What You Read as a Child…

I never realized how many books that I read when I was a kid were forming my thoughts about education. Here are just a few of the books or authors whose characters pursued alternative or home-schooled methods of education:

~ Books by Louisa May Alcott (an advocate of learning through life, not just academics)

~ The “Pippi Longstocking” series by Astrid Lindgren

~ “Ballet Shoes” and “Dancing Shoes” by Noel Streatfield

~ The “Borrowers” series by Mary Norton

~ “The Chronicles of Chrestomanci” series by Diana Wynne Jones (still a favorite today!)

~ “Dark Lord of Derkholm” by Diana Wynne Jones

~ The entire “Redwall” series by Brian Jacques

~ “From The Mixed-Up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler“ by E.L. Konisburg

~ “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri

~ The “Littles” series by John Peterson and Roberta Carter Clark

~ Most of the early American Girl books; I didn’t like the dolls, even though my sister had one, but I did enjoy the stories!

~ “My Side of the Mountain” by Jean Craighead George

~ “The Sign of the Beaver” by Elizabeth George Speare

~ “Nim’s Island” by Wendy Orr (not the movie, which I didn’t like)

~ “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett

~ “Skellig” by David Almond

Growing up, it seemed perfectly reasonable to me that a child did most of his or her learning outside a school building. Most of the time the child’s greatest periods of growth occurred through their own discoveries, or with their family, or through a hard trial which took all their resources, ingenuity, and independent learning to solve. Academics seemed to be just one small area of a child’s education; at least, that’s what the books I read implied, and I believed it was true because that was what I found in my own life as well.

Here’s a wonderful example of how my thoughts were shaped during those formative childhood years.

My sister used to read the Magic Tree House series when she was little. Never one to turn down a good story, even if it was meant for children a few years younger than me, I would always read them too. In Osborne’s eighteenth book, “Buffalo Before Breakfast”, little Jack and Annie travel in the Magic Tree House to a tribe of Lakota native Americans on the Great Plains in the 19th century. They make a friend named Black Hawk, a young Lakota boy. Jack, always eager to interview people, decides to ask him about his life:

“What about school?” said Jack. “Don’t you have to go to school?”
“What is school?” Black Hawk said.
“It’s a place where kids go to learn things,” Jack explained.
Black Hawk laughed again.
“There is not only one place to learn,” he said. “In camp we learn to make clothes, tools, and tepees. On the plains we learn to ride and hunt. We look at the sky and learn courage from the eagle.”
Jack wrote:
Lakota school is everywhere.

Visit a School, Part 3: The French Immersion School

“Bonjour, ma chère, ca va?”

Over and over I heard this phrase as students poured into the hallways from the chilly, windy morning outside. Teachers greeted their students in French, which is normal since almost all instruction, lessons, and communication in general is done in French at the Immersion School.

The FIS (French Immersion School) is a public charter school located in downtown St. Louis. They share the building with the Spanish Immersion School, so it was not uncommon to hear Spanish being spoken throughout the day also as students and teachers of the different schools passed each other. At this point, they only offer kindergarten through third grade, but hope to add grades as their school expands.

As I walked in the doors, nothing struck me as being much different from other elementary schools: parents dropping children off, kids being told not to run in the halls, the tangle of backpacks and coats and lunch-boxes, lots of noise from cars and buses. But as I entered the classroom area, the similarity to a regular public school changed as French became the primary language spoken by adults. The children still chattered to each other in high-pitched English, since the vast majority of them come from English-speaking households, but even their familiar words began to disappear as classes started their morning routines.

A teacher led me on a tour of the classrooms, stopping briefly in each. The two second grade classrooms were playing a game or singing a song in French. The four kindergarten classrooms and four first grade classrooms had interactions such as sharing, singing, announcements, and learning about the weather, temperature, date, etc. all of which provided vital practice with basic vocabulary and phrases in French.

One of the most striking things about FIS was the amount of student artwork everywhere. Empty wall space was the exception rather than the norm throughout the hallways, walls, and rooms. Also, whether they were diagrams of the human nervous and digestive systems, portraits of famous African-Americans, favorite quotes, drawings of trees, illustrations of St. Louis landmarks, or demonstrations of food groups, the colorful pictures all had writing in French on them.  The profuse artwork in many creative mediums transformed what could have been a sterile environment into a much more friendly, welcoming place.

Besides normal classes, students also take P.E., music, and art several times a week. Every class is in French, of course, although occasionally a teacher would switch to English for a moment if a student needed further explanation of an assignment, a reprimand for misbehavior, etc. It was amazing to see that even the youngest children could understand basic French spoken to them. The five, six, and seven year old students tend to respond to their teachers in English; I heard the teachers often tell students the correct response or word in French so that the children could repeat it back to them properly. The students in higher grades were more verbal in the second language. I could almost see the wheels in their seven and eight year old minds turning as they constructed questions or statements in French.

As a side note, I should say that though I cannot speak French, I did have some experience with the language in college and have several friends who speak it, so the language is at least slightly familiar. It helps to be a very auditory learner, which means that I can quickly comprehend languages, but have an extremely difficult time speaking them. I could understand about 90% of what was being said in French during my visit to the school, unless the teacher was speaking too quickly, then my comprehension definitely dropped. Most of the children asked me if I spoke English, although the eight year olds politely addressed me in French when I was introduced.

I spent a while in the third grade classroom observing their morning circle. Students lounged comfortably on the floor, at ease with each other and the teacher. The atmosphere was much more pleasant here than in the other classrooms, and I quickly realized that it was because the space was lit with house lamps placed all around the room, rather than the harsh lights installed in the ceiling. The soft lamplight was so peaceful! What a great idea. After daily announcements and a discussion about an upcoming fundraiser, show-and-tell began. Children brought a new book, a bag of colorful plastic beads, a stuffed animal, and several other things. The teacher described and spoke about all the items, asking questions of the children in French, and sometimes asking them to respond back in French. Afterwards, they sat down at low tables (no single desks) to work on a math lesson. The teacher switched briefly to English while explaining a few concepts about shapes that would have been too confusing in French, but by and large the children all seemed to understand. The directions for their math problems were in English, I noticed. When he noticed me perusing the bookshelf, the teacher told me that the children were reading books in French and English of equal difficulty. The students at FIS begin formal study of English grammar in third grade; all their grammar and vocabulary before this grade is focused completely on French.

