As a former kindergarten teacher, I was very interested in the article "When Children Make Rules." Classroom rules are traditionally made by teachers but constructivist principles advocate allowing children to have input in developing class rules. In preschool and kindergarten, I thought. How would that work? This article explains that constructivism does not mean complete freedom. Constructivist teachers aren't permissive and they must at times exert external control. The authors present four general guidelines for using external control. The first guideline emphasizes the importance of providing an environment of cooperation and community. This also supports the concept of "learning community" that I researched for the wikibook. As I read examples in this article of young children helping to make rules through class discussions, I thought about a workshop I went to on classroom meetings in relation to character education. It's really the same thing- letting students have a voice and giving them choices. It totally makes sense that if we want students to think for themselves and exercise autonomy we must let them in on decision making - even in kindergarten. This article really makes that seem possible.
DeVries, R. & Zan, B. (2003, September). When children make rules. Educational Leadership, 61(4), 64-67.
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