I read in recent news about a "ghost school" in Germany that has recently been discovered. Parents taught in a relaxed classroom environment hoping to make learning fun. Children were taught and moved to secondary school with forged documents.
A minister for Bremen said although it was clear the pupils had received a solid education, she would not support the concept of parents going it alone. "This is an elite concept and we cannot indulge it."
The head of the Free School Bremen said "We're in favour of a more varied education, a more open approach to learning and letting children organise themselves more,"
I am enthused that there are people who are so passionate about their, and others children's education that they are willing to defy the law and set up a productive school, teaching the way they think their children should be taught and the way they wish they had been taught.
Although I can see why the government wouldn't approve of this type of school maybe we should be taking something from it? If the children enjoyed the learning that happened in the "Free School Bremen" and they did actually learn and have successfully moved through secondary school and ended up either at university or with good jobs, then maybe there are key tips that we as trainee teachers can take from it.
New ideas that allow for creativity in teaching and learning is all the rage, instead of condemning them we should praise them for their success in providing "fun" education and follow their lead within government approved schools.
For the whole article: Ghost School
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Ghost School
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Very interesting!
I did not know that home schooling was not allowed in Germany. Um.... is it allowed here?
It is popular in the USA and has grown in recent years in South Africa.
However, the reasons for the move to home school tend to be political, with home schoolers objecting to the way that schooling is handled by the state. In the USA it tends to be radical religious cults, while in SA it tends to be prevalent amongst those who object to black majority government.
However, there are other reasons, including isolated communities. The rapid development in information and communication technologies has made home schooling a viable approach, although it has not taken off to the extent that university distance education programmes have.
A business opportunity?
Hmmmmm...
From the limited information available in the article I didn't take it to mean home schooling as such. It sounds to me as if an illegitimate school was set up in secret and run secretly by parents and I believe this is what other school and the government were objecting to. I think home schooling can be a viable way of learning, however I think that there are aspects of school life that you can't achieve from home, such as social aspects and the variety of teaching methods and access to cutting edge teaching materials/styles and technology that can be available in schools.
Post a Comment