Free to Learn: A Radical Experiment in Education

Free to Learn:

A Radical Experiment in Education

A Documentary by Jeff Root & Bhawin Suchak

Free to Learn is a 70 minute documentary that offers a “fly on the wall” perspective of the daily happenings at The Free School in Albany, New York. Like many of today’s radical and democratic schools, The Free School expects children to decide for themselves how to spend their days.

The Free School, however, is unique in that it transcends obstacles that prevent similar schools from reaching a economically and racially diverse range of students and operates in the heart of an inner-city neighborhood.

For over thirty years in perhaps the most radical experiment in American education, this small inner-city alternative school has offered its students complete freedom over their learning. There are no mandatory classes, no grades, tests, or homework, and rules are generally avoided. As a last resort, rules are created democratically by students and teachers, often at the prompting of a student. At a time when our educators are mandated to march forward with no child left behind, the students of the Free School, many of whom would have fallen through the cracks of today’s failing public school system, have managed to slip out of education’s back door and have run away free.

Free to Learn follows a handful of these children courageously meeting the daily challenges of hope, acceptance, loss, friendship, conflict, and the difficult task of deciding, for themselves, what to do with each day.

Arrange a Screening & Contact Filmmakers: freeschooldoc@gmail.com

View the study guide: http://issuu.com/democraticeducation/docs/ftl-studyguide

Support:
The Free School, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is dependent on a network of individual donors to continue offering its unique and innovative approach to education to students who need it. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution today: http://www.educationrevolution.org/donatefs.html

Please also consider purchasing a copy of Free to Learn to support AERO and the filmmakers who gave so much time and energy into making this wonderful resource.

http://www.educationrevolution.org/freetolearn.html

Speaking at LIFT 2007, Sugata Mitra talks about his Hole in the Wall project. Young kids in this project figured out how to use a PC on their own — and then taught other kids. He asks, what else can children teach themselves?

Full Bio from (www.ted.com):

In 1999, Sugata Mitra and his colleagues dug a hole in a wall bordering an urban slum in New Delhi, installed an Internet-connected PC, and left it there (with a hidden camera filming the area). What they saw was kids from the slum playing around with the computer and in the process learning how to use it and how to go online, and then teaching each other.

In the following years they replicated the experiment in other parts of India, urban and rural, with similar results, challenging some of the key assumptions of formal education. The “Hole in the Wall” project demonstrates that, even in the absence of any direct input from a teacher,an environment that stimulates curiosity can cause learning through self-instruction and peer-shared knowledge. Mitra, who’s now a professor of educational technology at Newcastle University (UK), calls it “minimally invasive education.”

“Education-as-usual assumes that kids are empty vessels who need to be sat down in a room and filled with curricular content. Dr. Mitra’s experiments prove that wrong.”

Linux Journal

Buy, Use, Toss? A Closer Look at the Things We Buy by Facing the Future
Buy, Use, Toss? A Closer Look at the Things We Buy is an interdisciplinary unit that includes ten fully-planned lessons. This unit is correlated with national science and social studies standards and will lead your students through an exploration of the system of producing and consuming goods that is called the materials economy. Students will learn about the five major steps of the materials economy; Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal. They will also be asked to analyze the sustainability of these steps, determining how consumption can benefit people, economies, and environments.
Grade Levels: High
Cost: No

The Gulf Oil Disaster by The Choices Program
In this free one-day activity students use political cartoons to consider issues raised by the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico including impact, accountability, U.S. oil dependency, and energy policy.
Grade Levels: High
Cost: No

Media In Action Curriculum by Global Action Project
The product of over two decades of experience, Global Action Project’s Media In Action Curriculum is available here for free download. Grab it, read it, use it, adapt it, and tell us how it worked (or didn’t) for you. Global Action Project developed the Media In Action Curriculum through its after-school media arts programs and, more recently, its Media in Action trainings. Media in Action runs multi-day, intergenerational trainings for community organizers who want to harness the power of youth media to move their work further, faster.
Grade Levels: High
Cost: No

The Education for Liberation Network is a national coalition of teachers, community activists, youth, researchers and parents who believe a good education should teach people—particularly low-income youth and youth of color—to understand and challenge the injustices their communities face.

(this is courtesy of the Institute for Humane Education, www.humaneeducation.org)

With global challenges growing and violence, injustice, cruelty and destruction flourishing, you know that it’s even more essential to address issues of social justice (human rights, environmental preservation, animal protection, media, culture & consumerism) with your students — to help them think critically and creatively about the world and their place in it. But with all the tests and standards and demands on your time, how do you do it? You’re not alone in your passion to integrate justice and equity into education; there are numerous useful resources available, and we’ve compiled (in no particular order) 10 terrific ones for you to explore.

