ECDC Observations (10/5 ~ 10/6)

The very first thing I noticed about ECDC is that it is a very well designed and nice looking school, I must admit. It had a very modern and stylish feel, also very warm and inviting rather than the industrial and impersonal feel of most public school environments. I was quick to notice the lowly lit classrooms that used soft lamp shaded filament bulbs rather than the stark cold light of florescent bulbs. It gave the classroom a very cozy and welcoming feel (this was aided by the "home furnishings" of the classroom, carved wooden tables, colorful cushioned couches and rugs, and warmly painted earth-toned and wooden paneled walls) helped add to this effect

What also caught my attention however was the school's appearance outside of the classrooms. The hallways were shelved with school supplies in vivid multi-colored storage units, which not only kept clutter out of the classrooms, but also gave the school an exciting vibrant feel.

What also caught my attention was the "methods" applied in the school. I noticed that students did not (need to) raise their hands in order to address the teacher, they simply asked their questions unprompted or acted without asking permission (but not in an unruly way, but in an independent self-reliant way). At any other school these actions (it is my assumption) that this course of action would result in utter disaster (students chattering out of turn and acting upon their every impulse, unrestrained and chaotic), however the students at ECDC were very respective of each others voice, did not speak or interrupt when another student or teacher was speaking, and when they did speak it was to ask a very specific question, rather than blurt out a random time wasting fact that many students this age tend to utter "At home I have a...", "Yesterday at the store I...", "When I was four my brother...", etc., etc.).

On top of all of this the students at ECDC were very well mannered (keeping their hands to themselves, spoke quietly, were not rude or disrespectful, nor acted on impulse), unlike many children in that age group (4-5 year olds). Perhaps it is due to the environment and methods practiced at ECDC which allow the children to explore learning at their own pace and set their own standards for their learning so that their desire to act out on impulse is dulled to the fact they are given to freedom to act upon their desire to learn and are not restrained in any fashion from learning.