This is a unique type of school system that will be hard for many parents to grasp. I originally heard of it on John Stossel's program when he was talking about alternatives to traditional education. The school featured has been up and running since the 1960s (hippie inspired) but does not require an actual classroom. It will be a little difficult to explain so bare with me.
Un-School: This type of school does not have a set schedule. In fact, there really isn't a set of grade levels or tests. The featured school basically put a bunch of kids together of all ages together and just let them do what they want. Likewise, the home school version of the same thing is done in a similar manor. Students are given lots of power here, where they work out disputes amongst each other in mock trials. So the faculty is fairly redundant, save for managing money, keeping the place clean and taking attendance. And that is how it works. It really is just that, getting a bunch of students together and letting them go wild. But there is a little bit more to it than that.
What it does: In an un-school curriculum, the students are free to interact in a similar manor to how they would in a real life situation. So when a younger student is teaching an older student about something, the inferiority complex of being taught by a younger person is lost. Likewise, when a mock trial occurs to resolve a dispute a younger student may hold more sway over an older student, or vice versa. The result is that they are forced to accept this divesting, and loss of authority which they may encounter in the real world. As to actual learning, students are left to pursue their own passions. So a student who loves art will pursue art. Another may be interested in science and specifically pursue that. In order to gather further knowledge on their passions, they willingly force themselves to read so as to better understand there own passion. Some may like computers and focus on either making games or even repairing them. An Un-school removes the structure that the founders of the school felt restricted students and suppressed their passions. So they removed that what they thought stagnated the children. And apparently, the children do go to college. They decide when they feel they are ready. So when they are ready (and motivated) they hit the books, get all the knowledge they need and then go. In fact, the school featured had approximately 80% of their students going onto college. They do it themselves and acquire the knowledge at their own pace.
Conclusion: This unstructured type of school obviously is not for everyone. And I think a majority of parents would look upon this with a lot of skepticism. But the fact is that it works for these kids. Un-school harnesses the passion of these children (grades 1 through 12) and lets them pursue it with all the passion that they have. And these kids really love going to school. I feel that I have not truly explained this concept of education to its fullest, but this is a good overall summary of what it is about. I hope you enjoyed the read, and who knows, maybe un-school is good for your child too.
No comments:
Post a Comment