I am reading chapter two. I clearly haven't read it all yet.
So far I am gate ring that this poetic knowledge way of learning is the same/similar to child centred learning in early childhood education.
To learn to read we first start by teaching a love of the story. By reading stories. Lots of them, a child learns to understand sentance structure, predict ideas and learns to know a story through feeling it and living it in a small way. A child truly does get lost in a good story. We start with fiction to gather their imaginations and use non fiction to extend on their Interests.
A child who finds a beetle in the yard, then listens to a story about beetles with far more interest. They have experienced the beetle first. It is part of their life. A Part of them, since they have such a small collection of ideas for the world so far. The child then can make the beetle represented with blocks, playdough or drawings. They may role play and BE the beetle for a time. That is the poetic way to learn.
A scientific method would have the child sitting at a desk labelling a beetle stencil. Perhaps they might get a non fiction book but it would be disconnected. The story wouldn't come as an extension on the beetle found in the yard. The beetle lesson comes about because it is week 3 of term 2 day 4 in insect studies. It could be the middle of a frozen winter where no beetle could be found to study for real.
Poetic knowledge has students learning by DOING, by EXPERIENCEING not by studying topics. It is the ultimate apprenticeship. To learn about trees and wood and building a student would BE a carpenter. Unless they had an interest in trees, and wood and building they wouldn't be there at all I would think.
This renews my faith in the merit of sending children off for work experience as soon as they are able. It also enhances my ideas of allowing children time to fully delve into their personal interests and passions.
I need to read more now I have that off my mind
Digg
