About Elemental Roots E.D.U.

Whole-child development: Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and Waldorf philosophies all work to educate the “whole child”, developing aspects of creativity, independence and confidence, conflict resolution, care for others, care and responsibility for community and environment, and an innate love of learning (see full comparison here).  While learning will be nature-based and student-led, interactions between student and teacher, and student and community, will be informed by whole child models.  Waldorf/Steiner education also works to develop the whole child through the head-hands-heart model (Easton 1997, Damovska 2005, Chauncey 2006) and a focus on an appreciation of aesthetic beauty, goodness, and truth (Edwards 2002).  Movement is also a critical part of Waldorf pedagogy, and movement is considered a critical part of early childhood development (Kahn & Hillman 2014), particularly through play-based activity (Gray 2011).  Students will spend much of their day moving and exploring their environment.

 Nature-based curriculum focuses on supporting a period of discovery, wonder, empathy, and relationality, rather than on technology, environmental problems, and acute social justice issues. Research has shown that awareness of sustainability issues itself is insufficient for resolving or improving them (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002), and furthermore, may actually lead to people feeling powerless, apathetic, and depressed (Sterling 2001, Doherty and Clayton 2011).  This may be particularly true in children, where coping skills, emotional maturity, and an attachment to nature is not yet developed, leading many researchers to conclude that abstract teaching of environmental problems is developmentally inappropriate for early childhood and elementary ages (Cohen & Horn-Wingerg 1993, Sobel 1996, Coffee 2001, Kellert 2002).  White (2006) posits: 

“One result of trying to teach children at too early of an age about abstract concepts like rainforest destruction, acid rain, ozone holes and whale hunting can be dissociation. When we ask children to deal with problems beyond their cognitive abilities, understanding and control, they can become anxious, tune out and develop a phobia to the issues. In the case of environmental issues, biophobia—a fear of the natural world and ecological problems—a fear of just being outside—can develop.

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Rather than books and lectures, nature itself is children’s best teacher (Coffey 2001). Young children tend to develop emotional attachments to what is familiar and comfortable for them (Wilson 1996). The more personal a child's experience with nature, the more environmentally concerned and active children are likely to become (Bunting & Cousins 1985, Harvey 1989).”

A relational ontology is one that acknowledges that we are connected to other people, to the world around us, to nature, our society and community, to our friends, our family and ourselves.  Curriculum will focus on creating a sense of relationality with nature, other students, and community.  We will embrace nature as a co-teacher in the give-and-take processes that underlie functional communities, and encourage reciprocity, giving, and caring.

Student self-actualization is an important component of this curriculum. Self-actualization has been defined as fostering students “to become everything that one is capable of becoming” (Goldstein 1943).  Self-actualization is based on the assertion that happiness, or “human flourishing” is the ultimate goal of human life, and can be achieved through the realization of their capabilities and potential.  This concept was originally developed by Aristotle and expanded on by  Nussbaum (2011) who developed a list of 10 “Central Capabilities” of a flourishing life. This model was further expanded on by the well-known Louise Chawla (professor emerita in Environmental Education Design, previous associate director of the Children, Youth, and Environments Center).  Chawla (2015) provides an extensive research literature review of the ways that contact with nature contributes to the health and well-being of children, and fulfills each of the 10 Central Capabilities for a Flourishing Human Life.  We will support student self-actualization through contact with nature, a sense of belonging and community, and student-led learning.

Related to self-actualization, the Montessori method reflects Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  As such, our curriculum will be informed in part by the indigenous model of self-actualization, which focuses on both child and community. In other words, both student and community will be empowered through nature-based community projects, place-based pedagogy, and community involvement.  In fact, Reggio Emilia programs began as teacher-family cooperatives and focused on social constructivism models of Piaget and Montessori.  Community-partnership models engage teachers, children, parents, and other community members to guide educational opportunities.  This is an excellent opportunity to engage local historians, conservation biologists, civics groups, and more and for the school and pupils to contribute to the “Revitalization of the Commons” (Bowers 2009, Glasson 2010,  Martusewicz, Edmundson, & Lupinacci 2015).