Later I sat in one of the kindergarten classrooms as they had story-time. The teacher spoke slowly to them in French as she described new concepts such as the illustrator, author, and title of the book, “La Petite Poule Rousse”, or “The Little Red Hen”. There were a few interruptions by students who were causing distractions to others, but these were dispelled by the teacher’s corrections or the order to remove themselves from the group until they were able to return and pay attention. Students who were reprimanded this way would go sit away from the group for a few minutes, moping and kicking their legs idly, but soon returned on their own volition to hear the rest of the story.

This method of discipline accounted for several students I had seen in the hallways standing just outside their classrooms. If a student was too disruptive or had a bad attitude, they were asked by the teacher (usually calmly, from what I saw) to leave the class until they could change their behavior/attitude. This was effective for most students. They would loiter around the doorway, not wandering too far, and by pacing, looking at the art on the walls, sometimes talking to a teacher’s assistant, and being allowed space to calm themselves down, would often feel ready to return after two to five minutes. I saw four students over the course of the morning who were screaming or crying uncontrollably, and for each of these situations a faculty member would be with the student in the hallway as they either tried to quietly soothe the child or stayed close by to make sure the child was safe until he/she was ready to communicate.

Back in the kindergarten room, the class finished hearing the story of “Le Petit Poule Rousse” read aloud. The students sat at low tables and began practicing their writing in personal notebooks by copying the date and book title from the whiteboard, then drawing a picture of the story underneath it. Some of the youngest children had difficulties writing even those few simple words, so the teacher and assistant helped them along.

I admired a large house built in a corner of the room from milk cartons and held together by tape, so the teacher told me about their themed study of houses around the world. Each of the kindergarten classrooms had chosen a different kind of house to build (the class next door had constructed an igloo), so her students had worked on creating what would be a version of a brick house from St. Louis, then all the classes had joined together for a demonstration and description of the various houses and the cultures and climates where they might be built. The final step was for each of the students to construct a small version of their favorite house with materials such as cardboard, paper, and other craft items. I looked at the progress of these small houses and enjoyed seeing the creativity and thoughtfulness that the children obviously used in building them. The teacher said that all the students had been very enthusiastic about the house theme!

Soon it was lunchtime. I ate with the kindergarten class in the cafeteria, which was already crowded and noisy with most of the other classes already eating. Many of the children brought lunches, though I did see a considerable number of children get the lunch provided by the cafeteria. My vague memory of school lunches prepared me for something nasty to arrive on their trays, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh pear, boiled carrot circles, and a chicken tortilla wrap with lettuce and a tasty-smelling sauce, with milk as a drink (there may have been dessert too, but I didn’t look quickly enough to see, since dessert usually disappears first with hungry kids). Re-usable cups were set out, with water poured by the teachers for their individual class table; cloth napkins were also handed out to each child. I was told by both students and adults that most of the food at the school was actually very good, since FIS had recently switched food providers; the children’s obvious enjoyment of the lunches confirmed their approval!

I chatted with the teacher’s assistant while we ate and also asked and answered questions with the children sitting around me. Many of the kids told me that their favorite class was either art or recess. As lunchtime ended, children were expected to dispose of their own trash and put their lunch-boxes in a large bin that would be taken back up to their classroom, since they were about to go outside for recess. Several children collected the cups, made sure that anything recyclable was put in a different box than the trash, put all the dirty cloth napkins in a to-be-washed bin, and made sure that any food scraps and forgotten trash were picked up from their table. Then they lined up by the door for a final count by the teacher before joyfully flying outside to stretch their legs and play.

After lunch I went to the art room. The teacher was preparing for one of the second grade classes to arrive soon. They had recently completed a rather difficult project that had taken a lot of time, so they were going to work on something easier that day. I heard the class tromp raucously down the hall and stop outside the art room door, still talking loudly and making quite a noise. The art teacher went to the door and poked her head out, spoke quietly to the class in French, then came back in and shut the door. I was confused as to why they weren’t coming in the classroom, and she told me she had informed them that when they were ready to be quiet so they could focus on art, then they could come in. In two minutes, she looked out the door again. I could see the children’s expectant faces turn towards her as their chatter ceased and they stood up straight, hoping to come in this time. The art teacher smiled and welcomed them in. None of the students appeared resentful; they all eagerly took their seats at the tables, many of them greeting me cheerfully in French as they passed by my chair or wondering aloud what they would be making today.

The teacher showed the students cut-out paper chains of people, fish, spiders, fleur-de-lis, hearts, and flowers, then gave a detailed demonstration on how to make them. The children were enthralled. They quickly began drawing rough drafts of their designs before cutting them out. Some students didn’t fold their paper correctly or cut in the right places, so their shapes fell apart; this caused a few tears, but they usually disappeared as the teacher helped them figure out how to do it the right way. Students also asked each other for help. Talking wasn’t forbidden, as long as the children spoke in low voices and didn’t shout. They moved between tables, frustrated students seeking assistance from those who were more adept at the craft.  This was a noticeable advantage to the group desks, rather than having students isolated as individuals in their own space, although any student who wanted to work alone was certainly able to do so.

The next class that entered the art room was one of the first grades. They were continuing to work on masks that they had made and painted on a previous day. The children loved selecting brightly colored feathers, yarn, and sequins to decorate their masks after receiving suggestions and being shown a few examples of what they could do with the materials. They laughed at the art teacher’s jokes in French as she talked to them about their projects.

