Back in 2008, Tash (Owner of Inspired EC) and I spoke at the Connecting Children with Nature Conference in Perth. Although one of the highlights was undoubtedly hearing the amazing Claire Warden share her passion, it was Bold Park Community School that had a profound impact on me and it’s one I find difficult to explain – so bear with me!
Perhaps I should start by saying that mainstream schools really disturb me. I do not cope with the concept that all children need to learn the same thing at the same time in the same way – education is not one size fits all! To really explain my issue with mainstream education I would need a 24 hour block of time, so let me summarise the key problems I have:
· Homework – seriously, is 6hours of structured learning not enough? Is it really necessary to spend more time at home, eating into precious family time?
· Stencils – walking into a classroom and seeing 25 pictures that all look the same makes me want to throw myself on the floor like a tantruming toddler! Surely children are capable of drawing for themselves and even if the result isn’t a perfectly formed duck – does it really matter? Isn’t the process far more important?
· The lack of wonder/curiosity – the answers just seem to be there and there is always a right answer. How nice would it be for children to hypothesise and then investigate and maybe not even find a definite answer?!
· The environment – a sterile room with tables, chairs and not much else! Where is the home-like feel that we value so strongly in early childhood? Surely school age children deserve that too. And don’t even get me started on the outdoor environment…concrete and plastic L
· A lone teacher – I think there is so much to be said for team teaching. If there is a personality clash between a child and their teacher (and let’s face it, it happens) it’s just too bad. Having two teachers means there are two different adult personalities in the room, two different perspectives and lots more creative ideas bouncing around!
Okay, I could go on but I think I’ve made my point and it is clear why I remain in Early Childhood! Getting back to the amazing Bold Park Community School… Everything I just wrote about above was not an issue at Bold Park. The classrooms were light filled, home-like environments that clearly said “you are valued.” Rather than rows of tables and chairs, the rooms were set up in interest areas/stations. There were science areas where children could find facts, share their ideas and test theories. There were art spaces filled with quality, open ended materials that just seemed to invite children to come and express themselves. It was clear that play was valued. I couldn’t find a stencil no matter how hard I looked, instead the walls featured beautifully presented documentation of the children’s learning. I walked away from that school wishing that I didn’t live on the other side of the country!
There are many other independent schools throughout Australia….just none here in Newcastle, which breaks my heart. In my constant web trawling I have found a few that take an approach more in line with early childhood education:
· Kinma – Sydney NSW
· Candlebark School – Victoria (Run by Author John Marsden)
· Fitzroy Community School – Victoria
· Collingwood College – Victoria
I look through these sites and others and daydream about sending my child to an amazing place like this. I spend my days at work wishing that we could keep our kids in that rich and inspiring environment forever.
Now don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that this type of education is what every parent wants for their child. I’m simply saying that there needs to be options! In the Newcastle area the options are mainstream public education, private education (which tends to be taught in a similar way to the public system) and the Newcastle Waldorf School and I just don’t believe it is enough – our children deserve more.
So…what to do? We need a bunch of passionate people to come together and get an independent school off the ground in Newcastle – people who are not afraid to say “I want something better for children.” If they can do it in Perth, Sydney and Victoria, surely we can do it here. Who is with me??
ME!!!!
ReplyDeleteAttempting to comment on your blog, but it wont let me. What about the Linuwel school on Morpeth rd, east Maitland? It looks like it has lots of the things you describe, and its a beautiful little school.
ReplyDelete“Our highest endeavour must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives”
Rudolf Steiner
- Amy0
What would be nice is a School that sits somewhere in the middle...A difficult place to be! We need to prepare our children for the 'real world' with its 'real problems'. As we have seen recently in the U.K. there are many social problems! The lack of a family nucleolus and the belonging to a community is somewhat to blame. Schooling should be within community's with valuable resources such as library's and sports facility's being utilised all week long in a shared spirit. We should expect our Government to be able to provide this shouldn't we? Not all of us can afford private, and whilst being a great advocate of the great Rudolf Steiner, some Steiner schools need to move on and become much more progressive...as Steiner himself said 'this is a model that fits now, but will need to change with time'. Mainstream schools do fall down in so many ways, but our children are going to enter a mainstream world eventually so if ill prepared for this, it could leave them somewhat shocked by what the world is really like!!! Children need small classes multiple teachers, mixed groups, the older people within our community coming within our schools and passing on their knowledge. Creating respect. If you could teach without having to spend half your time getting the class to listen then the amount of time teaching would increase! The French system has a 'diciplinaire' whom sole job is to sort out trouble makers, thus removing the situation from the teacher. This is more like real life, as in, if two people in the street were arguing it is the police and judiciary that eventually fix the problem not the two individuals. A real life education with real subjects preparing real kids for the very real world is where we need to be :)
ReplyDeleteOh dear, you guys have just opened my eyes to a whole new world! I'm now dreaming of sending my girls to that school! That said, no 1 ASD angel has just started prep at a private christian school and amazingly transformed into a "big girl" with the structure and routine as opposed to the free play at preschool and early intervention playgroup. She is far more independent and motivated. I do worry, as she is so creative, that she will find it challenging down the track academically. And no 2 is not so conforming (nothing like her mummy). Obviously we want them at the same school, we also want them to be challenged without quashing their little spirits. You have me wondering, if they were in the same class for example, how would they be taught in a way that was beneficial to their own unique personalities when they are both so different? And how many kids are in a class room? Sheesh :(
ReplyDeleteDanny I completely agree, for me the Steiner way is the best option (besides homeschooling and that has it's downfalls also). I do agree that some Steiner schools need to move with the times, and Rudolf Steiner was the biggest advocate of that, while not exploiting the child. A community school that met its students needs rather than the other way round would be fantabulous!!!
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