1. Institute for Humane Education – Of course we have to recommend ourselves. Thousands of teachers and community educators have accessed our humane education activities, suggested books for adults and children, our Humane Connection blog and other resources for building a just, compassionate, sustainable world for all people, animals and the earth.
2. EdChange – A goldmine of social justice resources, EdChange and its sister sites offer more useful essays, activities, tools, links and other goodies than you can shake a number 2 pencil at. (Be sure to check out our interview with EdChange gurus Paul Gorski & Jennifer Hickman.)
3. Americans Who Tell the Truth – Focused on changemakers in the U.S., these paintings by Robert Shetterly capture the words and wisdom of people not afraid to speak the truth and work for a better world.  In addition to the portraits and short bios of those featured, the website includes suggested curriculum and a blog to help educators spark ideas for helping students understand their heritage and inspire their futures.
4. Education for Liberation Network –  Our favorite part of ELN’s website is their EdLib Lab, an interactive database of teaching materials, curriculum and resources compiled from other organizations. It’s searchable by categories such as grade level, topic, keyword, and material type, and something new is added frequently. You can also submit your own.
5. Rethinking Schools – RS has a whole slew of publications that should be added to your “must read” list. Focused on educational reform and issues of equity and social justice, RS offers insightful, innovative, and useful essays, teaching ideas, analysis and more through its quarterly magazine and numerous books.
6. Teaching Tolerance – A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, TT is a bastion of educational materials and ideas useful in integrating the social justice lens into your classroom. Between the quarterly magazine, classroom activities, blog, and other resources, there is plenty to delight and inspire.
7. Radical Math – Want to integrate social justice into your math classes?  On the RM website you’ll find hundreds of lesson plans, articles, charts, books, websites and other resources that you can find by subject, math topic or resource type.
8. Black Ants & Buddhists – One of my favorite education books ever, and required reading for our students, Black Ants & Buddhists: Teaching Critically and Thinking Differently in the Primary Grades by Mary Cowhey, outlines her experiences integrating social justice, activism, community participation and critical thinking into her first and second grade classes in order to nurture “more informed, articulate, active and participatory citizens who know the power of their own voices.” A great and inspiring resource whether you teach young ones or not.
9. Planning to Change the World – A collaboration between Education for Liberation and the New York Collective of Radical Educators, this planning book for teachers offers ideas, essays, lesson plans, quotes and tips for helping teachers “translate their vision of a just education into concrete classroom activities.”
   
10. “Social Justice and Language Arts” (pdf) – A great article by Christopher Greenslate, one of IHE’s M.Ed. graduates, and a language arts/social justice teacher. Yes, it’s only a single resource, but it serves as a wonderful template of specific ideas and examples for integrating issues of animal protection, human rights, environmental protection and cultural issues into language arts teaching.

Ravi, Isaac, & Shilpa at LPSC Jam 2010

From Isaac Graves:

I recently returned from a profound and inspiring experience held in the Redwood forest in Ben Lomond, California.  The event was the Leveraging Privilege for Social Change (LPSC) Jam hosted by the nonprofit organization, YES!

Founded in 1990 by two teenagers, YES! is a nonprofit organization that connects, inspires and collaborates with young changemakers in building thriving, just and sustainable ways of life for all.  Our three program areas are global leadership Jams, on-going support networks, and resources & communications.  We work at the meeting point of internal, interpersonal, and systemic transformation.

I am still processing and digesting what was a truly eye-opening and transformative experience.  The Jam’s ability to create a safe learning environment built on authentic communication and connection was remarkable.  I have talked endlessly about my experience since it ended just over a week ago, but find myself speechless as I’ve sat down to write about it!  I’ll use a recent blog post by one of the facilitators and a few videos to give you a little insight in the meantime.  If you are interested in finding out more about YES! and the Jams, please visit www.yesworld.org

*****

One of the facilitators, Shilpa Jain, recently wrote a blog post on the LPSC 2010 Jam, “LPSC Jam Completes Another Amazing Year!:”

The redwoods are great teachers.  They stay firmly rooted in the soil, they grow in community with one another, and they reach for the sky…  They were an inspiration and a reminder to us as we journeyed through the 8th Annual Leveraging Privilege for Social Change Jam.  From July 25 until August 1, 2010, 28 young leaders gathered at the Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, CA. We hailed from 15 different US states, as well as Canada and Mexico, and worked on issues ranging from social entrepreneurship, to alternative education, to food justice, and much more.