Sadly, I had to leave in the middle of this class to get back home in time for my own job. I said goodbye to the children, to which they responded with a chorus of, “Au revoir, Madame Alyssa”!

There were many good things I saw at the French Immersion School:

~ Kind, compassionate teachers who sincerely cared for their students’ well-being, not just their academic progress. This was demonstrated in the many small interactions I saw take place throughout the day.

~ Lack of absolute strictness. Students were given much more freedom than I have seen in other public schools. In the second and third grades at FIS, students can leave on their own to go to the bathroom or get a drink by writing their names on a whiteboard by the door and taking a small wooden “permission key” with them; there is no fuss made over the children taking care of their needs. Plenty of adults are around the hallways, since the school is still relatively small, but the children are not constantly chided or harassed for not being in their classrooms at all times. Even within the classrooms, children are not scolded for letting their attention temporarily wander, as children’s attention tends to do. Students who wished to sit at the edge of the group and daydream occasionally did so. Disruption or distracting one’s neighbor was not allowed, but I saw several children in different classes quietly lost in their own world, without a teacher rudely jolting their focus back to the lesson. Maybe this seems like a silly thing to some people, but as a daydreamer myself, I appreciated it.

~ Children are encouraged to help the teacher, their class, and one another. It was very obvious that the children loved assisting in any way they could. This is true of most children everywhere, and it always amazes me when adults do not allow a child to be of service to someone simply because it might not be as quiet or quick as the adult would like. I silently applauded the teachers at FIS for their recognition of the children’s desire to help out.

The things I wish could be different aren’t really a reflection on the French Immersion School in particular, but rather on families and the public education system in general. These observations have been on my mind before, but were brought to my notice again by my visit to the school:

~ Children need, first and foremost, to feel loved. When children do not have families who care for their needs, then no matter how kind a teacher is or how inviting the school environment may be, these children will not be able to focus on their education because their basic need for love is not being met. Children who come from abusive homes, or who may not know if they will be able to get food anywhere except school, or who don’t sleep more than a few hours each night because of neglectful parents, will not be concerned with learning to read or write. Thankfully, I saw teachers at FIS dealing compassionately with children who come from these backgrounds, but there is only so much that a teacher can do. The teachers, even those who sincerely want to help these poor children, have limited time, resources, and power to positively change a suffering life, which is why social services may need to intervene. This is a whole different complex subject, though, so I’ll leave it here.

~ Children need more recess periods outdoors. This is my biggest complaint with any formal education system, public or private. Much of the time spent in teaching young children anything is consumed by trying to give directions they can comprehend, making sure that everyone heard and understood what was said, trying to help children follow through the directions, and correct the mistakes of those who weren’t really listening all along. Why? Because little children aren’t made to sit still for hours at a time! Even if a teacher realizes that her students need more physically active occupations because they can’t seem to sit still, the teacher is limited by the academic standards that schools are forced to meet. Standardized testing is the looming ogre behind every semester, compelling teachers to push forward with curriculum which follows mandated educational guidelines. This means that the students must spend the majority of their school hours sitting still in a classroom, when at that age (kindergarten through third grade, and even beyond that) they would like nothing better than to run around outside, free to explore, play, expend energy, and grow! I’ve seen firsthand that children who have had plenty of outdoor time to themselves are much more able to focus on school subjects. If schools would give extra recesses to their classes, then everyone would benefit.

In conclusion, I was happy to explore the French Immersion School, thanks to one of my friends who works there and was able to get me permission to visit! The students there are experiencing a unique education with teachers who are working hard to provide the children with an outward-focused, thoughtful vision of their world.

My Only Experience in a Public High School, and a Call to Action

The majority of people in the United States attend some sort of school from about age six to about age eighteen. But some people don’t. Ever wonder what it might have been like to NOT go through that experience? To walk around a school campus with alien eyes? To never understand what elementary school, middle school, or high school was like?  This person’s perspective encouraged me to write my own post on that idea, since up to this point I’ve been a bit hesitant to share the details of my own personal involvement with public schools.

There was only one semester of my whole life where I attended a formal school. When I was eight, my mother enrolled me in the local public school (at my request). But it wasn’t a very good experience; the math was too difficult, everything else was too easy, some of the children were picking on me, and the teacher kept sending me to the library because I was bored. I begged my mom to take me out by the time Christmas came. After that there was absolutely no desire to go to school again, so my sister and I were home-schooled until about age sixteen, when we began to attend college classes. College was great, but I was still glad to graduate after four years in an institutionalized setting so I could get on with my plans in life.

I only set foot in a high school building maybe three or four times. The most memorable was when, at sixteen, I traveled to Texas to be a part of a large musical event held over a weekend. I was staying with a family whose daughter, Catie, was also part of the music performance. It was arranged that I would perform on classical guitar for Catie’s public high school music class on Friday. So I went off with Catie to her classes early in the morning. After only a few hours I was terribly bored with subjects that, when I looked at the other students, nobody else seemed to care about either. The sheer number of teenagers packed in every classroom was overwhelming; it wasn’t surprising that Catie interacted with only a small group of close friends out of the hundreds who attended the school. I ate an early lunch with her, but then decided to not stay for the next class, preferring to explore the neighborhood rather than doze off during biology like the other students.

Walking through the streets was much more enjoyable than sitting cooped up on a lovely Texas morning in springtime! I found a fascinating local bookstore, met a lady with her two little children, and examined the architecture and gardens of the houses in the neighborhood. When it was almost time for me to perform for the music class, I began to walk back towards the campus.

Suddenly two policemen appeared out of nowhere. They immediately came over and started asking me questions. It was clear that they thought I was a truant student. I explained that I was a visiting musician, about to play for a class, but they didn’t believe me… one even rolled his eyes! I was shocked at their disrespect. Finally I pulled my guitar out and played for them to prove that I was actually a musician. They believed me more after that, but still insisted on searching my guitar case, purse, and bag to make sure I didn’t have anything suspicious. Then they escorted me back into the school just to “make sure” I went to the right place.

