Marlene Power founded the forest school approach, focused on outdoor and tactile learning, love of nature, and multi-sensory environmental values in education. The theorist’s view of the child is one that sees them an equal and valuable asset to the classroom. Children are seen as natural explorers, seeking to discover, make connections to the outdoor, and initiate their learning through their own curiosity, process, and pace. Children are willing to step outside the comfort zone in the open natural environments, but also need the time, space, and opportunities to develop individual skills, interests, and understanding of what or who they interact with in the world around them. In the context of the play scenario, the forest school approach would likely applaud the play scenario, given that the child was given the freedom to explore, test out what works and does not with the shapes, and the active use of their senses and inquiry. The philosophy would criticize the environment, given that it was done inside and in a very limited space, as well as the instructor giving suggestions instead of the child exploring the adhesion of different materials on his own.
In many ways, the forest school approach contradicts my personal beliefs in education. I support at least some structure and guidance present in learning processes. I can appreciate the approach of letting the children learn and explore on their own. To some extent, I also believe this is beneficial for healthy development, curiosity, connections. However, I would argue, at some point, that self-learning starts to have limiting effects. Therefore, the best approach is to give students an opportunity to explore and self-learn, but then provide structured education to reinforce the information that was discovered. One philosophy of education that has recently inspired me is Jo Boaler’s (2019) ‘limitless mind’ approach, suggesting that the brain can learn anything, and there are no innate categories as to who is good at what subjects or activities, those are socially designed. One of Boaler’s ideas suggests that mistakes are vital during a learning process, as they help to create deeper learning with established neural pathways. I can draw the connection to Power’s philosophy which also promotes for the kids to take risks during learning, and explore their skills and capabilities through trial and error.
There was nothing truly surprising about Power’s Forest School Theory, and it was evident that this will be a nature-focused approach to education. I was surprised that up to 30% of the day could be spent outside, as this percentage exceeds the majority of early childhood education in most parts of the world. I think the theory takes a lot of basis in natural theory as well as the practices of the indigenous. I do agree that it may be an intuitive and natural space for the theory to foster creativity development. I think this theory can be connected to the stages of development studied in this course. The forest school theory takes that into account, indicating that children are competent and engaged learners in their own way at each respective age. By creating an environment where they can feel acceptance, freedom, and connection, the age-appropriate skills can develop while interacting with nature and child-directed play. In early education, many skills taught in schools are focused on motor skills, recognition and identification, as well as socialization, but forest schools take this and transport it into a natural non-restrictive environment.
Reference
Boaler, J. (2019). Limitless mind: Learn, lead, and live without barriers. HarperOne.