What kindergarten can teach us about learning

The Lesley Ellis School

How do kindergarten kids learn? Are they empty vessels, ready to be filled with the wisdom, knowledge and experience of the world? Is learning a kind of acquisition — a process of application and practice? This is the picture of learning reflected in standards, frameworks and state-mandated curricula. It’s learning that can be tested and measured.

But there is another kind of learning, the kind that kindergarten students do particularly well. In kindergarten, the natural curiosity of children is engaged. You see an animated persistence, a fearlessness, a willingness to look at things from many perspectives. Kindergarten kids are cooperative and freely share their enthusiasms, expertise and questions with friends. They learn in many dimensions — by drawing, singing, reading, listening, sharing, laughing, building.

Kindergarteners do not know what a silly question is, or if their curiosity has strayed out of bounds. You can’t see this learning in test results, but you can see it on faces and in eyes.

At Lesley Ellis School, we believe that children are by nature curious and powerful learners. We respect each child’s individual ways of learning and the unfolding process of development. A classroom of 5-year-olds is pure energy and excitement. But look closer and you see something else — kids who will grow up asking “what if?” and “why not?” Kindergarten children think of obstacles as things to climb over, not things to impede their forward movement.

If a school can preserve children’s love of learning, if teachers can help direct and guide this natural energy and insistence for knowing, we can help children become ambitious, fearless learners who will grow into adults that ask tough questions and have the confidence to challenge the status quo. Good learners become good leaders who can and will change the world.

Lesley Ellis School, located in Arlington, Mass., is a progressive independent school for children in pre-school through fifth grade. Accredited by the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE), Lesley Ellis provides a learning environment dedicated to integrating, building upon and valuing the differing needs and unique qualities of all its students and families.

The school follows a developmental model of education, which encourages academic and social growth through exploration, cooperative problem solving and critical thinking. With an award-winning, nationally recognized anti-bias curriculum, Lesley Ellis faculty members and families foster a passion for lifelong learning and thoughtful participation in a complex world.

An open house will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the school at 41 Foster Street, Arlington, Mass. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.lesleyellis.org or call 781-641-5987.