ImprovEducation
Bringing Democracy to Education
Introduction
As a leader within the alternative and democratic education community, I am frequently asked the question, “What is democratic education?” When I was a teenager, and at that time a recent graduate of a democratic school, I used to give a fairly dogmatic and uninviting response which included a bullet point list of requirements to be “democratic.” Surprisingly, this was not an effective method to talk about what I was most passionate about. This style of communication disappeared as I grew up and my experience as an organizer and educator evolved. I learned to approach individuals humbly, listen genuinely, internalize and digest, respond gently and with care,...
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel the need to divulge a few things to the IDEA audience.
I AM a public school teacher, in a non-democratic school. Students do have a choice in course selection, but often do not receive the classes they ask for in their schedule. Kids can choose to ditch class, and face the repercussions. Students can also choose their level of engagement in each class, and to some extent the grade they will earn for the course. Those are the choices the students can make, and the extent to which they can control their experience.
As a teacher I can only allow one child to leave the classroom...
You see even though "alternative education" functions wonderfully well as a quasi umbrella term for all forms of other-than-(so called)-traditional methods, the word alternative tends to make some implications that may not necessarily be true. Think about terms like:
Alternative Medicine
Alternative Lifestyles
Alternate route (DETOUR?!?! Grrr....
My official evaluation was a week ago. I have my copy of it around here somewhere.... Anyway, things went wonderfully according to my vice principal. She was very happy with my performance. That is good, because I need to keep my job. She is happy, and my family has health insurance. My goals for the administration were met.
I do recall that I set different goals for myself, than I turned in for the powers that be. I wrote about my goals in my first post for IDEA. Let's see how I did....
1. I will work to create an atmosphere of personal responsibility, where people are able to express...
For the past ten years or so, I have been putting on a stage show with the assistance and collaboration of my colleague, Craig Madison. We have not always had the same grade level, in fact, this year he teaches third grade to my fourth grade. But we still get our kids together and put on a show.
The fact that we put on a play is nice, perhaps even astonishing considering how many students are involved, but I am writing about it because of a very special aspect of our production. The play is always totally...
The experiment is going so well that we have increased the control the kids have in the daily lesson planning. Every day there is bell work, but that is the only set event of the class period. I have the day's activities arranged in three or four different orders. The students vote for the arrangement they believe fits their needs. Each option includes the same work, but the order is different.
So how is it going?
From my perspective, pretty good. I am not seeing as many springtime behavioral issues as I have in the past. The kids report being happy. They feel that they are more invested when they set the...
How much order should be implemented by a teacher?
What does a student-driven classroom look like?
I think that all teachers that are interested in democracy in the classroom ask these questions on a regular basis. I think that the answers are as different as the individuals involved.
I want students to feel ownership of the class and the material I teach. I want them to recognize their participation is needed if they are too learn. I don't want them to feel that learning is something that happens to them, but instead, something that they choose to do.
Currently I am trying to answer my questions by letting the students select the mode of presentation that I use to introduce and practice the curriculum. There are four different...
I have had to scrape my windshield in the mornings, but the kids are wearing their summer apparel. Go figure. I am freezing, and the students seem to be in another place entirely. Not just in the shorts and shorter skirts, but in their class work as well. It is as though they are bored with me.
In order to shake things up a little I have decided that April will be the month of Guest Speakers. I would like to have real people, doing real jobs, come and talk to my juniors. My eleventh graders are in a class that helps prepare them for college. I am hoping that guest speakers will give the kids the extra energy they need to finish the year strong. Right now we are floundering a bit....
Getting people to talk to my kids should be SUPER...
The ambulance, police, and fire trucks soon arrived. My husband was thanked, and then he went on his way... with a full day of work ahead of him.
What makes a person help others? When is help needed? When is help not so...
I wrote on January 19 ("Quadrant Spelling") about the way I deliver spelling words to my fourth-grade students, via a pocket chart in the form of an x,y quadrant graph. They all know about coordinates, points, rows and columns now, and participate with great enthusiasm.
We recently began adding fractions with uncommon denominators. Heady stuff. Many blank faces. Confusion. In fact, many students still do not really have a...
Posted on Mar 09, 2011 - 09:16 AM by Isaac Graves
This article has been published in various forms by The Huffington Post, YES! magazine, and Education Revolution.Introduction
As a leader within the alternative and democratic education community, I am frequently asked the question, “What is democratic education?” When I was a teenager, and at that time a recent graduate of a democratic school, I used to give a fairly dogmatic and uninviting response which included a bullet point list of requirements to be “democratic.” Surprisingly, this was not an effective method to talk about what I was most passionate about. This style of communication disappeared as I grew up and my experience as an organizer and educator evolved. I learned to approach individuals humbly, listen genuinely, internalize and digest, respond gently and with care,...
Read More... 0 Comments
In the Interest of Full DisclosurePosted on Sep 03, 2010 - 10:22 AM by Alison Bagg Brink
I am a public school teacher. I teach First Year Spanish. I have been teaching for 15 years. I am a parent. My children are students in a democratic free school.In the interest of full disclosure, I feel the need to divulge a few things to the IDEA audience.
I AM a public school teacher, in a non-democratic school. Students do have a choice in course selection, but often do not receive the classes they ask for in their schedule. Kids can choose to ditch class, and face the repercussions. Students can also choose their level of engagement in each class, and to some extent the grade they will earn for the course. Those are the choices the students can make, and the extent to which they can control their experience.
As a teacher I can only allow one child to leave the classroom...