The music class performance was fine. After that, I stayed with Catie for her final class, art, which wasn’t too bad since everyone was working on clay sculptures. The rest of that weekend was lovely with the music events. All in all, it was a great trip.

I never forgot that experience, though. At sixteen, I had been volunteering in a community library, attending guitar classes at a university, and beginning to teach music to children. I was used to being treated politely and being trusted, even though I was a teenager, so the policemen’s rudeness was disturbing. There was so little freedom given to those high-school students, freedom that I had taken for granted because I was home-schooled: the privilege of choosing my own activities, the liberty to decide when I wanted to do schoolwork, the freedom to eat, rest, and go to the bathroom when I pleased. The dullness of the classes at the public high school made me understand why some teenagers hated learning.  Add to that the the pages of tiresome homework, the heavy textbooks that weighed down backpacks, the bullying, the cliques, the terrible food in the cafeteria, the lifeless buildings, the occasional teacher who seemed to dislike everybody… everything made me so very grateful that I did not have to be part of that environment.

These are strong words to say, I know. I’m certainly not the only home-schooler who has thought that public high schools are strange. If you are one of those people who had a wonderful time in high school, then please don’t think that I’m trying to negate your good experience. Many people have fond memories of a kind teacher or a great class. But there have also been many stories from friends of all ages who recount times that made them loathe high school (at least part of it). Why does this have to be? The years between thirteen and eighteen are so full of potential and energy. Nobody at that age wants to be cooped up at a desk for hours every day! Yes, it’s important to have training, to gain knowledge, so that future jobs or careers will be possible. But there are so many other, better ways to utilize those important years of teenage eagerness that would result in a happier, more productive, more informed stage of young adults.

Many teenagers don’t even know that there is ANY kind of alternative to four years of public high school education. There are radical steps that high schoolers can take themselves, like leaving formal school to pursue education on their own standards, or joining a private school or independent study with the help of their family, but not everyone would be able to take that kind of action. In the end, I believe that every person, including teenagers, should have the ability to strive for the kind of learning experience they desire, with the final goal of following their dreams for a future vocation and discovering their purpose in life.

My hope is that anyone who has the opportunity to affect students in a way that can make their education a positive era of development will do so. Are you a teacher or a parent? Please consider your child, student, or teenager’s needs and wishes before simply assuming that the path of education they are currently undergoing is the right one for them.

If you’re a high school student who wants to know more about a different, very revolutionary path of education, I recommend this: The Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Llewellyn  Warning: this book is quite radical, not for anyone who would be offended by an author who has a strong conviction in favor of teenage freedom in learning!

If you’re a parent or a teacher who is considering what the best form of education might be for your child/students, and would like a deeper look at some topics such as education, learning environment, and the way children grow in their understanding, I highly recommend these two books by John Holt: How Children Learn and How Children Fail.  They have been an integral part of my growth as a teacher, and I plan on reading them at least once a year as my own child begins his or her journey of learning.

An Academic World With… E-Readers?

A friend recently pointed me to an article called “A World Without Schoolteachers”, which naturally piqued my interest. After reading it, I found that I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, the article promotes individualized learning, the benefits of reading  as an important educational method, and home-schooling, which I certainly support. However, there are some omissions which seemed important to address.

I disagree with the author when he says that electronic readers will be the key to revolutionizing a new age of personalized learning. If generations of home-schoolers grew up without e-readers, or the internet, what did they use? The library. Book catalogues. Local bookstores. Sharing books between families through the home-school network. These resources may not be available for everyone, I realize; yet it bothers me that new technology is being touted as the savior of individual education. The Nook/Kindle may be helpful for rural families or busy moms, but the challenge still lies in the parent(s) picking out the books for the students to read while researching every book’s underlying bias, if they indeed wish to steer their children away from faulty “indoctrination”, as the author says.

There is another point the article does not address, which is the necessary steps before and after the process of reading a book and composing an essay about it. This involves many things: the student knowing how to read with comprehension, the student understanding the rules of grammar and writing, the student knowing at least the rudiments of critical thinking/logic, etc. The author is only seeing the tip of the iceberg in the journey towards a student becoming self-led to the point where he or she can simply pick up a book and learn from it.

Also, I don’t believe that “tutoring” equals “home-schooling”, as the author seems to suggest. Tutoring can occur for a student learning at home or a regular school, and I would encourage the employment of tutors in either setting for many different reasons. Tutoring implies a person actively working with the student, perhaps not lecturing in the the traditional classroom sense, but nevertheless involved in deep exploration of the book’s text and ideas. I would agree that this is an important step in the method of “read a book and write about it”. What benefit can come from a student following only their own thoughts? The intent of learning is to broaden one’s understanding, which is done not only by reading, but also by talking, questioning, and listening to others who have different views, hopefully views which may provide wisdom and enlightenment. This is where a tutor comes in handy. A classroom setting is not a bad place for this, but so often that kind of scenario does not bring much actual insight, because young students may not care to speak in front of each other, or a teacher may fall back onto the formal lecturing style that naturally excludes interactive discussion, etc. A small group of two or three students, or a student one-on-one with a teacher, will make far greater progress in their educational discovery, which I’ve experienced as both a student and a teacher myself.

If I agree wholeheartedly with anything the article says, it is the final paragraph. It offers a hopeful glimpse of what the future may hold for families who give their children the opportunity to follow their own path of education, not one laid out for them by an impersonal school system where one size fits all.

“…The current model of classroom-based public education is simply a dead woman walking.  Teachers are going to have to reinvent themselves because children aren’t going to be lectured to anymore day after dreary day.  They won’t allow it.  Parents won’t allow it.  For the one single reason that they don’t have to anymore.  Instead, more and more children are going to be reading and writing and talking about the world of knowledge they’re exploring.  Intelligently.  Becoming ever more educated while spending a much greater portion of their day doing what kids are wont to do.  Running and shouting in the autumn sunshine, assembling a model of the Empire State Building in the basement, collecting rocks or dolls or pets.  Being, one might say, kids.”

