Loris Malaguzzi Biography

Loris Malaguzzi, Teacher

Occup.	Teacher
From	Italy
Born	February 23, 1920 Correggio, Reggio Emilia
Died	January 30, 1994 Modena, Italy
Cause	Unexpected heart attack
Aged	73 years

Early Life and Education
Loris Malaguzzi was born on February 23, 1920, in Correggio, a small town in the Emilia-Romagna area of Italy. He grew up in a simple household, with his dad being a railway employee and his mother a primary school teacher. Malaguzzi was deeply influenced by his mom's enthusiasm for education, and he later embarked on a profession in teaching.

Malaguzzi finished his early education in Correggio before studying at a Teachers' Institute near Modena during World War II. Due to the war, he was unable to continue his studies and ultimately enrolled at the University of Urbino, where he made a degree in Elementary Education in 1946.

Early Teaching Career
After obtaining his degree, Malaguzzi worked as a grade school teacher in backwoods around Reggio Emilia. Experiencing the poverty and destruction left by the war, he established a deep understanding of the significance of education and its potential to produce social modification.

In 1947, Malaguzzi took a leading role in the development of a brand-new preschool for children in a little village called Villa Cella, in the outskirts of Reggio Emilia. He teamed up with parents, villagers, and other educators to build and run the school utilizing salvaged wartime materials. This school ended up being the first "Reggio Emilia" preschool, laying the structure for the Reggio Emilia technique to early childhood education.

The Reggio Emilia Approach
Malaguzzi's experiences as an educator considerably added to the advancement of the Reggio Emilia technique, which is characterized by a child-centered and inquiry-based educational viewpoint. The approach emphasizes the value of respecting children as independent students who can reveal their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through various modes of expression.

Secret elements of the Reggio Emilia technique include:
- The role of the environment as the "3rd teacher", arranges indoor and outdoor areas that provoke interest and expedition.
- The value of relationships and partnership amongst children, parents, and instructors to cultivate a sense of community and shared learning.
- The acknowledgment of each child's distinct strengths, interests, and learning designs, using task work to help with deeper query and understanding construction.

Later Career and International Recognition
In 1963, Malaguzzi was selected the director of the Reggio Emilia town preschools and infant-toddler centers. During his tenure, he focused on broadening the Reggio Emilia technique to more schools within the area, helping establish Reggio Emilia as a center for innovative early youth education.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Malaguzzi's work brought in global attention, and educators from around the world began checking out Reggio Emilia to discover the method. Malaguzzi himself traveled thoroughly, sharing his concepts through conferences, workshops, and publications.

Malaguzzi's work resulted in many awards and acknowledgments. In 1991, Newsweek called the Diana School in Reggio Emilia one of the leading 10 schools worldwide.

Death and Legacy
Loris Malaguzzi passed away on January 30, 1994, at the age of 73. In spite of his death, Malaguzzi's contributions to early childhood education continue to motivate teachers around the globe. The Reggio Emilia approach has influenced instructional practices and policies internationally, becoming a reputable pedagogy in countries such as the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Today, numerous schools and early youth centers continue to carry out the Reggio Emilia approach, and the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre in Reggio Emilia functions as a hub for research, professional advancement, and the promotion of Malaguzzi's vision for quality early childhood education.

Our collection contains 9 quotes who is written / told by Loris.

Related authors: Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

9 Famous quotes by Loris Malaguzzi

"At the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach is the belief that children are full of potential, competent, and capable of constructing their own learning"

"Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn"

"The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences"

"Our task, regarding creativity, is to help children climb their own mountains, as high as possible. No one can do more"

"Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known"

"We need to redefine the role of the teacher from that of the transmitter of knowledge to that of a researcher, co-learner, and partner in the process of constructing knowledge"

"The environment should act as an aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes, and culture of the people who live in it"

"The child has a hundred languages – and a hundred hundred hundred more – but they steal ninety-nine. The school and the culture separate the head from the body"

"Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before"