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CBC Radio One - Interviewed by Sheryl MacKay on North by Northwest Radio program. Listen to their interview using: Source: www.cbc.ca/nxnw I love your book and appreciate sharing your teaching journey and history. I like how I can relate to the years you write about and how I recognize your mentors and the books about education and children. I like how appreciatively and carefully you speak of your colleagues and people in authority especially when you are recording difficult times. Thank you for your many years of fine teaching, and for supporting and inspiring other teachers We are blessed to have had you thinking so clearly about our children and acting so consciously and imaginatively and lovingly with them. A. Carol Anderson, Parent and Grandmother, Quadra Island, B.C. This book is insightful. It is needed and should be required reading in any faculty of education course. I really enjoyed reading it. Robert Rustad, former lecturer, University of British Columbia. I heartily congratulate Pamela Proctor for writing a fascinating tale of one teacher's struggle for humane education. Not only has she told a good story, she has written it extremely well. Her love of children, and devotion to their welfare, shines through on every page and sometimes brought tears to my eyes. Dr. Olive Johnson, psychologist, author, and former school trustee. I have found that my students and I have the most memorable experiences when I allow my children to learn through play and to build on their own interests. This book has inspired me to trust myself and my children. Michelle Marrs, a beginning primary teacher. Proctor describes in detail the many issues that arose during the process of (her) transformation. But this is not simply a book of interest to teachers; it is a book for anyone who ever went to school, particularly boomers who grew up during a period of great experimentation within the education system. Proctor tells the story well and engagingly, with fully-documented segments, tape transcriptions, many colour photographs and a selected bibliography. Jan DeGrass, Coast Reporter, Gibsons I am intrigued that you made a turn, and early, from the highly traditional, to less formal, more arduous and subtle complexities of supporting more natural education of young children…Your description of the exchange experience in England, and of Summerhill, I found most interesting….Your book has been beautifully produced with the kind of care and attention that I am sure you brought to classroom teaching and learning. Carol Anne Wein, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, York University, Toronto Amazing Book! Jacquie Nielson, Head Teacher, Charles Dickens Annex, Vancouver I think the book is a wonderful read and a compelling testimony to a time when our pubic system embraced innovation, holistic learning and open-concept schooling. Michael Maser, 2006 winner of Prime Minister's Award for Educational Excellence Reading your fascinating book, I am thrilled by your whole philosophy and approach in "child-sensitive" methods. This type of approach has always been mine in working in the areas of speech, language and reading with children and young adults. Gert de LaForest, Speech and Language Therapist, Regina I recommend Honouring the Child to all elementary teachers. It's an opportunity to think again about what an educational program should be. Chris Schut, Newsletter,Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Assoc. Having just passed the halfway point in your book, and I just had to pause long enough to tell you that this is probably the most important book on education that I've ever read. You've definitely whet my appetite and given me some leads to further explore your methods…I must say that you write beautifully. It is a pleasure to read this book. Bettie Anne Marchiori, Vancouver Teacher Totally straightforward and honest and as a record of one person's journey through education it made very good sense…. It started me thinking. Richard Reece, Retired Professor of Archaeology, London University, England This book confirms my belief that by giving children space to develop their own ideas and interests, rather than by imposing a rigid system of learning up on them, they will thrive. Georgina Brandon, parent. This is a 'must read' book for anyone who teaches children and who is searching for concrete examples of ground breaking holistic learning techniques in which students' deepest needs are fulfilled after being given the opportunity to play. Jacqueline Allan Gye, B.R.Ed., National Coaching Certification Program This enlightening work comes at an opportune time when insight into the potential harm that may be done by excessive emphasis on early formal instruction and frequent testing of young children is urgently needed. In addition, it raises the questions for creative and thoughtful people who are making a career commitment to teaching young children. Dr. Lilian G. Katz, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this book Proctor has produced a masterpiece of professional autobiography that tells the story school by school, colleague by colleague, child by child, of her own search for professional fulfillment as a teacher. Dr. Sylvia C. Chard, Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta. A long-time school teacher in B.C., dedicated to bringing out the best in her students, wants to share her changing experiences and unique discoveries with every educator who will listen. Pam Proctor has written a book called Honouring the Child: Changing Ways of Teaching, which is now in bookstores. Proctor, who lives in Gibsons, began teaching in Vancouver in the usual traditional and formal teacher-centered classroom of the 1960s and 1970s -- teaching lessons in many subjects, having a quiet classroom and administering tests. Then she became an exchange teacher in the United Kingdom where she observed a new concept in open-learning settings that were somewhat child controlled, allowing students freedom to pursue their interests to a much greater degree than being teacher-directed at all times. When she came home she established the Charles Dickens Annex School in East Vancouver. "The difference was the children's response. They were learning from each other, trying new things, doing activities," Proctor told The Citizen during a stop on her Western Canadian book tour. “The children had many choices set up in different spaces from writing and painting to building blocks and math, and moved from area to area. After choosing their activities each day, children worked and played together, co-operating and taking responsibility for their own learning. Those that avoided areas like math were encouraged to try since they could move on to another area once they completed their task”, she said. "I found their concentration was so great, and