Amidst our diversity, we shared two beliefs: (1) that each of us is privileged with some gift, power, or influence, and (2) that each of us is committed to making a difference with what we have.  We gathered together for a week, to explore our lives, our identities, our passions, our fears, and our commitments.  We struggled to build bridges across deep divides of class, race, and gender identities, took time to envision ‘a community that works’, and made solid first steps in living it together.  We stopped talking and started listening, and in the process, learned more about ourselves and each other than we could have imagined.  It was an incredible ride, with ripple effects that we hope will ring out in our families, organizations and communities back home.

“The Jam created a space to experience community in a new and powerful way that has pushed the idea of what I want to create in my own community and support in the world. It gave me a taste of what can be possible and connected me to a group of people who have shared this sampling. This experience and connection gives me hope in people and in myself. It gave me space to be supported with my deepest challenges. It showed how fundamental the struggles of all people are. How related our pain is despite our difference and how powerful it is to heal and support each other.”

- Heather Fenney

The last morning of the jam, August 1, we were joined by another 30 friends and community members, from Santa Cruz and the Bay Area.  They came to share in our learnings and explore with us what it meant to ‘leverage one’s privilege for social change’.  The hour-long program, followed by an hour-long networking brunch, was an opportunity to synthesize and explore, as well as engage new people in, the questions and understandings of the week.

Sharing the spirit of the Jam with a wider community also served as a stepping stone for Jammers in their return journey home. It was a chance to ‘translate’ — trans-relate — crossing boundaries and connecting to the hearts and minds of an eager learning community.  Nourishing food from Jason Harvey (Oakland Food Connection) brought us all together, and we ended with a burst of energy and ‘true love’ that could only surge further outward in the hopes of healing ourselves, each other and the planet.

“I had a truly life changing experience that I honestly do not know how to encapsulate in words.  Participating in the Jam opened me up to a part of myself that had lain dormant for years: the part where unconditional love of self and community is the norm.  I have made lasting connections with people that I probably never would have opened up to in a different setting, and I am eternally grateful for that. I have made amazing realizations about myself, my potential, and the potential of my community to support me by being part of this experience.  This has truly impacted the way I will construct the rest of my life. Important foundations have been set, and I have been inspired!”

- Sia Mensah

*****

What is YES? Here’s a 12-minute video:

Here’s another video by Manauvaskar Kublall who also made the recent Education Circle of Change video:

Natural Awakenings, August 2010

by Lisa Marshall

Is a democratic model of schooling the answer to today’s education crisis?

This question and more are addressed in Lisa Marshall’s engaging article in this month’s Natural Awakenings magazine.

Read the article online at http://issuu.com/democraticeducation/docs/democracy_in_action

If so, please note that we have a few updates to be done before the site is finished but we suggest the following places to learn more about democratic education:

Institute for Democratic Education in America (www.democraticeducation.org)

Alternative Education Resource Organization (www.educationrevolution.org)

The videos below and the resource section on this website.

Enjoy!

-Isaac

Isaac Graves Speaking in Istanbul, Turkey at a democratic education symposium held by the Alternative Education Association

Description

Democratic education is on the cutting edge in contemporary educational philosophy and practice.  This workshop provides a concise overview of what democratic education is, its common threads, goals, and key elements followed by painting the big picture of democratic education today.  This is a highly informative and short (twenty minutes) presentation followed by questions and answers.

Bio

Elizabeth Baker & Michele Beach, Directors of The Patchwork School

The following talk was given by Elizabeth Baker at Voyagers’ Community School’s 2nd Annual Conference.  It’s approximately fifty five minutes.  Enjoy! -Isaac

Description

Discussions about democratic education often revolve around the capabilities of older children (10-18 years old).  Older children can make important decisions regarding the operation of the school, the rules governing the community and the manner in which they spend their time.  But how does democratic education look when your community is mostly or entirely comprised of the very young (2 1/2 to 6 years old)?  Using The Patchwork School as a working model, we will discuss the ways that we can adjust our practice of democratic education for the very young while still honoring the philosophical tenets which drive the movement.

Bio

Elizabeth Baker is a founder of, and a director at The Patchwork School in Louisville, Colorado.  She earned her B.A. in Philosophy from The Colorado College and her M.A. in Educational Psychology, as well as Colorado Teaching License from the University of Colorado at Denver.  She completed her first teaching internship at a democratic free school in Albany, NY and her second teaching internship in a Reggio Emilia inspired school in Boulder, Colorado.  Recently she has presented at the International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC) in Israel, for the Alternative Education Association in Turkey, and to a group of teacher candidates in the UC Denver M.A. program on the topic of Counter-Culture Movements.  She will be a featured presenter at the 7th annual Alternative Education Resource Organization conference in June.

Video