Carolyn Edwards
(Right) Loris Malaguzzi leading the way into
Arcobaleno Infant-Toddler Center, 1983.

A teacher playing with infants, 1980s.

DOL-Int_2011-jh 2.indd 5
{ 5
Infant-Toddler Center by Giuliana
Campani, Paola Cavazzoni, Eluccia
Forghieri, and Tiziana Bini, which
details how Laura and her family
remember their time at the center
and how it affected them, as well as
what the educators understood at
the time and have come to under-
stand in retrospect.

Finally, the reflective essays
start what we hope will be a long
and fruitful dialogue on what the
diary means to educators today and how we can use it to inform our work. J. Ronald
Lally from the United States suggests that infant-toddler teachers learn to observe as
participant observers, in order to plan in a way that more deeply respects
the children’s interests. Pat Wharton from Scotland lays out ways Sto-
ry of Laura can serve as one useful example as teachers seek concrete
strategies for compiling an educational diary. Jan Millikan from Australia
considers how to operate within the boundaries of one’s own situation
when adapting ideas from others—for example, when responding to the
cultural diversity and part-time attendance patterns typical of her society.

Moonja Oh from Korea calls on educators to use Laura’s diary as an inspi-
ration to break out of old assumptions and unproductive thought patterns
that block our capacity to see the beauty of what is before us in everyday
12/13/11 11:52 AM