​

 

Our curriculum, emergent in nature, is based on the interests of the children. When learning is the product of the child’s guided construction rather than simply the teacher’s transmission and the child’s absorption, learning becomes individualized. More importantly, teaching becomes a two-way relationship in which the teacher’s understanding and learning from the interaction with the child is just as important as the child’s understanding and learning from the interaction with the teacher.

 

Emergent curriculum is not a free-for-all or one in which children do whatever they want. It is child-led and teacher-guided. It requires teachers to actively seek out and chase the interests of the children. This kind of teaching environment demands a high degree of trust in the teacher’s creative abilities--someone who envisions the child as a young person actively and eagerly seeking knowledge. It is a perspective that turns a structured curriculum with predetermined outcomes, on its head, as it opens up the possibility for spontaneous inquiry and associative learning.

 

Each child is unique and requires us to use active listening, empathy and discernment, instead of rules, to guide our teaching practice. To teach well, educators must ensure that creativity and innovation are always present. Although good teaching requires organization and routines, it must be flexible and dynamic. It dances with surprise. It pursues wonder. It finds joy at every turn. Flexible environments allow teachers to be responsive to the interests of the children, freeing them to construct and find meaning together.