You sometimes see them on social media... A poll in which you are asked to reflect on yourself, for example. I regularly fill in one. I think about the question for a moment, click on the answer that suits me best at that moment and whistle on to the next post.
People like to give their opinion. I hear it on the street about the weather, in the group app of sports, in the supermarket about the new layout of the shelves and in the traffic next to my own husband.
Of course also at school. Parents give their child for 5 days in good faith. Not surprisingly, there are also opinions to share.
On Kwieb there is also a Poll function. I had never used this before but wanted to use it once. But when can you use something like that?
I threw out a poll among the preschoolers on Monday about the offer of the Friday that followed. Together with their parents, children could choose from: "a disco afternoon", "cooking something together", "a joint outdoor game" "a week closure in the group" and a free-to-fill-in activity.
On the days that followed, I read an article about citizenship. It describes that citizenship starts with the young child. It is our job as teachers to awaken the critical and self-aware citizen in our children. But how do we do that without being moralistically guiding?
The answer may appear to lie in the question. In the question you could use the following line: "If I...", "then I want...", "so that I..." This way you don't fill in anything yet. Hmm. I notice that there is still something to learn here for me. Have I been too controlling in the poll? I decide to see it as a learning process and to focus on it in the coming period. What happens to children when they can think about an activity to be completed? Of course, that happens much more often, but that's in the moment, on the day itself.
Upon arrival, I see toddlers, as small as they are, discussing when they just stepped into the square. What did you vote for? Suddenly the schoolyard looks like a political meeting. The chosen activity is defended among themselves and arguments are put forward as to why it was the best answer for them. I look at how much this triggers in children, and especially: how skilled they already are in this.
You will be asked what the intermediate position is. Together we look at the poll that Wednesday and see that there is a tie.
Immediately comes the question: "What do we do if there is a tie Hannah?" Um, I hadn't thought about that yet. I put the question back: What do you propose? Some children mention that the elders in the group have more rights. The younger children revolt. "That's not fair - we're here too! We want to do something fun too!" Is called. The group of children (who happen to be the oldest in the group) agree anyway. Anyway... So what do we do? We'll leave it in the middle for a moment. At the fence I get a question from a parent: Is it already known what you are going to do on Friday? Parents have of course filled in the poll at home and are also curious about the outcome. Let me briefly tell you how we stand. Nice to see how it also lives among parents. As small as my questioning seemed beforehand, as much effect as it has! Parents are also involved in the process through the poll. When parents are part of the process, the reach is greater. The platform of a theme to be developed is suddenly not just something of school, but of all of us.
The articulating of the opinions and arguments continues in the following days. For some this is easy, for others "just" is an answer - however, the other children then challenged them to explain it further. These children also hear from the rest of the group how they express and pick this up.
The children who participate in the conversation are ACTIVELY present. I see a high level of engagement. Children also want to know what is happening and what is going on. That curiosity is naturally in man. Then comes an idea that everyone agrees with: "When there is a draw, we are going to draw lots".
In the end, this turned out not to be necessary, there was no more draw at the time the poll closed. The disco afternoon could take place.
I did not expect that the seemingly simple question at the start of the week would yield so many learning moments. It is also striking that the group consulted with each other as a GROUP, and that as a group leader I actually took a big step back. I plan to set up a poll next school year prior to a theme. How and what, I still think about that or no... I let myself be surprised again by the knowledge and skills of the children themselves.
Until next time!
Hannah
KORZAK (pediatrician, pedagogue and children's author - 1878-1942):
"The child is already a resident, a citizen and already human. It's not going to be it, it's already one. A child has a long history, his own memories and thoughts. Childhood - that's a real life. Not a preparation."