Review May 5, 2009

May 7 was an informative and fun evening and was enjoyed by about 30 guests in the pleasant atmosphere of the Enger Hof. Here some of the high lights:

Lutz Lessmann talked about the Reggio Emilia school concept, also from first hand experience since his children attend this school.
Great attention is given to the look and feel of the classroom where an atmosphere of playfulness and joy pervades. It is often referring to the environment as the "third teacher". An environment, rich in possibilities and provocations that invite the children to undertake extended explorations and engage in problem solving.
In summary: If children are guided to understand themselves as originators and inventors and discover the joy to research and discover, their interest and motivation will explode.
The question is: are the same principles also helpful for adults? Some interesting discussions followed.

Carla Purtschert Voss “reported” on her first hand experience living together with her choice of kin. Young and old living together in a common sustainable environment and socially committed. The theory sounds good, but the day by day practice turns out to be more difficult and could be suitable to only a few select people. Questions remain to be answered, especially on how a growing older generation will be “part” of our community.

Michael Bonke, the Solar Gourmet was the last minute “surprise” presentation. We all got a lesson on how to build a solar cooker out of cardboard and aluminum foil. It certainly makes you more aware of an alternate clean and free source of energy, something that could be a necessity in the future. Find out more at:   http://www.solargourmet.de/ 
The final treat: we could sample some potatoes which were solar cooked earlier that day. Perfect!!

All in all the evening was a great success with thought provoking presentations and interesting discussions.