The Ultimate Test of Educational Theories: Your Own Child

Many of you are probably wondering where the promised final post about Grassroots Freeschool went. I fully intended to write a lovely summary of some valuable lessons I learned about children and education while there, as well as include some incredible testimonies of current and former students. However, life throws surprises… while at the airport on the way home from Florida, I suddenly began crying over the book “Little Men” by Louisa May Alcott, which has NEVER happened before (I’ve been reading it for over a decade). This was mystifying and made me think that something might be wrong with me.

A few days later I had a positive pregnancy test. My thought that something was up with my hormones proved correct; a sudden increase in food consumption and tiredness also added to the suspicion that I was expecting. My husband and I are excited to welcome an addition to our family next June : ) In the meantime, I was thankful that the Florida trip hadn’t been planned for even a few days earlier, because the weeks since then have been absolutely exhausting.

A baby adds a new dimension to life. Infants and children spend almost all their waking hours engaged in learning, experimenting, exploring, and playing. Their changing environment expands the realm they inhabit, from home to friends to community, and finally into the wide world. The people they encounter add to their knowledge of human nature, morality, and the rhythms of life. Chris and I have already decided that we want to homeschool our children, at least for the first few years of their education, which will be a HUGE adventure for all of us. If the children eventually want to attend school, we’ll look into that option; we both feel that it’s important to take a child’s wishes into account for the direction they want in their life.

So lately I’ve been researching a different form of education: how to care for a new human being, in all capacities. The thought of having my own child to care for and educate is nothing less than thrilling. Now, I’m absolutely certain that there will be days when I throw up my hands in despair because I won’t know how to get him/her to stop crying or stop making messes or take a bath. Mistakes will be made, my patience and wisdom will be pushed to the utmost, I’m sure. Yet along with this understanding of my inevitable failures, I’m also confident that no matter what, I’ll learn to love and raise my child as the unique person they are.

And that’s a large part of what I think is so missing from education these days: the willingness to admit that children are unique people, gifted in unique ways, who desire and need to have the freedom to learn how to use their individual strengths and abilities. If my child wants to pursue a different vocation than the one I chose, then it is up to me and Chris to ensure that our child has the teachers, instruction, tools, and opportunities to further their pursuits (as much as we can financially). When I was a teenager, I shuddered at the thought of ever having to attend a public high school (which I never did), but what if my child felt that enrolling in a high school would give them opportunities for the sports that they wanted to play? Or what if they wanted to attend a local private school to have access to the advanced science programs? I want my children to feel that as a family we are united in finding the best educational resources in order to develop our talents.

As Chris and I prepare for the arrival of the baby in six months, we are asking each other important questions about how we want him/her to be raised. What do we want our child to see us doing as they grow up? How will our characters reflect good virtues (and flaws) to the child, who will be always watching his/her parents as the first examples of what it means to be a person? What do we want our children to look back on as good memories? Will they remember home-cooked meals together, camping trips, books read aloud, nature walks, exciting family learning experiences? Will they see their parents showing compassion to others? Will they feel that they had the education they’d hoped for when they were young? Will they feel that Chris and I adequately prepared them in every way possible to set out on their own lives at some point?

In some ways, the education a child receives from their parents is the most important in their development. Academic education may or may not come from the parent; mental, psychological, spiritual, physical, and emotional instruction from the parents can bring the best, most impacting growth for a child… or the worst, if those areas are neglected or mistreated. Other mentors, family members, and teachers can have a huge effect in the child’s life as well, but it is the parents’ responsibility and joy to provide the primary education in these ways for their children.

I had hoped to visit two more schools by this point in autumn, but it just didn’t happen. I did recently attend an open house of a local school, which I’m hoping to write about soon, and that’s as much as I did involving my studies in education this semester. However, I am still hoping to visit the two schools I’d originally planned on, just so I can have some kind of wrap-up for this research. That will have to happen in late January or early February. So please stay tuned for those posts!

My more personal stories, thoughts, and progression in this new journey of motherhood are being documented in Facebook posts, since I’m not comfortable putting those details out in public. You can find me writing there when I have the time and energy : )

Grassroots: Day Five

Here is a list of book titles that were suggested to me while I was here. I skimmed the first few pages or chapters to see if they piqued my interest, so here they are!

- Children: The Challenge, by Rudolf Dreikurs, M.D. “We do not suggest that parents be either permissive nor punitive. What parents have to learn is how to become a match for their children, wise to their ways and capable of guiding them without letting them run wild or stifling them.”

- Summerhill: For and Against, by a compilation of authors. “Outstanding writers in education, sociology, and psychology evaluate the concepts of A.S. Neill.”

- Legacy of Trust: Life After the Sudbury Valley School Experience, by Daniel Greenberg and Mimsy Sadofsky. “This book is about adults who participated, while students, in a remarkable [freeschool] experiment in education. Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 as a place where each student could be fully trusted to make every decision about how to grow from a child to an adult, seeking such advice as he or she wished. In this book we try to determine what the legacy of such trust might be.”

- Night, by Elie Wiesel, and other books by him. “This is a true story of a boy and his father. It is a unique document- unique in the special perception of the boy of the moral effects that suffering can have on its victims.” [An autobiography of Wiesel's terrible time in Auschwitz. I heard him speak at Florida State University while I was here, as I described in an earlier post.]

- Tolstoy on Education, translated from Russian by Leo Wiener. “Tolstoy, disgruntled with contemporary educational practice and dismayed by the bankruptcy of the theory that underlay it, founded in 1861 an experimental school for peasant children on his estate…”

Today I was invited to visit the School of Arts and Sciences, a charter public school in Tallahassee. One of the administrators is a neighbor of the Seerys, and when she heard about my interest in alternative education, she kindly set up a time for me to come visit this school. I moved back and forth between two classrooms full of five, six, and seven year olds; there were twenty-five children in each class, with two teachers per classroom.

