A Reflection on the Fellows and Social Constructivism

The day after our Seattle retreat, I submitted this article for publication in our school newsletter:

Why I Send My Child to GHA
(or what I did on my summer vacation)

This summer I completed a three-year intensive fellowship in Jewish early childhood leadership. This fellowship, composed of 12 national early childhood leaders and led by the field’s preeminent educator, focused on cutting edge best practices. Reflecting on this last retreat, I am reminded why I send my children to GHA.

The most unique aspect of the fellowship is one that GHA holds as a central tenet: Relationships. Our fellowship featured a cohort of fellows who set goals of personal growth and shared learning, yielding astonishing outcomes and deep understandings of excellence for Jewish preschools.

Relationships—according to the leading researchers in the field—are the prerequisite foundation for deep learning. Any school can focus on basic reading and writing skills, but when we teach those skills in an environment of purposefully constructed social relationships, we maximize children’s abilities to succeed.

Harvard Professor Howard Gardner, the nation’s chief educational theorist, has stated that the preschools of Reggio-Emilia, Italy are the most significant development in education in the last 50 years. What is the central tenet of the Reggio philosophy? Relationships.

That is why C.A.R.E.S. not only sets our school apart but also positions our children for greatness. That is why GHA insists on forging a covenant between parents, children, and teachers. That is why we insist on morning meetings and advisory. That is why we have rewritten our anti-bullying policy. That is why Sylvia Miller sits in that dinky chair in the lobby each morning, greeting every tzelem Elokim (image of God) with a smile and a kind word. That is why we make home visits, invite parents to multiple conferences, write blogs, and regularly update our communications systems.

What does it feel like to have someone who cares about you? Isn’t life so much sweeter when you can share it with trusted friends? Three years ago, I did not understand how this feeling related to learning. I thought that if I would read and study in a conventional graduate program or other individualized program, I could achieve my learning goals. As I shared collective learning experiences with my fellowship colleagues, I found that my relationships allowed me to learn more than just basic facts about child development; instead I developed profound understandings about the Jewish way to educate children and partner with families.

At GHA we long for depth in learning, the kind attainable only in a social setting where children feel supported to take risks and develop the deepest of understandings and passions.

That is why I am deeply happy to bring my children back here for another amazing year.
Special thanks to the Kerri and Jeffrey Snow Family Foundation, whose professional development grant enabled my participation in the final year of the fellowship.