the method was a natural way to control the class as as they shared spaces in different areas," Proctor said. She never gave the children tests, but evaluated them on an ongoing basis. “The children and their parents were free form the anxiety and pressures of testing,” she said. "There is a blow to the self-esteem of many children who struggle with tests that do not take into account individual differences in terms of learning styles and rate." She believes children do best when they are challenged, given choices and can set goals in a setting where their imaginations and spirits are embraced. Readers will share Proctor's journey as she slowly changes her thinking and ways of teaching. She gives a clear picture of a teacher's role in an open and informal practice that revolves around planning, guiding, helping, supporting and responding to the needs of each child. Lillian Katz, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois said the book comes at an opportune time when insight into potential harm that may occur from strong emphasis on early formal education and frequent testing of young children is needed. The hope of Proctor and people like Katz is that the book will encourage a re-evaluation of the current trend of formal teaching and test-dominated practices Teacher shares experiences in book By Bernice Trick, staff writer, Prince George Citizen Kamloops – Thirty-five years in the classroom taught Pamela Proctor as much as she taught her students. The long-time B.C. educator is so passionate about what she learned, she has written a book in hopes of passing along her knowledge to other teachers — for the sake of their pupils. Honouring the Child, Changing Ways of Teaching, is an autobiographical account of how Proctor came to change her way of teaching and the successes and frustrations that followed over her teaching career. Proctor is traveling the province to promote her book. She spoke to teachers and parents at the Kamloops Library last week. “I wrote the book to inspire teachers to change their style, but the book has also been of great interest to parents. It’s been kind of surprising in a way, but a good surprise to discover there is a broader interest than just teachers,” she said during an interview with The Daily News. Proctor, a primary teacher, accepted that a classroom should be a silent place where students followed routines. Everything was rigid, she said. “I became quite good at that. I was asked to have visitors to my class to observe how classrooms should be run. “Then I went on an exchange.” That exchange with a teacher from Leicestershire, England revealed to Proctor a whole new method of teaching that involved learning through play. There were no chalkboards and very little paper. Instead, there were water and sand stations, puzzles and blocks. “Until then, I thought I had to tell the children what to do,” she said. The English “infant school” taught children on an individual basis through the hands-on method. “I really learned that everyone was different and everyone had to be treated differently.” Proctor brought this new way of teaching back to Vancouver and used it as much as possible throughout her career. Her firm belief that testing is not the way to get children to learn was another reason she wrote her book. “This standardized testing (Foundations Skills Assessments) is not healthy,” she said. Teachers spend the majority of classroom time focusing on reading, writing and arithmetic because they feel pressure for their students to do well on the tests. Creative activities that are far more beneficial for a student’s educational experience take a backseat, Proctor said. Her book has had enthusiastic feedback from university professors, psychologists, as well as teachers. The forewords were written by Lillian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard, co-authors of Engaging Children’s Minds: The Project Approach. A young teacher in Williams Lake told Proctor: “I want your book. I didn’t have a good time in school and I want my students to have a good experience.” For Proctor, that’s what it is all about, teaching teachers to honour the child. Honouring the Child is available at the TRU bookstore, Bookies, for $28.50. Author wants to inspire teachers to change By Susan Duncan see review article Dear Susan Duncan Subsequent to our interview and our arrival back in Gibsons, I read your Friday column, and as Pam and I have been talking to parents and teachers in many small communities throughout BC, your article resonated strongly with us. Immediately following our interview with you we were in Savona and visited the library and a primary school with 64 students that is threatened with closure, where the children have painted all over the street Save our School. We talked to the librarian and the school administrator and it is a very wrenching situation. In your column you suggest to return the school to its one room roots, and we can tell that you we visited such a school in Winlaw, just north of Nelson. We observed this privately operated one room school operating with 26 students aged 5 through 13 with volunteer parents supporting 4 teachers (part time or full time?). Last year they tried to integrate into the public system but were told they would not be allowed to choose their teachers! In our interview you asked aren’t parents lining up to get into traditional schools? Well our experience is in our travels throughout BC we have met parents and teachers who desire a more creative and active learning experience, instead of as Pam describes it the traditional factory style of education with its teach, test, rank, and fail. In Salmo we met parents who are thinking about organizing to start their own school like the one in Winlaw. In Grand Forks and 100 Mile House we met enthusiastic young teachers who are looking for support to create active child centred learning experiences, and we know of others who are striving to build positive school memories for their students. Pam and I have invested our energy and resources to produce and present Honouring the Child because we believe in the importance of its message to society even if much of society is not paying attention to what we see as a declining quality in the most important early learning experiences. In this we are supported by endorsements of leading early childhood educators in North America, Dr. Lilian Katz in Chicago and Dr. Sylvia Chard in Edmonton. As this our second B.C. tour has now closed, we are reflecting on our contacts with the hundreds of persons who have attended workshops and conferences with us, and thinking about our future activities for the benefit of young children. é Thanks for taking the time to meet with us, John Roper Tmi Publications, publisher of Honouring the Child To order this book please see Ordering Information
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