NEW YORK, April 25, 2001: Under prompting from President Bush to restructure the Head Start Program, American educators, parents and community leaders are looking to two very different European models for guidance and ideas. It has been proposed that the Head Start Program provide earlier reading instruction and if that be the case, the French have dedicated dollars and energy in this direction since 1921. The pre-school curriculum taught in French schools focuses on communication and vocabulary in an effort to prepare children for first grade academics. Starting pre-school at age three, the program includes a hot lunch, nap-time, story telling, drawing, painting and dance. While the Americans are looking to the French for direction, the French are sending delegations to Italy to observe their artistic approach to learning. In stark contrast to the rather regimented French system, a municipal preschool in Reggio Emilia finds children sprawled on thick carpets working quietly on complex art projects in bright sunlit classrooms. Class sizes are small and teachers rarely use the word “no” in this environment. Classrooms have no alphabet cards or blackboards. The philosophy behind these pre-schools in Italy is to develop each child’s joy of learning and desire to communicate. Back in America, the two systems of France and Reggio Emilia reflect the battle lines between American educators; those who want a structured academic pre-school and those who want children to develop at their own pace.
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