Magda Gerber - The RIE Manual for Parents and Professionals Expanded Edition

The RIE Manual for Parents and Professionals Expanded EditionCopyright 2012 Resources for Infant Educarers; First EditionCopyright 1979 Magda Gerber

Articles from EducaringCopyright 19792012 Resources for Infant Educarers

Published by Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The RIE manual for parents and professionals / edited by Magda Gerber / edited by Deborah Greenwald expanded ed. / with Joan Weaver.

p. cm.

ISBN: 978-1-892560-08-7

1. InfantsCare. 2. ToddlersCare. 3. Parenting. I. Gerber, Magda, 1912-, ed. II. Greenwald, Deborah, ed. III. Weaver, Joan. IV. Title.

HQ774 .R534 2012

649.122dc23

2012919036

We gratefully acknowledge the following people for their contributions to the Expanded Edition of this publication: Deborah Greenwald (Editor), Joan Weaver (Coeditor): Melani Ladygo (references and formatting); RIEs Manual Review Committee comprised of Polly Elam, Bence Gerber, Ruth Anne Hammond, Janet Lansbury, Carol Pinto, and Deborah Carlisle Solomon; Magda Gerber (transcription of Time Economy of RIE Approach); and the authors of new articles: Deborah Greenwald, Janet Gonzalez-Mena, Ruth Anne Hammond, and Janet Lansbury.

Judit Falks When We Touch the Infants Body was reprinted with the permission of the Pikler Institute in Hungary.

Magda Gerber: In Memoriam was previously published in the July 2007 issue of the Zero to Three Bulletin. Copyright 2007 and reprinted with the permission of ZERO TO THREE.

All other written material in this expanded edition was previously published in the First Edition and in Educaring, the newsletter for Resources for Infant Educarers.

We gratefully acknowledge the following people for photographs used in the Expanded Edition of this publication: Julia Albee, Jon Gordon, Hari Grebler, Ruth Anne Hammond, William Korf, Deborah Carlisle Solomon, Jonny Solomon, Diana Suskind, and David Vigliotti.

Published by:

Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE)

6720 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90038

Phone: 323.663.5330

www.rie.org

Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.

Albert Szent-Gyrgyi

Magda Gerber

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO EXPANDED EDITION

This expanded edition of TheRIE Manual for Parents and Professionals is a labor of love. Magda Gerber inspired so many to see infants with new eyes. Once we begin to see in this new way, we often become determined to help others around us see with new eyes as well. The articles in this Manual, both old and new, are all in service to helping adults to see infants and toddlers through the lens that Magda shared with us. This lens allows us to see, when we gaze at an infant, an active, competent, engaging individual who is making sense of the world around him. Magda helped us learn how to respect this individual while at the same time providing essential nurturing, protection, and boundaries.

We begin with a speech written by Magda years ago. It was unearthed in the Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) office in 2010, in its original purple mimeographed ink. Magda is introducing RIE in her own words, and it seemed fitting that she introduce RIE in this expanded edition of her Manual.

When teaching, Magda often debated the value of noveltyshe would say that Americans are interested in what is new and improved but that she, as a European, had learned to value that which is old and proven. In homage to this, we have included Magdas original RIE Manual (First Edition, 10th Printing) in its entirety. The original content has not been changed; it has been updated only in the sense that it is digitized, reformatted, and lightly edited as needed to facilitate easy reading of the material. (Occasionally you will see brackets [ ], which indicate that something has been added for clarification or to expand on the references.) Magda herself translated the Hungarian articles to English; she highly valued the work of Emmi Pikler and her colleagues and felt it was important to share their work and insights with all students of RIE.

The expanded section, Part IV, following Magdas Manual, includes a selection of articles from the last 30 years. Contributors include RIE Associates and colleagues, who all labor tirelessly to continue the work of RIE after Magdas passing in 2007. These articles cover key topics such as how RIE relates to current neuroscience, supporting competence in a child with special needs, sharing RIE with adults, examining RIE environments, and observing and facilitating play. We are grateful to have two pieces from our Hungarian colleagues included in the expanded edition as well. While it was not possible to be comprehensive when choosing what to include in this expanded edition, it is our hope that the additional material in Part IV will speak to you directly and deepen both your understanding and your curiosity about Magda Gerbers Educaring Approach.

Deborah Greenwald, Editor, Expanded Edition

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) and the editor gratefully acknowledge the following for their contributions:

First and foremost, Magda Gerber, for helping us to see infants with new eyes

The babies, toddlers, and loving parents who inspire us every day

Joan Weaver, who pored over this manuscript with the finest of combs, and who also contributed her deep understanding of Magdas work throughout

Melani Ladygo, who heroically tracked down articles written before she was born, in languages she does not speak, to verify references, and performed a multitude of other tasks, with cheer and grace

Evan Hulka, who proofread the document and helped us make it a cleaner, tighter book

All the authors who contributed their time, intelligence, and talents to these pages

The Manual Review Committee members: Polly Elam, Bence Gerber, Ruth Anne Hammond, Janet Lansbury, Carol Pinto, and Deborah Carlisle Solomon.

The Gerber family, for encouragement and support, with special thanks to Bence Gerber, who dedicates his time and passion to preserving his mothers original work

The RIE Board of Directors

Bence Gerber, Darien Donner, and Jesse Miller-Riley, who helped with translations of references

Anna Tardos and her colleagues at the Pikler Institute, who graciously contributed permissions and written material

Those who contributed photographs: Julia Albee, Jon Gordon, Hari Grebler, Ruth Anne Hammond, Deborah Carlisle Solomon, Jonny Solomon, Diana Suskind, and David Vigliotti

TIME ECONOMY OF THE RIE APPROACH
Magda Gerber

The following is a speech written several years ago by Magda Gerber, unearthed in the RIE office. Magda had a unique way of putting words together, and her style is preserved here in her own words.

Remember this morning I mentioned that my goal, a rather ambitious one, is that you will leave here with new lenses, lenses that will make you see infants and what happens to them, or what we adults do to them, in a new light. You will see how they move, how they learn, and how they feel.