Shortly before the autumn holidays, I joined Gregor Engel and the children from the Primarstufe on a short morning walk behind our school. After about an hour, we reached the top of a small hill and discovered a sign which read ‚Flat 555 m‘. We had been practising question forms in our English lessons, so as flat is an English word, I asked the children about the sign:
„Why is this place called Flat?“ Most of the children decided it was because we had reached the top of the hill and this place was flatter than the rest of our walk. I then asked them about the different meanings of the word flat in English. We already knew about the adjective. Some children also knew that a flat is the British English noun describing a type of house on one level – and is usually called an ‚apartment‘ in American English (although a recent report suggests that many ‚British‘ words are now also used in American English).
I then asked the children what the ‚555 m‘ on the sign meant. „Well, it’s the distance,“ said one of the boys. „From where?“ I replied. They decided that this figure was the height above sea level. But then I asked them how people measured heights above sea level here in Switzerland – a country with no coastline. This question provoked a number of interesting, creative answers!
The Scuola Vivante is a unique school where children and young people are encouraged to ask questions and find answers for themselves. Every question and every discussion allows us to learn something about the world and our place in it.