INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / APRIL 25, 1989

 

 

 

 

Infant Development Continued

 

philosophy where the child
moves to the next learning step
when he is ready, and when he
feels comfortable.

How infants learn and how
caregivers can provide the
space, objects and respectful
care to help them develop on
their own, is the subject of an
upcoming lecture and workshop
in May at Douglas College.

 

“In one word, this
philosophy boils down
to respect.”

 

To be conducted by world-
yenowned infancy program
expert Magda Gerber, the ses-
sions will explore RIE —
Resources of Infant Educators.

‘Participants will discover
how we can observe an infant’s
learning process and how we
can make items available to the
child and learn from the child
what they are ready for,” said
Hungarian-trained Gerber who
is now based in Los Angeles.

“In one word, this philosophy
boils down to respect. Infants
are often not respected. They
are loved, adored, looked upon
as cute little creatures, but are
not considered human beings.
This philosophy teaches one to
respect the infant as a human
being and to respect his ability
to know when he is ready to
learn something new.”

“A child will learn in his own
time and in his own way. That

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will be his perfect time and his
perfect way to learn,” said Ger-
ber. “No one knows better what
the child needs at a certain time
than himself.”

“It boils down to who is in
control The adult believes they
should be in control. They are
the teacher, the mother. They
are the grownup, so they think
they should know the best, and
teach the child. But no, you
don’t know. You observe and
learn from the child. Then the
child is appreciated for what
they do, not for what they are
supposed to do.”

“A person with three PhD’s
says a child should be doing
such and such an activity at such
and such an age. But the re-
searcher cannot know that for
sure for every child,” says Ger-
ber who opposes the philosophy
of pushing a child into learning
and development.

“When you push a child, they
can’t experience what they can
do because they are always
being pushed to do what they
cannot do. Therefore, what you
enjoy doing is never good
enough. What you cannot do is

 

“The child is
appreciated for what
they do, not for what
they are supposed

to do.”

 

what is expected — that is the
message children are given, and
it carries into their adult life."

 

“Yes, we live in a competitive @

world, but the best way to
prepare for it is to allow for self-
confidence. What the child can
do, let him do well and enjoy

 

The RIE approach has
grown out of close to
half a century of
research and clinical
work,

 

doing. That will build his own
self-confidence, in himself and
his trust in the caregiver."

Gerber admits that the RIE
philosophy is a vastly different
approach to child development.

“In the United States over the
past 20 years there has been a
great push for infants to perform
more, do better, and often they
are asked to do ridiculous
things. But now that is chang-
ing.”

“In the past I was alone in
this philosophy. But now, more
and more people are saying that
child’s readiness is more impor-
tant — pushing doesn’t work.”

The RIE approach has grown
out of close to half a century of
research and clinical work with
infants reared at the National
Methodological Institute of
Residential Nurseries in
Budapest, Hungary.

Founded in 1946 by Emmi
Pikler, a pediatrician and

psychologist, the nursery houses

continued on page 3

 

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