'Guiding' Genius

Why did I chose to the word Guiding in my name, Guiding Genius:

I will give Lev Vygotsky his due justice in an upcoming post. But, I just came across an exchange that summarizes his theory, as it pertains to guiding children towards their genius. Taken from Enquiring Teachers, Enquiring Learners: A Constructivist Approach For Teaching by Catherine Twomey Fosnot.

"You know," Jane began slowly, "I'm just beginning to understand how important it is to understand how the learners you are working with think. As a teacher, you almost have to be able to get inside the child's head to think like that child."

 Susan nodded in agreement and extended Jane's point. "I was also thinking that it seems like learning is a case of going from the known to the unknown. What  one knows, and how one knows affect what one can learn. If the teacher helps the child make connections, then the knowledge becomes a connected network of meaning and relations. Otherwise, knowledge might be just separate bits and facts to be memorized."

"And then probably forgotten," added Steven in agreement.

  

Introduction to Dr. Amos Wilson: "Genius"

I make no apologies, nor do I hide the fact that a major priority of Guiding Genius is guiding Black children to acknowledge, respect and actualize their inherent genius. These are my people. And as an Original woman, they are my children. Therefore it is rational for my services to focus on creating solutions for my children and their families. That said, I introduce the power behind choosing the word Genius in Guiding Genius. Dr. Amos Wilson is a genius in his own right. If you are not familiar with his scholarship then do yourself the honors and familiarize yourself with his literature. As it relates to early childhood education and it's twin, early childhood development, Dr. Wilson has given parents and educators a gift of research and analysis on how to guide Black children's genius towards realization.

“Thus, the African child enters the world well equipped to intellectually interact with the world and to mature intellectually, socially and spiritually as a result thereof. However, the unparalleled inherent or natural readiness of Afrikan children must be matched with a sufficiently stimulating socially and materially interactive environment if their enormous intellectual and human potentials are to be realized. Positive attitudes towards them and their future, high expectations regarding their ability to achieve whatever goals they set for themselves, knowledge of their unique developmental psychology, the freedom and ability to provide them with the necessary social, cultural, material and spiritual resources; an African-centered consciousness and identity and high personal/cultural/moral aspirations, are the ingredients which when proportionately combined, can maximize all their positive abilities.” (Awakening the Natural Genius in Black Children, 29)

Dr. Amos Wilson

Guiding Genius Educational Services is an organic entity created to assist parents and educators with providing their young students high-quality learning experiences. This includes consultations and workshops on topics such as: Child Development, Curriculum Creation, Classroom Management, Holistic Assessments and Positive Guidance. Dr. Wilson's sage advice speaks to the lofty goal of guiding children who come from a tradition that historically has been legally and socially discouraged from excellence. As we find ways to assist this population, we also find ways to assist the larger population of children towards their inherent genius.

Visit our FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/GuidingGenius

 

Name: Guiding Genius

Initially, I really wanted a clever name like 'Rainboots and Puddles' or 'Macaroni Necklaces' for my program. I've seen so many blogs dedicated to early childhood education with clever names. But the names spoke to the temperaments of the blogs: unschoolers, homeschoolers, Super Moms that were raising Super-Creative children and former hipsters turned attachment parents. And I am sooo that type of educator. I challenge the rigidity and uniformity of compulsorily public education. I know most schools are failing to produce creative, intelligent, problem-solvers that are culturally literate with confidence and know-how to positively enter society as agents of positive change. Not too much to ask for, not at all. But, that's another post for another day. I've got to finish writing essays for an exam in Educating the Young Child, due on Thursday. So, this will be brief.
The inspiration for choosing to call my program Guiding Genius came mostly from two geniuses: Lev Vygotsky and Amos Wilson. These two men approached understanding and educating young children from a cultural perspective, placing responsibility on adults for providing the tools young minds need to grow and mature in a holistic pattern. Sure, the name isn't supercool like 'Pirates and Pineapples', 'Crayon Wizards' or 'Rock, Scissors, Paper.' The name Guiding Genius reflects my teaching philosophy and the mission of this organic entity: To guide children towards awareness of, respect for, and skills to apply their individual genius, outside and within the classroom. 'Guiding' using the concepts presented by Vygotsky and 'Genius' as defined by Wilson. That's cool right?