Got Shabbat

Parashat Noach
Genesis 6:9–11:32

Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make the ark with rooms, and cover it with tar inside and out.    Genesis 6:14

At the beginning of Parashat Noach (Noach is Hebrew for Noah), God tells Noah to build an ark. Well, actually, that’s not quite true. God tells Noah to “make” an ark, but let’s not split hairs. Regardless, there are very specific guidelines Noah must follow in order to complete this project.

Many theories of child development tell us that children acquire skills and concepts in a very predictable sequence. While the timing is unique to each individual child, the sequence in which they learn is typically the same. Some common examples would be that babies learn to roll over before they can crawl. They need to be able to pull themselves up to standing before they learn to walk.

Each skill builds or scaffolds upon the next. In building, scaffolding is a structure used to provide support while a building is being constructed. Eventually, as the structure is completed, the scaffolding is removed and the building can support itself. The term scaffolding also refers to an educational technique, as these scholars point out in the article Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy:

Scaffolding instruction as a teaching strategy originates from Lev Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and his concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). “The zone of proximal development is the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance” (Raymond, 2000, p.176).

In scaffolding instruction a more knowledgeable other provides scaffolds or supports to facilitate the learner’s development. The scaffolds facilitate a student’s ability to build on prior knowledge and internalize new information. The activities provided in scaffolding instruction are just beyond the level of what the learner can do alone (Olson & Pratt, 2000).

 By providing safe environments and developmentally appropriate toys and games, by spending quality, enjoyable time with their children, by providing structure and predictable routines, parents
are constantly providing scaffolding for their children. As they grow and change, the type of support a parent provides will vary. A concept (and challenge!) that remains the same throughout the
process, though, is the idea of providing enough support for a child to climb to the next level, without parents actually picking the child up and moving him/her there themselves.

For Parents:  Is there a skill that your child now possesses that you remember watching him/her slowly acquire? How did you feel as you watched your child almost get it, but not quite? What did you do?

For Children:  What is your favorite thing to build with (blocks, Legos, etc.)? Have you ever built something that you were really proud of?

From Got Shabbat by the Union for Reform Judaism