Reinventing Education

EP 104 : Embracing Student Empowerment with the FREI DAY project

In today's episode, we have a special guest, Miriam Remy, of the FREI DAY project. Miriam's work with the FREI DAY project aligns perfectly with the big ideas of reinventing education.

The FREI DAY learning format empowers students to take charge of their learning, become active participants in their communities, and develop the essential skills needed for the future. 

Through our conversation with Miriam, we will delve into the core principles of FREI DAY, its impact on students' growth and development, and the vision for implementation in schools around the world.

We hope you find this discussion interesting and inspirational. In terms of our 3 types of school model, If you are interested in establishing what kind of school context you are currently in and how to move forward, please take our 2 minute survey which can be found by clicking here.

EP103 Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich book review pt2

Back in 1971, Ivan Illich wrote the groundbreaking book "Deschooling Society." 

Illich didn't hold back in criticizing the traditional and mainstream approaches to education that we've all become familiar with. He also presented a clear and progressive vision for the future, which still holds weight even after five decades.

Join us for part 2 of our book review, where we dive into Illich's ideas for a post-school society. His proposals of skill exchanges, peer networks, and resource sharing, align pretty well with the systems we have available today in 2023. And so we're left wondering why our current reality doesn't match Illich's vision.

We hope you find this discussion interesting and perhaps it inspires some ideas for how the 3 types of school model in your school’s context. If you are interested in establishing what kind of school context you are currently in, please take our 2 minute survey which can be found by clicking here.

EP102 iDSB - Applying the 3 Types Of School Model - Case Study

Nicole Bordelais & Jörg Heinrichs are school leaders at Internationale Deutsche Schule in Brussels Belgium the school where Reinventing Education co-host Rob Macleod has taught for the last 5 years.

 

We have worked closely with Nicole and Jorg over the last few years using the 3 Types Of School model to guide school development. We wanted the opportunity to reflect on the work we have done together including the practicalities of how the concept of the 3 types of school was introduced to the school community, pros and cons as well as next steps.  

 

We hope you find this discussion interesting and perhaps it inspires some ideas for how the 3 types of school model in your school’s context. If you are interested in establishing what kind of school context you are currently in, please take our 2 minute survey which can be found by clicking here.

EP101 Diagnostics for School Change.

Welcome to Episode 101 of our podcast! Over the past 100 episodes, we've been discussing the three types of school relationships: Expert, Coach, and Counselor. Today, we're excited to introduce a tool that we've built that can help you analyze your school's relationship type and determine the next steps to take.

The link here will take you to the tool (form).

Our tool considers various factors, including communication, trust, and collaboration, to provide an analysis of your school's relationship type. Whether your school has an Expert, Coach, or Counselor relationship, our tool will help you identify it and provide actionable insights to improve it.

In this episode, we'll take a closer look at our tool and explain how you can use it to being a journey that empowers you as an educator, student, or parent. If you leave your email in the form, We'll reach out to begin a conversation how you can enhance your school's relationship type and create a better learning environment for everyone.

Join us as we delve into the world of school relationships and discover how our tool can help you build stronger, more collaborative relationships in your school. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who's passionate about education and wants to make a positive impact in their school community.

EP100 How to develop your school in 2023

In our 100th episode, we summarize our first 99 episodes for you & update some of our terminology. 

In this episode we provide you with tools to serve your school's development:

-discern differences between the 3 types of school (expert, coach & counselor)

-uncover which you gravitate toward, which your school is now & which is the best fit for its context

-explore the 8 aspects of your school that reinforce the type of school and need to change to make sustainable change

(systems, environments, activities, resources, communities, cultures, reactions & beliefs) 

-we also make the case for a 4th type of school, an integrative approach that aims to integrate the babies and bathwaters of the others

 

EP99 Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich book review pt 1

In 1971 Ivan Illich wrote Deschooling Society, a text which was far ahead of its time. 

Illich laid out a thorough critique of what we've called traditional and mainstream approaches to education. He also articulated a concrete progressive vision for moving forward. 50 years later his critique still holds weight. 

In part 1 of our book review, we highlight the main components of his critique against schooling as it was in 1971 and still is in 2023.

In this episode, we highlight what he calls the 4 myths of school and the 3 kinds of teachers. 

EP98 What is progressive education?

In this episode, we identify how progressive education differs from traditional and mainstream approaches by defining the following aspects:

-sociocratic systems of organization

-adaptive physical and digital environments

-transdisciplinary practices

-sustainable & natural resources

-inclusive communities & cultures

-beliefs and reactions towards meaning

EP 97 School Circles -Every Voice Matters - review of sociocratic documentary

"School Circles is an independent documentary that explores the practice of democratic schools in the Netherlands. The film shows students, teachers and staff members coming together to dialogue, discuss proposals, mediate conflicts and make decisions about their school life.

These schools not only challenge the mainstream education, but also democracy as we know it. They put into practice Sociocracy, a method for collective organisation based on a systems perspective, in which the decisions are made by hearing all the voices and getting everyone's consent."

In this episode Brendan and Rob share their thoughts, questions and interest in circle schools and their progressive approach to school organization. 

We highly encourage you to watch the documentary. It can be found here:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/schoolcircles

 

EP96 How Mainstream Schools Fail & Succeed To Engage With Their Communities

Why do mainstream, curriculum-centered schools tend to engage with the community surrounding their school less than traditional or progressive schools?

In this episode we focus on:

-how parent's roles in schools have changed from passionate volunteers to qualified professionals

-utilizing local businesses for job preparation

-field trips as an extension or chance to apply learning 

-creating communities that expand beyond your geographic location

 

 

EP95 Mainstream School Community - behind the scenes episode

We do our best to distill down the essence of the differences between traditional, mainstream, and progressive education.

The process to get there can be messy. 

Brendan and Rob working on a 2-week cycle to produce episodes. 

Week 1 - brainstorm, sort & organize ideas

Week 2 - record a condensed and hopefully concise episode

For something different, we're giving you a chance to be a fly on the wall to listen in on what we do during Week 1. Next week we'll release the final product of this episode.