooden connectors, which are small pegboards that can bridge two pieces of wood. Although she admitted, “We might have to use them all,” Sienna picked each with care. One by one, she grabbed a wooden connector and then a couple of nails. A nail and wooden connector in one hand, and pliers in the other, she looked at me quizzically: “Can you please help me?” “Of course,” I said, “What can I do?” Sienna guided me effortlessly: “Place the nail in the pliers and put it on the wood. Connect it here, so it holds the blocks together.” Diligently, I followed her instructions. Over time, a predictable pattern ensued, shaped by Sienna’s ability to delegate: I held the pliers, while she positioned the wooden connectors and selected the nails we would use. This rhythmic ease was helped by the clear organization of the woodwork space, allowing both teacher and child to easily navigate the materials. Griffin notes the importance of order and predictability in the chapter “Self-Directed Learning Spaces,” stating, “Many practical learning experiences are provided by the need for the school to be kept in reasonable order. When children are able to find what they want quickly and easily, not only does their play proceed more smoothly and with a longer attention span, but they also feel secure and independent in a setting they understand.”
Dolphin and Superman
Nov. 19, 2019 “I’m a dolphin. I like being on my tummy in the water. I’m not as fast as Lochlan,” said Salar. To which Lochlan replied, “I’m Superman, I’m really fast and I save people. This isn’t water, it’s a building.” At the same time, and playing within the same space, Salar and Lochlan had envisioned very different perceptions of the world. “Where did these ideas come from?” I wondered out loud. “I saw a comic about Superman and how he saves the world,” said Lochlan. “I saw a book with dolphins, and they slide like this,” said Salar. Play provides children a forum for uniting and testing their internal and external representations of the world.
Children utilize the ideas explored in books to test their conceptions about the world and then promulgate their own. For example, I asked Salar, “What else can you tell me about dolphins?” He began initially by recounting details grounded solely in facts—what dolphins do, what they might eat, and how they swim—then proceeded to ideate using his imagination. “I think they hide on land sometimes. I think they sometimes get angry with their friends.” Pausing, he asked, “Is that true?” I replied, “I’m not sure if they hide on land. I think they might need water to stay hydrated.” “What was the last word?” asked Salar. “It’s like when we feel thirsty: dolphins feel like that if they aren’t in the water.” “Okay,” said Salar, “I don’t think dolphins hide on land.” For children, their knowledge about the world is constituted primarily by the things they read and observe, and the ideas that their parents share with them. They do not yet have a formal avenue for testing their theories. Yet, as they read books, enact their thoughts in play, and converse with other children, parents and teachers, they form and revise their frameworks for viewing and interacting with the world. Early childhood education can empower children in this process by providing exposure to various schemas and contextualizing their imaginative dispositions with information that enriches their understanding. Over time, this results in them developing more sophisticated representations of self, others and society.
An Invaluable Experience
My first day at Bing Nursery School was fraught with anxiety: Would I be able to effectively interact with the children? Would I be able to emulate the expertise of the teachers? Would I have any autonomy over how I navigated my time in the classroom? Over time, though, arriving at West PM brought an eagerness and solace. I looked forward to my time in the classroom and felt empowered to do a good job. These feelings of self-efficacy, as well as the autonomy I was granted by the teachers, ensured that I was a more effective classroom participant. Experiencing this firsthand, I recognized the need for school administrators and policy makers to afford autonomy to educators. Educators’ work is done best when they have the freedom to explore, to make mistakes and to improve.
I’d like to express my appreciation for the wonderful teaching of Jennifer Winters, director, and Beth Wise, associate director, the expertise and humility of my liaison teacher, Roberta Udoh, and of course, the children in West PM. Due to their influence, I am more knowledgeable, hopeful, and dedicated to improving every child’s educational experience.