BIBLIOTECA
The ‘risk’ of being
different
“The most risky part is taking away the risks” is part of what the teacher Barbara Vandorpe said in an interview for Ventanales about the conference ‘Apoyo pedagógico a los riesgos en el juego2’, which
POSGRADO
was organized by the Graduate Department and the Desarrollo Temprano y Educación Infantil3 master degree of Casa Grande University (UCG).
Ventanales • Universidad Casa Grande • Año IX No16 Vandorpe holds a Ph. D. in Physical Education from the Artevelde University of Applied Sciences in Ghent, Belgium; also, a Master of Arts in Journalism from the Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel. She is a teacher from the ‘Desarrollo Temprano y Educación Infantil master degree at UCG and a researcher in Talent Identification Gymnastics at Ghent University. She talked to us about risky play, a kind of play that involves thrilling experiences and is really fun for children, that doesn’t cause physical harm on them. Children can get hurt, but it’s just a possible risk; they love to do it, because it challenges them. They like to try new things, they’re exploring the world, expanding their boundaries. María Cristina Andrade: Risky play is part of an activity that is supervised by adults? It’s both. When children play, they try new things. So, for example, if a one-yearold wants to climb the chair, it’s normal play, he wants to try. It’s risky play, but it’s normal. But sometimes it’s important to do things supervised like when we work with knifes or scissors. We are all part of it: parents, teachers, grandparents, brothers, sisters. But taking care is also letting them take risks and challenging them. Not saying all the time: “You are not able to do it”. María Jose Toledo: It’s a builder of independence and that’s how life works. Everything is risky, but you have to do it. Yes. You have to let them take the risks step by step. It’s not that you throw a child to water and swim. No, you teach him how to swim. The most risky part is taking away the risks. So, risky play is good for their self-confidence, independence and to have better coordination skills. M. C. A.: Are there any consequences of children spending most of their time in protected environments avoiding danger? There is a big difference between danger and risk. For example, here in the streets, it’s dangerous. So, don’t let them play by themselves on the streets. But a risk has something positive. A child takes a risk because it challenges him, so he wants to try something, and you have to do it in a safe place under supervision. M. C. A.: You have done research on this topic. Can you tell us where did you do it and in what contexts? We did some design research with the teachers and professionals of kindergarten and then we ask questions to them. We also just observe what were the children doing, where were they taking risks; also in what moment the professional says: “No, you can’t do that. Stop that”. And then we asked the teacher why they can’t do this? What is the risky? Why is it difficult? So, we wanted something really practical, and we made a calendar for the teachers that is risky play all year long. So, every week they see a new activity, new documentation, new reflection in a page.
Entregado: 15-05-2020 / Aprobado: 19-05-2020 • Foto: M. C. Andrade
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