Life at My World is based on Early Childhood Research and sound holistic principles which enable us to create a safe, harmonious community of members; children and adults, who each add immense value to our school. These principles are:
FREEDOM OF TIME, SPACE AND CREATIVITY:
In order to reach our full capacity as individuals we need freedom to develop, hone and consolidate our skills.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH:
We listen to what the children have to say. They feel respected and safe to express their views and share their world and their stories with us. We also teach them to listen to and respect others viewpoints; an important team skill. These essential skills will support children throughout their life.
FREEDOM OF SPACE:
During self choice (free flow) time , children choose which area, indoors or out, they want to work/play in and what activity they would like to do. This develops confidence, the ability to make choices and enables them to continue to build their knowledge and skill base.
FREEDOM OF PLAY:
Play is children’s work; the teachers and the environment provide the materials to facilitate this. Our environment is rich in play opportunities where children can experiment, problem solve, practise, concentrate and resolve conflict alongside and with others.
ARTISTIC FREEDOM:
The process of creation is more important than the final product. We recognize this, therefore all the work on the walls is the children's own and celebrated through documentation, photographs and anecdotes. The children are challenged to use their imagination in representational drawings, emergent writing and art using various media such as collage, modeling etc. We do not use photocopies, dittos etc that children just color in or paste and are not challenged academically or creatively.
FREEDOM OF TIME:
In order to be truly creative, which is an academic exercise; children need unlimited time. During self choice (free flow) children choose their own activities and have the time to complete their goals, this also helps them to extend their concentration spans.
Moving children from one area to another every half an hour does not enable them to plan, think through and complete the academic process of creation.
FREEDOM OF INDIVIDUALITY:
Each child learns differently. Our teachers understand this and respect each child’s individuality through planning sessions that cater for different learning needs. This is based on Howard Gardner’s Work on Multiple Intelligences.
Freedom to be strong individuals contributing to life at My World. Our children are encouraged to share ideas, suggestions, ask questions and disagree with adults in an appropriate way.
We all learn from each other- an important part of learning is group or team learning, where children learn skills including co-operation, collaboration, conflict resolution, problem solving, how to think, be creative and compromise. Therefore, we do not have a ‘star of the week’ or similar programme.
Each child is a fully contributing member of our My World family and is celebrated as a special unique individual throughout the year.
But we also remember that with freedom comes responsibility. We work with the children to teach them life skills which will enable them to socialize and problem solve, negotiate, understand and teach acceptance and tolerance. We encourage responsibility, independence, respect for self and others and respect for property. These principles make for a happy harmonious family.
HOW DO WE KNOW OUR APPROACH WORKS? FROM THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS!
16 years on...... I am currently taking a gap year before going to university to study African studies and history. In the meanwhile, I am designing and coordinating environmental related projects for the Museum for the UN.
The initiative is called My Mark My City and it aims to link empowerment and environmental sustainability by allowing ordinary people to engage with Climate Action. We are working with schools and other community partners to build gardens and organic fertiliser using food waste - this is a link that talks a little more about our conversations in Tanzania:
https://museumfortheun.org/project/a-global-conversation-driving-local-action-in-tanzania
I’m truly grateful for the early learning that I have had through My World which allows me to think broadly and creatively, as well as explore all my options without any inhibitions which is a habit I have picked up since then. Looking forward to hearing from the other Alumni and see what they are doing!
~ Maliha Sumar (January 2020)
READ MORE STUDENT TESTIMONIALS HERE: http://myworldtz.com/my-world-alumni-hall-of-fame