Read More... 0 Comments
Deed Poll for “Alternative Education”Posted on Aug 25, 2010 - 09:21 PM by Cian Sawyer
Herbert Kohl made a comment in his keynote at AERO that we need to stop using the term "alternative education" as it doesn't do the movement any justice. That was in June and it has taken me just about two months to really absorb his statement, shake it up and make something new out of it. Suffice to say, I think he's absolutely right (about that) and I am taking his advice and I am changing how I refer to the movement for educational reform.You see even though "alternative education" functions wonderfully well as a quasi umbrella term for all forms of other-than-(so called)-traditional methods, the word alternative tends to make some implications that may not necessarily be true. Think about terms like:
Alternative Medicine
Alternative Lifestyles
Alternate route (DETOUR?!?! Grrr....
Read More... 0 Comments
Goals met?Posted on Jun 18, 2010 - 11:42 AM by Alison Bagg Brink
The last meeting of the year is just winding down, the walls of the classroom are bare, and there is not a single piece of paper on the floor. It is officially time to start summer, at least for me.My official evaluation was a week ago. I have my copy of it around here somewhere.... Anyway, things went wonderfully according to my vice principal. She was very happy with my performance. That is good, because I need to keep my job. She is happy, and my family has health insurance. My goals for the administration were met.
I do recall that I set different goals for myself, than I turned in for the powers that be. I wrote about my goals in my first post for IDEA. Let's see how I did....
1. I will work to create an atmosphere of personal responsibility, where people are able to express...
Read More... 1 Comments
Improv…with DramaPosted on May 11, 2010 - 08:41 PM by Tim Curley
As we all know, one of the casualties of a standards-based curriculum, where THE TEST is the driving force, is the loss of teaching the arts. Performing arts are particularly hard hit. At El Verano School, we are doing what we can to lessen the hit that drama classes have taken.For the past ten years or so, I have been putting on a stage show with the assistance and collaboration of my colleague, Craig Madison. We have not always had the same grade level, in fact, this year he teaches third grade to my fourth grade. But we still get our kids together and put on a show.
The fact that we put on a play is nice, perhaps even astonishing considering how many students are involved, but I am writing about it because of a very special aspect of our production. The play is always totally...
Read More... 0 Comments
‘Cause It’s Like Democracy….Posted on Apr 29, 2010 - 10:02 PM by Alison Bagg Brink
Students began choosing the delivery method for new information at the beginning of the month. I discussed this in "Maybe Kids Should Have a Say in How They Receive Information?"The experiment is going so well that we have increased the control the kids have in the daily lesson planning. Every day there is bell work, but that is the only set event of the class period. I have the day's activities arranged in three or four different orders. The students vote for the arrangement they believe fits their needs. Each option includes the same work, but the order is different.
So how is it going?
From my perspective, pretty good. I am not seeing as many springtime behavioral issues as I have in the past. The kids report being happy. They feel that they are more invested when they set the...
Read More... 3 Comments
Maybe Kids Should Have a Say in How They Receive Information?Posted on Apr 08, 2010 - 10:46 PM by Alison Bagg Brink
How much control should students have in a classroom?How much order should be implemented by a teacher?
What does a student-driven classroom look like?
I think that all teachers that are interested in democracy in the classroom ask these questions on a regular basis. I think that the answers are as different as the individuals involved.
I want students to feel ownership of the class and the material I teach. I want them to recognize their participation is needed if they are too learn. I don't want them to feel that learning is something that happens to them, but instead, something that they choose to do.
Currently I am trying to answer my questions by letting the students select the mode of presentation that I use to introduce and practice the curriculum. There are four different...
Read More... 1 Comments
Want coffee?Posted on Mar 10, 2010 - 11:06 PM by Alison Bagg Brink
Spring has arrived... if not in weather, in attitude.I have had to scrape my windshield in the mornings, but the kids are wearing their summer apparel. Go figure. I am freezing, and the students seem to be in another place entirely. Not just in the shorts and shorter skirts, but in their class work as well. It is as though they are bored with me.
In order to shake things up a little I have decided that April will be the month of Guest Speakers. I would like to have real people, doing real jobs, come and talk to my juniors. My eleventh graders are in a class that helps prepare them for college. I am hoping that guest speakers will give the kids the extra energy they need to finish the year strong. Right now we are floundering a bit....
Getting people to talk to my kids should be SUPER...
Read More... 1 Comments
Help?Posted on Feb 23, 2010 - 11:40 PM by Alison Bagg Brink
It has been a strange week at the Brink house. It all culminated yesterday morning, when my husband drove to a job site early, to pick up some tools. Yesterday was crystal clear. He was on a stretch of road with a 35 mile an hour speed limit. The car in front of my husband's van struck a man walking across the street. The walker was tossed into the air, hit the pavement, and rolled multiple times. The driver of the car barely slowed down, and then fled the scene. My husband stopped, helped the injured man to the side of the road, began basic first aid, and called EMS.The ambulance, police, and fire trucks soon arrived. My husband was thanked, and then he went on his way... with a full day of work ahead of him.
What makes a person help others? When is help needed? When is help not so...
Read More... 0 Comments
The Worlds of Fractions and Spelling CollidePosted on Feb 14, 2010 - 03:58 PM by Tim Curley
When Melia Dicker, IDEA's Communications Director, first asked me to become involved with this project, I thought, "Me?" Then she comes up with this "ImprovEducation" title, and I thought that maybe there could be something there for me to write about. The improvisational aspect of my teaching style comes naturally, and sometimes yields something pretty darn good.I wrote on January 19 ("Quadrant Spelling") about the way I deliver spelling words to my fourth-grade students, via a pocket chart in the form of an x,y quadrant graph. They all know about coordinates, points, rows and columns now, and participate with great enthusiasm.
We recently began adding fractions with uncommon denominators. Heady stuff. Many blank faces. Confusion. In fact, many students still do not really have a...
Read More... 0 Comments