Celebrating and Empowering the Competent Child at the Odyssey
The staccato of morning greetings and goodbyes fill the air along the walkways. These greetings transform into a muted buzz of conversations among adults and children within the piazza. Children engaged in comfortable conversations are a common sight throughout. The morning reception area with comfortable chairs for parents allows for a last cuddle before the goodbyes for the day.
The Odyssey spaces are warm and calm, featuring wood, glass, and muted colors. The environment supports imagination and creativity by engaging the child, educators and parents. Of immeasurable value and respect are the various representations of the children's expressions of ideas and feelings. The music studio beckons the child to venture and experiment with creative movements; the atelier with its beautiful array of art materials invites the child to sit down and create; while the exploratory corner challenges the inquiring minds and hands as children explore, experiment, compare and contrast. There are spaces to be alone, yet the environment encourages the child to be an active communicator and interact with others. The rich displays of children's work and representations of their voices are testament of an inspiring early childhood pedagogy that empowers the children. It is clearly visible here that each child's individual talents and interests are respected; while recognizing that dialogue is more valuable than singular thought.
The underpinning philosophy of most high quality early childhood programs today is centered on creative, hands-on and exploratory approaches. When it comes to learning, there is nothing new or different from the philosophy that has influenced and still influences preschool experiences in Singapore and many countries around the world. What is different is how this philosophy has been interpreted and appreciated into a persuasive pedagogy.
Behind the experience-centered and problem-based learning at The Odyssey, there is a strong educational approach underpinned by its high regard for children and childhood. The Odyssey program is designed to center on the child, as the protagonist, and the teacher as the facilitator in nurturing and guiding the child's learning. The focus is on the child's natural development to become a rich, powerful, capable individual and competent learner. It is directed by a strong educational philosophy that views early experiences and learning from a child's perspectives. The child's point of view is respected and encouraged. In addition, engaging the child in the process of thinking itself is of immense value. Therefore, learning must make sense to the child in order to be effective and meaningful. To be a life-long learner with a strong sense of personal and social responsibility, the child must be able to touch, move, listen, see and hear to fully process understanding.
The Odyssey educators recognized that nurturing early childhood is all about creating an amiable social environment and celebrating shared lives and relationships among the children, families, and teachers. Here, it is understood that instruction and education are different, thus nurturing the child to become an independent, responsible, contributing and caring citizen of the world is all about relationships. The child has within himself, an innate understanding of how to relate to the world by examining carefully the relationship between things that are found in nature and things that are man-made. The role of the teacher is to guide the child to come to understand the relationships of things around with respect to self. Consequently, the construction of such a harmonious relationship will lead to the common goal of celebrating and nurturing an optimal early childhood experience for the children.
