Part 3: Reflections on the Activities of Independent Discovery in the First Two Years of Life: CEMEA

This article, written by Grazia Honegger Fresco, is a response to some of the questions we had in Prague after the presentation of the Montessori 0-3 project in Italy. She explains why they incorporated three other important pedagogical experiences, the work of Elinor Goldschmied and Emmi Pikler, and this third one described below, a non-profit organization that offers a form of unique trainings for people who work with children of all ages.

"working with you hands" CEMEA activity using torn magazine pieces

CEMEA: the Center for Methods in Experiential Education

"The third illuminating educational proposal for us was the indirect training of adults developed by CEMEA (Centre d'Education aux Methodes de l'Education Ative). CEMEA was founded in Paris in 1936 and is still active today in France and Italy and other francophone countries. The idea of Active Education was born before WWII out of ideas proposed by Henri Wallon and other scholars who were linked to the International Bureau of Education in Geneva. After the war, the Tuscan CEMEA organization organized trainings designed to reinvigorate the Italian school systems after the long years under fascism. Passionate and united by their desire to counter act the fascist climate in education, they were extremely active and in 1954 Grazia came into contact with this group of trainers for educators. The trainings were designed for young professionals who worked in early childcare centers, summer camps, hospitals (nurses and doctors), teachers for elementary and secondary schools. It was an experiential technique using very new and unique methods.

CEMEA structured their trainings, back then as well as today, on the central idea of experiencing for oneself, in a direct and personal way, the same methods that are applied to working with the children:

• observation
• respect
• calm and tranquility
• non-violence

The types of activities are extremely varied:

• care of the outdoor environment
• drawing, painting, working with clay
• creative movement
• musical activities
• nature observations
• circle dances
• singing
• theatrical activities such as skits and role playing

The theatrical experiences were not intended for a performance, they were simply experiential, such as pretending to be in a certain situation (in a boat in a storm) or a certain character (Ulysses, or a hero in a fairy tale). These activities gave CEMEA's participants indirect experiences that offered training on a transformative and inter-personal level. 

The preparation of the social climate was important to create a safe non-judgmental space where every form of comparison and competition was eliminated, helping the participants confront and eliminate the primary obstacle in human relations: continuous judgement."  GHF

Stay tuned for Part 4: FREEDOM AND LIMITS