The School of Arts and Sciences was founded by a core group of parents and educators in the early ’90s. Their mission statement is: “to facilitate individual educational ownership and responsible lifelong learning through interdisciplinary approaches to arts and sciences in a safe and nurturing environment.” The school accommodates about 275 students, kindergarten through 8th grade, chosen by lottery in the Florida education system. Grades are combined so that students can have a multi-age experience, with slightly younger children learning from slightly older children, while the older students learn how to help younger students, etc. Kindergarten is paired with 1st grade, 2nd and 3rd grade are combined, 4th and 5th, and the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes are combined in a different way (I wasn’t very clear about this process).

Here is what class 1, combined kindergarten and 1st grade, did in the morning.

9:00-9:30 Children arrive at school and immediately begin “Morning Work”, which is journal writing. They were directed to write a letter and draw a picture in a notebook to a family member. Most children knew enough words to write a basic sentence or two; sometimes children asked for help spelling words they didn’t know, but I was told that kindergarteners were not corrected on spelling unless they asked for help, instead being encouraged to spell words how they thought they sounded. All the children seemed eager to write. After they were done, the students were allowed to pick a book off the shelves and read it or look at the pictures. Surprisingly, many children knew how to read. Teachers told me that reading was so highly encouraged, in a gentle way, that with the help of the other children most students were reading basic vocabulary by the end of kindergarten.

Class 2, also combined kindergarten and first grade.

9:00-9:30 These children also had “Journal Writing”. This classroom was a little more free-choice and less scheduled than the other class. They chose what theme they wanted to write about on their own. Some wrote about stories, others wrote about their friends, or monsters, or their favorite food, and drew pictures to accompany their sentences. The older children were allowed to type out their writing on the computers, using two fingers to slowly transcribe their written work onto the screen. They clearly enjoyed this a lot. A teacher said that they were allowed to choose what they (the student) considered to be “really good writing” and self-publish it as a little book, which they could put in a portfolio and read aloud to the class.

One boy showed me his self-published book he was finishing. It was only a page long, more like a booklet, but he had put in a lot of work with the teachers to edit spelling and punctuation (learning the rules of grammar along the way). It was six sentences about John Wilkes Booth who shot Abraham Lincoln. He was very proud of it.

Class 1, 9:30-10:15 “Science Fun with Amy” came next. The teacher in this class seemed more scheduled and focused on following the rules, which her students understood. There was definitely a lot of organization. The children were attentive as they went through the familiar patterns of the morning. They had a science lesson about the five senses and identifying living and non-living things; half the kids already knew the information, it appeared, while the other half were still learning it, so there was some fidgeting as children began losing interest.

Soon they got to decorate “binoculars” made out of two toilet paper cardboard rolls stapled together, with a string to hang them around their necks. After about six minutes to color them with markers, they lined up to go outside and observe nature. Getting ready to stand in line (they sat on mats beforehand), getting into line, preparing to leave, exiting the building, and walking to a destination definitely took quite a while. It makes sense, since there were so many of the children and so few teachers, but it was tough to see the kids struggle to keep quiet, stay still, and keep their eyes on the teacher for instructions at all times. By the time they got outside all the children really wanted to do was run and shout, but they were told to walk and whisper… one of the hardest things about being a young child in a formal school setting.

Once they had walked to their designated spot by one of the butterfly gardens outside, things settled down. The teacher led them in a discussion of what living and non-living things they could see. All the kids got it. They laughed as they asked silly questions like, “Is this rock living? Is this number four on the wall living? Am I living?” They had fun looking around through their cardboard binoculars. Everyone was happy to be outside on such a beautiful day. It was hard again to get everyone to line back up and go inside.

Class 2, 9:45-10:15  This class had their “Morning Meeting”, something that happens every day in each classroom. A chosen student and the teacher led the class in studying the date, the months, some counting exercises (skip counting by 2′s, 5′s, and 10′s), a few mental math problems, and some basic money problems dealing with change. The kids really liked thinking these problems out in their heads and coming up with the right answers.

One interesting thing I noticed was that when a child was excited, they waved their hands back and forth as if they were clapping without actually touching their hands together, so it was silent. I was confused by this at first until a teacher explained that children were taught to use that motion to express excitement quietly without being a disturbance. That made me a little sad.

Each member of the class had a job. Their names were under their specific chore on a job chart. There were occupations such as line leader, door holder, messenger, compost taker, clean police, table washer, chair stacker, lunch helper, duster, etc. Whenever it was a child’s turn to perform their duty, they were so thrilled. You could really tell by the proud look on their faces, the careful execution of the task, and the eagerness to do a good job that the children really loved having their own “special” chore. It reminded me that children do like being useful, because it makes them feel that they are contributing to the well-being of their community group.

This class, as the more choice-based, less strictly scheduled room, ended their morning meeting early. The teacher praised everyone for such good behavior all morning (little over an hour) and said that as a reward they could go outside for extra recess. Everybody was overjoyed. I was thankful that the teacher allowed them to go outside and run around, since that was clearly what the kids had at the forefront of their minds!

Class 1, 10:20-10:30 The children were supposed to have their morning meeting, but didn’t have very much time, as science class had run a little long, so all they did was read a book that one of the boys had brought yesterday. The teacher was sure to keep her promise to the boy that it would be read no matter what. The children quietly showed their approval of her following up on her word.

After that, the class had a brief time to play outside for recess, but all too soon had to come back in for “Movement Class”, which lasted until noon. I didn’t see too much of this, but it seemed to involve a lot of rhythmic chanting and hand/body motions. The children liked it because it allowed them to expend energy and have fun developing coordination.

