Eleanor Duckworth's Analysis

Jean Piaget has been mentioned posthumously by Eleanor Duckworth in the first chapter of her “The Having of Wonderful Ideas” hence, I see it befitting to add a few words of his in my opening. Jean Piaget once said that “The teacher-organizer should know not only his own science but also be well versed in the details of the development of the child’s or adolescent’s mind” (Mooney, 2013, p. 77).

I for one agree wholeheartedly that learning, development and experience is lifelong, and it is indeed the “The Having of Wonderful Ideas” that fosters and facilitates this. As Duckworth
(2006) passionately stated “we want schools in which students come to feel the power of their own minds and their creative capacities” (p. xi), and it
It was profound how the students had helped me to see that I needed them just as much as they needed me, which leads me to my second quote: “it is just as necessary for teachers as for children to feel confidence in their own ideas” (Duckworth, 2006, p. 8). It is not enough to just have an idea, but also to be confident that your idea is worthwhile. It is this confidence that will fuel the energy needed to turn that idea into a reality and further foster the teaching-learning environment. Duckworth stated that this is important for them as people and for them to feel free to acknowledge the children’s idea. In fact, “teachers themselves must learn in the way that the children in their classes will be learning” (Duckworth, 2006, p. 9). Mooney (2012), supports this belief and stated that in order to build such confidence it “requires changing the image of teacher into someone who nurtures inquiry and supports the child’s own search for answers” (p. 80) as opposed to the notion that a teacher is someone who merely shares information. Acknowledging children’s ideas help to encourage self - confidence and class participation. It makes children feel like their contributions and ideas are valued. This forces children to constantly think and search for new ideas in problem solving situations. I remember as a child in school I was very good artistically. My art teacher would
14). There must be an ‘ahh?’ before there can be an ‘ohh! – eureka!’ moment is my reasoning. As Duckworth puts it quite aptly that “making new connections depends on knowing enough about something in the first place to provide a basis for thinking of other things to do…The more ideas about something people already have at their disposal, the more new ideas occur and the more they can coordinate to build still more complicated schemes” (Duckworth, 2006, p. 14). Personally, I can relate to this quote because most of our lives are dependent on what came before. We tend to come up with new ideas based on the platform of previous or similar ideas and or events. Everything around us is derived from a continuation of trends. I once had the opportunity to take a communication design course and was impressed by the process of how designers came up with new ideas. At the start of any new design, the designer would start by researching similar products or company to see their approach to solving design problem. After gathering the information, they begin to sketch and create comps of their own ideas. Similar designs are referenced to maintain a sense of realism. This eventually translates into something new and more powerful than those ideas before. This leads me to believe that ideas are continuous in