Democratic Education
Related Topics
Family PatternsFamily RelationshipFamily Therapy | Family ViolenceFamily Violence PreventionFinancial Abuse |
Sites
Ron Miller T he cultural turbulence of the 1960s and early 1970s sparked the beginning of a vibrant new movement for "alternative" education. A flurry of passionate and visionary books by A.S. Neill, John Holt, Herbert Kohl, Jonathan Kozol, and other outspoken critics inspired thousands of people to think differently about the nature and purpose of education. By 1972 hundreds of "free schools" and experimental public school programs were founded, and within a few years more, the growing homeschooling movement offered another alternative to families. Public education, which had been revered ...
Ron Miller has been an author, editor, and publisher in alternative education since 1988, when he founded the journal, Holistic Education Review . Originally trained as a Montessori teacher, he is completing doctoral work on the cultural history of American education and is presently writing about the free school movement of the 1960s. He is the president of the board of the Bellwether School near Burlington, Vermont, and is founder and president of the Foundation for Educational Renewal, the publisher of Paths of Learning.
Alternative Education Jerry Mintz: There are many types of Montessori schools, so it is hard to generalize. But if a Montessori school closely follows Maria Montessori's concepts, the students will be well prepared for any eventuality. They will know how to work independently and in groups, and how to find resources. In my experience children coming from those schools have no problem coping with work in traditional schools, but they may well get bored!
District Heights, Md.: My son goes to a French Immersion School where the major part of his classes are taught in French. He is inattentive a lot and I see very little progress on the surface, however he can hold small conversations with his teachers in French. He is going to the third grade this year, and has been attending since kindergarten. I was wondering how beneficial do you think a school like that is for such a young child?
IDEN: International Democratic Education Network Hebrew, Arabic, German Number of Students: 400 students in 12 schools Age range Languages: English Principles: AAPAE is a network and an associatin which promotes and supports individuals, regardless of age, schools and educational groups who believe in and act according to the principles of progressive, alternative and democratic education. Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, German Principles: German, Polish and Arab and Jewish Israeli teachers and young people meet regularly to dispel preconceived stereotypes, reduce feelings of fear, hatred, and alienation and work towards a future based on mutual respect between ...
Holistic Education Articles by Dr. Ron Miller - Education Reform Nearly everyone in the Western world believes in democracy, right? So why would anyone question the need for schools to be “democratic”? Indeed, why are most schools in our culture manifestly nondemocratic? The alternative educators represented in this volume, who pointedly call their schools “democratic,” often portray their model as based on simple common sense, or at least as a simple extension of America’s founding principles—but in many ways their ideas are thoroughly radical, and run counter to certain beliefs and traditions in modern society. One reason for this confusion is that there ...
The democratic schools considered here are based upon a notion of genuine participatory democracy, practiced everywhere throughout society, with all ages of people. The term “participatory democracy” was used by the New Left in the 1960s (e.g. the Port Huron Statement of 1962) as a way of reclaiming the essence of democratic idealism in a society they believed had grown over-organized, hierarchical and authoritarian. It is the antidote to technocracy (rule by experts, bureaucrats and administrators) and represents a renewed faith in the intelligence and moral judgment of common citizens pursuing their daily lives and interests. John Dewey, ...
News
Pressing issues addressed in budget Pressing issues addressed in budget By By Nick Kotik, State Representative Wednesday, August 8, 2007 Each year, the budget process allows the legislature to address Pennsylvania's most pressing issues. The new Democratic majority this year sought to find long-term solutions to problems that affect Pennsylvanians daily. I am proud to tell you that we accomplished many of our goals -- without raising taxes -- by investing wisely in transportation, energy and the environment, education and health care. We also set a rigorous schedule for the fall session to continue the work we started. ...
Blogs
Voices from the New American Schoolhouse Certain facets of the model separate it from other democratic schools and free schools, although there are evident similarities. One central defining aspect is the non-compulsory nature of the model and the equal, nonjudgmental treatment of all activities (within the bounds of school rules regarding behavior and conduct) which results in a great de-emphasis of classes and other activities normally emphasized for their educational value.
Though everything is not lost. We have the Montessori method in Singapore. It comes close to what is being practiced at Fairheaven, but Montessori schooling is only for the younglings. After that they would still have to enroll in public schools in Singapore when they get older. Though expensive Montessori schools, these kids would have a slight head-start from the average Singapore students
The education revolution I've just returned from the fourth annual conference of AERO--the Alternative Education Resource Organization. Over 300 people were there, representing diverse kinds of schools, learning communities, and homeschooling/unschooling. There was a lot of enthusiasm, and it was clear that momentum is growing for building a completely new system of education that will be more child-centered, democratic and decentralized than the authoritarian and standardizing monstrosity we now have. Parents and teachers are getting together in many parts of the U.S.--indeed, in many places around the world--to figure out how to provide more caring and nurturing ...
5 comments: Jason said... Ron, It was wonderful to meet you at the AERO Conference! Thanks so much for your recommendation of vipassana and that very productive discussion we had at dinner on Saturday. I need to sit with it for a while, but it was powerful. The conference was so transformative for me... There was a post here that I hadn't responded to but it appears to be gone now? And I wanted to look back and see what I had written about the internal/external reality problem but now I can't find it. (The way I'm thinking about this is changing so fast that it would be interesting to see how I put it!) I really appreciate how you're able ...
Scholarship for Alt. Education Class The expectation was seemingly ubiquitous. It was assumed, unquestioned, and therefore accepted, both externally and internally. That is, that: One who graduates with a degree in Early Childhood Education begins a job immediately in a public school, not far from, if not in, the location of the student teaching practicum. I found myself surfing this wave into the expected future without ever having consciously chosen to venture into the water. A critical look at my own future with regards to education followed, an exploration inextricably bound to my inquiry into the deeper meaning of education. I found myself ...