Class 2, 10:30-11:10  It was this class’s turn for “Science Fun with Amy”! They sang a song about the five senses to the tune of Bingo, which was enthusiastically received by everyone. The students discussed living and non-living things, colored cardboard binoculars, and went on a nature excursion outside. One of the girls found part of a wasp nest with only a few eggs in it; we brought it back inside, and the students liked hearing Amy talk about wasps, bugs, and insect nests.

Class 2, 11:15-12:00  Next the class marched off to music time, which happens once a week. Their teacher was a bright, bubbly lady, Annie, who clearly loved music! She had a guitar there and asked me to play a few songs. Some of the children really seemed interested in music and instruments. Then two children played songs on the piano that they would be performing soon. The class sang a song accompanied by movements that they liked a lot. After that, Annie put on a music video called “Ani-Music”, which described itself as “computer animation with digitally created music”. About a third of the kids were fascinated by it (as I was!), but they kept getting distracted by other children, who were arguing with each other and fidgeting. Annie’s enthusiasm for music was bright, but there is only so much that can be done with twenty-five children who are hungry and have too much energy! I wished again that the children had been able to eat or play outside before coming. It was good to meet Annie, though, and I would have liked to have more time to see her with other classes too!

Classes 1 and 2, 12:00-12:30  Both rooms had half an hour to eat lunch. Usually they have a little bit longer, but Fridays have a slightly different schedule. All students ate lunch in the classrooms. For some bizarre reason, they dimmed the lights in the classroom during lunchtime. The more structured class was simply told to eat quickly so that they would have time to clean up before going to the next event. The more free-choice class had a video playing of books being read aloud, Reading Rainbow style, so that the children could enjoy watching something while they ate. Both classes had time for clean-up at the end.

While eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I’d packed, I talked with some of the teachers. They use a method called “Conscious Discipline” by Becky Bailey for conflict resolution in the classroom. This entails a lot of discussion between the offended parties, mediation, and problem-solving. Emphasis on building good character, or developing “life skills” as they call it, is an important part of the school’s philosophy. Children are taught to think, “Is this helpful or hurtful?” when interacting with others. Traits such as compassion, patience, love, kindness, gentleness, self-control, diligence, etc. are taught, encouraged, and praised by the teachers for all ages. I did see examples of this happening while I was there.

The school also has the “Peacemaker Awards”. One or two students are chosen every week out of the entire student body to win a special certificate by exemplifying what it means to have good character and/or be a peacemaker in their classroom. Two little girls from the classes I was visiting won the awards this week! They were shyly thrilled.

Finally, at 12:30, all the students from the school gathered in the auditorium for something called “Friday Sing”. This was a time for people to get up in front of their peers and perform! Everybody loved it. The Recycling committee presented a little skit about the proper materials to recycle. Two girls danced to a song. Two little boys read a Dr. Seuss book out loud as “poetry”. A teacher sang a tune from a musical. A tiny six year old played two songs on the piano. The Peacemaker Awards were distributed, with nice things read out loud about the two students who won them (much to their embarrassment).

During this time, I had a chance to observe other grades. I didn’t see a single unhappy face in the group. All the students appeared cheerful and glad to be there. Yes, many of the young children were almost bursting out of their seats with pent-up energy, as to be expected, but even they had smiles most of the time. There are many great things about the school, like the teachers having the freedom to choose their own curriculum, use of portfolios instead of grades, and the ability of students to have more liberty to focus on areas of interest in the fine arts. It was good to see a school trying so hard to provide a positive environment for so many children.

There were certainly things I disagreed with, as there will be with any system. I do not like standardized testing, which is mandatory for all state-funded schools. I still wish that the children had much more free time and time to be outside playing, as I think children should be able to do at that age. But as a whole, I was much more impressed with the School of Arts and Sciences than I have been with any other public school. It was a great experience for me to attend!

Lyn drove me back to Grassroots after the Friday Sing, since she was done with her administrative work for the day. She dropped me off at the freeschool. The rest of my afternoon was spent in a surreal sort of mindset. Having just come from a structured, more formal school setting to the do-as-you-please, freedom based environment of Grassroots, I wasn’t sure whether I felt more relaxed or more like I’d had a bucket of cold water thrown at me. The differences between the two schools are monumental. It is quite shocking to go from one place to the other immediately. I don’t mean to imply that it was unpleasant at all, but it was just very strange.

This just isn't what you'd see in a typical school.

Most of the children at Grassroots were playing in the sandbox again. The weather was sunny, with a balmy wind and temperature of about 85 degrees. People were beginning to wind down as the afternoon progressed; several students lay sleepily on the porch of the main building, watching the autumn leaves blowing off the trees. I joined them for a while as the events of the week swirled in my thoughts.

Pat gave me a lesson on the djembe when I asked for it. My hands are not as coordinated as I’d like them to be.

Jasper was much better at the "slap-bass-tone-tone" pattern than me.

There are so many amazing things about Grassroots. I don’t think I need to elaborate the tenets of their school again, since I’ve been voicing them for the past week. I am definitely on the side of the child having freedom in their education. How much freedom? I believe that it depends on the individual child to determine with their parents. I heard stories this week of students who were at Grassroots for a short time before deciding that it wasn’t the right school for them, because they wanted more structure, so they went to a different school with typical classroom schedules and found that it was the right path for them. And that’s perfectly fine. Every individual deserves the right to discover the best way of learning for themselves, and the freedom to pursue what they desire to learn, in whatever manner is appropriate, healthy, and productive for them.

I was sad to leave. The students kept giving me hugs as they went around during clean-up. They stroked my braid and asked when I would be coming back. I promised to write the school postcards to be read during Powwow. Grassroots is truly a magical place in many ways.

Tandy spent the afternoon teaching me how to make enchiladas with homemade chili sauce. I’m totally hooked; the recipe is written down in minute detail so that I can make them on my own! Pat and I spent some time playing chromatic octaves on the guitar, and doing finger exercises. Both Pat and Tandy let me ramble on and on about teaching guitar, music, parents, students, and what I do. They are two of my heroes.

Tandy went to bed after a long evening of chatting. Pat is raiding the pantry again for a late night snack (as usual). I’m eating more enchiladas and wishing for a little more time. But home calls me back again.

Grassroots: Day 4

My morning started out with several girls from Grassroots hanging out together on the porch. They decided to eat their dessert for breakfast. And they were quite proud of “saving some for later” on their faces.

This is what happens when pudding is eaten without spoons.

I had told all the children yesterday in an announcement at Powwow that I would be asking each of them for an interview. I started out right away with these girls, asking them the questions I had written down:

- What is your name and age?

- How long have you been at Grassroots?

- Have you been to any other schools?

- Would you rather be at Grassroots or a different school?

- What do you want to be when you get older, or what career would you like?

Then I used my video camera to record their responses to these questions:

- What is your favorite thing about Grassroots, or what do you like about going to school here?

- Is there anything you would change about Grassroots if you could? Do you have a least favorite thing about Grassroots?

It took quite a long time to interview twenty students! Some of the youngest weren’t interested in being interviewed, and a few students weren’t at school today. The average attendance is about twenty-three on any given day this semester, I believe. I won’t be posting any of the interview videos here. The reason I wanted to video tape them is so that later I could write down verbatim the responses I received, rather than taking up the children’s time as I tried to accurately write down their answers in their own words. The post of the children’s responses will come when I get back to my hometown and have more time to transcribe the videos! Check back soon for that : )

The chosen activity of the morning for most students was playing in the sandbox. A few students hung out around the swing-set or on the computers, but most of them worked together to create an elaborate canal system, medieval castle, and village. They kept trying to keep the rivers filled with water from the outside spigot but the sand soaked it up fairly quickly; the young ones tirelessly ran back and forth with buckets to keep the canals supplied.

There is a garden, "poor villager" huts, and a sheep pen here.

This is the main castle with its lake and the king's boat.

One of the six year old boys found a tiny shell that he gave to me as a gift. So sweet!

Around eleven o’clock, teacher Luis announced a cooking class. A handful of students were interested, so they gathered on the porch. Luis spoke about the history and geography of the ingredients and the dishes they would be making: brown rice with vegetables, and fruit salad. The children did much of the preparing, washing, cutting, measuring, stirring, and cooking themselves, under Luis’s directions. He lit the open flame camp stove to cook the rice outside. Only the older students were allowed to use the stove and knives. It was a long, detailed process, but everyone was eager to eat the food when it was done!

Beginning the cooking class.

Stirring the rice. I didn't get any pictures of it being eaten because it was so good that everyone devoured it right away!

Here's the fruit salad. It was quite tasty.

I spent more time wandering around, just observing the students. A group of boys have been on a Mario spree this week in the computer room. Several of them know how to create levels through the online game they play, so they enjoy playing them and challenging each others’ scores.

Even those who are too young to create Mario levels still enjoy watching the older boys.

Four year old Jasper and I looked at a book of scary stories in the library (his idea, not mine). We made up our own stories by looking at the frightening pictures. He has a great imagination!

Jasper voted this picture of a witch as the scariest.

A few older girls and some young boys did math with Kerrie for a while. One of the twelve year old girls was working on double-digit multiplication. I asked her if she’d ever done that before. “No,” she said cheerfully, “never two large numbers multiplied together. But I wanted to do it, so it’s pretty easy to understand.”

Ten year old Blake is famous at Grassroots for telling great stories that she makes up. I asked if she’d like to put one on a video, and she excitedly agreed. She even gave permission for me to share it, so here it is!

Several students spent time making birthday cards for everyone to sign. One of the students, Sam, turned twelve today, and the entire school was celebrating! Some students brought small presents or gag gifts for him. We all sung happy birthday twice, once when we had cupcakes, and one more time before clean-up (Sam didn’t have to help clean-up today).

The children really enjoyed making surprises for Sam.

He and his mom made cupcakes to bring to school as a birthday treat!

I read sections of two books during some down time during the early afternoon as I ate lunch. I’ll be posting a list of books that I checked out while I was here sometime soon! I didn’t have a chance to finish any of them, but I hope to find the titles in our local library back home.

One girl spent a long time drawing variations of a cartoon fox, She used different colors for each picture. Eventually she stapled the pages together into a book of foxes. She taught herself how to draw by looking at pictures and books.

She used pencil and crayons.

The “Hard Bite Cafe” had another rehearsal for their Halloween play. This time, the students acted out their parts for the first time. A few of them read off the scripts, but some actors couldn’t read quickly or well yet, so Kerrie, who was directing and choreographing as she went along, had them echo her saying their lines. It worked surprisingly well. Two six year olds who were not in the play watched the entire rehearsal. They laughed uproariously at the goofy puns such as “boo-berry pie” and “spook-tacular party”.

Kerrie directing a scene between the ghost family and the human family. The human mother has fainted from fright.

Practicing the ever-important bow at the end.

Everyone felt lazy this afternoon. The sandbox was constantly occupied, but many kids lolled around the building and porch. I brought my guitar to the school upon request and played for them. Teachers and students liked it.

Clean-up today took a bit longer due to the general dragging of feet. All the children were eager to go home and rest. But everyone diligently accomplished their chores before heading out.

I finally got a picture of a bell-ringer! She said running hurt her bare feet on the rocks, so she walked and I had time to grab my camera.

Two students finishing their chore: cleaning the art room. Partners for clean-up usually have several years age difference, which benefits helping each other out.

One thing that I really love about Grassroots is the abundance of beauty and art everywhere. I already posted pictures of the guitars and drums hanging from the walls. I also saw a keyboard, a xylophone, an accordion, a project area, the art room, and tons of art supplies easily accessible to the students. It’s so important for these things to be available for children to create. Just as important is the need for things to be beautiful around children, so that they can grow to love color, art, symmetry, and creation. As a final word for today, here are some of the artworks around Grassroots.