Reinventing Education

"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

 

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

 

 

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. 

What kinds of events do mainstream schools host & more importantly why?

We look at how the following events either serve the curriculum, help celebrate merit, or wow us with something unique:

-parent information evenings

-celebrations of learning

-holiday celebrations

-social gatherings and talent shows 

How can parents best contribute to student learning and the functioning of the school and community? 

Well, the answer seems to be, to get out of the way in a mainstream school. 

In this episode, we look at how the role of a parent in a school has moved away from the passionate volunteer in the school to an informed coach at home. We examine the pros and cons of this new approach. 

How do mainstream schools, that place importance on student success in relation to a curriculum, communicate effectively with parents?
We analyze best practices with:

- parent-teacher conferences

- ongoing weekly or monthly communication

- admissions & selling a school to parents

We cover the pros and cons of:

-play-based learning

-differentiation and addressing developmental stages

-social-emotional learning strategies

-conflict resolutions

-assessment and developmental benchmarks

Breaktime can be an opportunity to maximize play, development & personal accountability. 

We look at:

- shared social agreements & conflict resolution

-clubs, sports & organized activities

-equipment & staggered timings

-influence of health & safety and legal responsibility for supervision

Pros and Cons of supporting student government via:

-student chaired meetings

-class representatives

-input in schoolwide decisions including staff hiring & budgeting

-event organization

 

We also examine Roger Hart's framework Ladder Of Participation to help clarify student governments as merely tokenism vs authentic decision marking. 

Pros and cons of making your classroom efficient using:

-class job schedules

-role-playing real-life job applications and reviews

-jobs for lessons and student learning

-school-wide jobs and rewards