QUALITY STORYTENTS
A resource for family, early childhood and community literacy workers
In the storytent, we need to be flexible enough and knowledgeable enough to keep the goals of the program in the forefront. It is important to remember that we do not limit a child because we think we know what is good or right for them. To the contrary, we place limits on individual choice only because we have a perception of what is effective for the group as a whole.
Children in the storytent will choose if and when they want to learn to read: this is a self-chosen or learner-centered curriculum. Too, children will announce - usually with some feeling - at what point they have become readers: this is self-assessment. Both are entirely acceptable within the framework of the program. On the other hand, children who wish to learn to ride a bike will be gently informed that, laudable though the goal may be, this kind of learning cannot happen inside the storytent while others are trying to read or listen to books. In other words, within the framework of the program there sometimes needs to be negotiation about the “curriculum”. Again, a child may wish to learn about books and reading through a developmentally appropriate process which involves a lot of book-play or activities which stress a book's binding and integrity. This, too, is entirely acceptable right up to the point where the child chooses for his or her play a particularly expensive or hard to replace book. At that point, workers will need to negotiate the book choice with the child to ensure that quality books are on hand for all.
A similar thing will happen with families. When asked, workers can share with caregivers their perceptions of how children learn best, and like-minded print resources can be included among the adult books available for borrowing. However, parents and caregivers may make different choices about how best to nurture their child, and this is entirely acceptable. These choices become the concern of Storytent workers only if and when they threaten the learning experience of the group as a whole. This is what it means to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment.