Duckworth—The Having of Wonderful Ideas

The Having of Wonderful Ideas
Eleanor Duckworth, Teachers College Press, New York, 2006

I ran into this while pulling together a bibliography on the teaching of science to young children. Eleanor Duckworth writes simply and clearly…not a common practice among educational academics.

Here is a teaser quote from her introduction:

These two [pernicious ideas] support each other beautifully: 'There is one best way to understand.' 'Many people are not smart enough to understand.' Once we believe those two ideas, a third harmful idea is implied: 'If someone does not understand our way, it is not that there is any problem with our insisting on our way; it is that there is a problem with that learner."

Duckworth is an educator in the fashion of my heart's desire for children. She listens—with great respect and real interest—to children explain their own minds, and she asks questions—as an adult who knows something about the world—to bring children forward to explore. She is excited by watching others build understanding.

The title comes from an anecdote about watching a child take over a experimental task she had set up for him. He wanted to show her what he had thought off to do with her materials. He had had a "wonderful idea" and was all about showing her what it was. Duckworth goes from there to say

The having of wonderful ideas is what I consider the essence of intellectual development. And I consider it the essence of pedagogy to give [this boy] the occasion to have his wonderful ideas and to let him feel good about himself for having them.

Yes.

Eleanor Duckworth is interested in the intellectual development of people—children, teachers, herself. This is something that schooling as an institutional machine is not geared for, I believe. I am very much looking forward to exploring this book and the works of Eleanor Duckworth in earnest.