URSA Week 3
February 28th, 2022This week was an interesting one in terms of who I got to meet and my research. I was very lucky to meet Cyra Sadowl of Airway Science for Kids, a non-profit based in Portland that is currently changing the aerospace industry. I also got to do some research on different techniques of teaching. In my research this week I focused on what neurodivergent actually means and I began to dig into how people learn, starting from early age and preschool.
When discussing what I should research this week, my mentor sent me to a video series on Swedish preschools. It sounds odd at first, but these videos were very eye-opening to me. People who have grown up in the United States or in other similar countries know that early education is prioritized heavily and that learning how to read and write is seen as crucial for young children. They do it a bit differently in Sweden. In their preschools, they focus on learning through play and letting the children be children. In fact, most children in Sweden don’t learn to read or write until around the age of 7. It is simply not a priority to these schools. They are given activities that are fun and adaptive, where the children are learning about the world around them, but without testing, questions, or analyzing any of the information. One quote that stood out to me in the videos was one of the first things said, “imagine a school where play and relaxation are paramount”. I think that is a perfect description of their preschool system. The whole idea is to teach without teaching, and learn without learning. That may sound contradictory, but it really just means is they let the children adapt to their environment and learn about the world around them.
Another thing that I think is important to keep in mind when analyzing the Swedish preschool system is the amount of trust placed in the teachers. The teachers are not held to any standards, state mandated curriculum, or anything. The teachers are trusted as the professionals that they are. It allows each teacher to adapt their teaching and teaching style to their specific group of children, which builds on the idea of personalized and better education. There is no mandated pace at which the kids have to learn at or test at, so it also removes all of the stress from the environment. This lets both the teachers and students feel comfortable and at ease during the school day. The Swedish system lets the children learn without requiring proof of learning, so once they begin reading and writing they do not see it as stressful and have all of the skills necessary to succeed already. Their system is adaptive and intuitive, something desperately needed in the U.S.
Learning about the Swedish preschool system really opened my eyes, and it helped me further understand what is needed for education in the U.S, especially for neurodivergent students. After doing some research on neurodivergent conditions and the side effects of them, it made me reflect on my own education as a neurodivergent person. I also asked my roommate, who is also neurodivergent how they dealt with and taught neurodivergent students. We both agreed that they expect us all to be the same. The curriculum, the teaching styles, and sometimes even the pace is the same as all other classes, even when its a class for students who are behind or neurodivergent. I also noticed that in the Swedish preschools, they make the schools feel like a home. The school has soft lighting, and comfortable chairs and it is laid out much like a house is. The school is a comfortable place to be in, which is exactly what neurodivergent students need. Neurodivergent students succeed when they are given the tools and environment to relax and decompress. For example, soft lighting helps make environments comfortable and relaxed, and helps with visual disorders. Another example is comfortable seating, which is better for students who tend to move around more or have ADHD. There are a lot of things that we can take from the example of Swedish preschools and adopt them into neurodivergent education.
Hope you enjoyed reading, and I’ll see you next week,
-Chloe
