Alternative education systems

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Many parents come to the conclusion that a modern general education school is not exactly what their child needs. That the current education system is not always able to grow a Personality. But the question remains open: what are the options? And there are several options, from the mildest to the most cardinal.

1. The transition of the child to external studies.

2. The child's transfer to another type of school (lyceum, college, alternative schools).

3. The transition of the child to home schooling without the need to pass exams and receive a certificate, or, simply, life with parents.

Externship- this is the procedure for passing exams for courses of a complete secondary general education school for persons who did not study in them (external students). That is, the child comes to school only to pass exams. How he worked and with whom - no one should care. Minus: exams will still have to be passed according to the same school curriculum.

Alternative school and alternative educational methods

Unfortunately, in the post-Soviet space, even the very concept of "alternative school" seems blasphemous to our certified teachers, and the examples of such schools can be counted on one hand …

Despite the many positive aspects of alternative schools, one cannot fail to notice that the basic principles of their educational system are very poorly combined with the normative field of mass education. Therefore, as long as the current System exists, alternative schools are unlikely to be able to survive in the form of an institution, but only in the form of a non-profit partnership uniting individual entrepreneurs engaged in self-employed pedagogical activity (Article 48 of the Education Law). This activity is not licensed and is not subject to numerous legal acts regulating the work of educational institutions. Which, in principle, cannot scare parents too much, since even now no alternative school issues state education documents …

Almost everyone understands that studying at school does not guarantee comprehensive education, that a diploma (of higher education) does not guarantee a high position and a large salary, that it is much more important to teach a child to find information when it is needed, and not to keep it in his head in large volumes. And many are ready for the sake of their child not being subjected to creative castration, and besides, they also learn to be independent, to send him to an alternative school. But in order to make the right choice, you should familiarize yourself with the options for such schools.

Here are some of the most famous ones:

Montessori school systemwhile being a licensed school system that treats students as “independent learners,” it is nevertheless essentially a kindergarten system as it only covers children up to six years of age. Therefore, we can talk about the principles used in Montessori pedagogy, but not about really operating schools …

Waldorf education system- also a school of the "American" type. It is the largest and fastest growing non-religious movement in the world with 800 schools in more than 30 countries. It should be noted that as such textbooks do not exist in Waldorf schools: all children have a workbook, which becomes their workbook. Thus, they write their own textbooks, where they reflect their experience and what they have learned. The older grades use textbooks to complement their core lesson work. Waldorf schools in Russia can be found only in a few large cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc.). There are also disadvantages - often ordinary teachers go to such schools for a "long ruble", slightly adjusting their work experience in an ordinary school. The result is similar reviews:

- Undoubtedly, from the very beginning, Waldorf pedagogy contained a lot of good and good ideas. In the center is the child himself, the disclosure of his creative abilities, the development of the talents inherent in nature. However, for my daughter, the Waldorf school experience was unfortunate. In Waldorf pedagogy, much, if not all, depends on the teacher. In the absence of a rigid program and textbooks, the teacher becomes the only bridge between the child and the knowledge and skills that the student must master. And here the professionalism of the teacher comes to the fore, and most importantly, his love and indifference to children. I say with bitterness that in our case there was neither the first, nor the second, nor the third. A year later, we moved to a regular school, which we do not regret at all. When sending your child to this school, read more about the basics of anthroposophy, think about whether you accept it, whether your child will accept it. And most importantly - look the teacher in the eyes: are there enough love in them … Margarita Andreevna, mother of 8-year-old Vika

Schools of the "free" type … A prime example from the UK is Samehill.

Summerhill School was founded in 1921 by Alexander Neill and still exists today. The most important principles in it are the freedom of children and their self-government.

Here is what Alexander Neal himself wrote in his book Summerhill - Education by Freedom:

"Summerhill is probably the happiest school in the world. We don't have truants and it rarely happens that children are homesick. We almost never have fights - fights are, of course, inevitable, but I rarely saw fistfights like those in I participated as a boy. Also rarely do I hear children screaming because free children, unlike suppressed ones, do not have hatred that requires expression. Hatred is nourished by hatred, and love by love. Love means accepting children, and this any school. You cannot be on the side of children if you punish or scold them. Summerhill is a school where the child knows he is accepted."

An analogue of the "free" type school in Russia - Shchetinin school.

This type of school is characterized by the principle of a boarding school - while studying, children live separately from their parents, which may not suit everyone.

School-ParkMiloslav Baloban

There are three fundamental positions in the Park: refusal from compulsory studies, from the same age in education, and almost completely from grades. Ideally, no certificate or grades are needed.

School-park is an educational system (full name - "Educational Park of Open Studios"), the author of which is the famous Russian teacher Miloslav Aleksandrovich Balaban. Its experimental approbation was carried out by two federal experimental sites: on the basis of the Moscow School of Self-Determination, and on the basis of the Yekaterinburg schools No. 95 and 19. Currently, the “School-Park” project is being implemented in Kiev under the leadership of Yaroslav Kovalenko.

In the park school, all types of certification (except for the final one, which is still mandatory) are replaced by a summary of the student's personal achievements in the studios; these resumes are non-judgmental and do not calibrate personal achievement against any standard scale. Final certification is carried out in accordance with the legislation in traditional forms. The results of experimental approbation of the educational system "School-Park" in 1993-2007 show that graduates of the park-school successfully pass the standard procedures for final certification and continue their education.

Primary school according to the method of V. I. Zhokhov

- Does not contradict the federal education standards of the Russian Federation.

- Based on the traditional school curriculum, but adapted to the needs of the child MOVE, TALK and PLAY.

- All LESSONS ARE ALREADY DEVELOPED by the author of the program, which allows you to adhere to the methodology exactly.

- Learning is done UNNECESSED and healthy.

- No influence on the subconscious.

- High pace of work, which corresponds to the speed of thinking of children at this age.

- Changes in the composition of classes are unacceptable. Because first-graders, according to Zhokhov's method, finish the 1st grade program in September, at the beginning of 2nd grade they finish the program of the entire elementary school.

- There are NO LAGGERS in the classes. Even if some child did not understand something the first time, they will support him and never hang a stigma.

- Help and MUTUAL ASSISTANCE are encouraged in the classroom. Children can teach each other, help, test. Passing knowledge to each other, children learn a wonderful principle: if you could explain to another, then you understood yourself.

According to Zhokhov's system, children study the usual school curriculum, just classes are held "according to different rules."

A normal first grader is a running and screaming creature. It is imperative to move and shout. This is necessary for full growth.

Zhokhov V. I.

Video about the technique of Zhokhov V. I.:

Primary school teaching methods of Vladimir Filippovich Bazarny:

The Bazarny system is used in the Komi Republic, in the Stavropol Territory, in some schools in Moscow, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Tambov, Kaluga regions, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Khakassia. The program was approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in 1989.

Prolonged sitting at a desk and large visual loads affect many students from the first grade in the form of visual impairment and curvature of the spine. Over time, school myopia develops, posture is disturbed and physical development slows down.

Bazarny's studies have shown that the body position of the average student with the chest tilted and pressed against the desk already at the 20th minute of the lesson can cause symptoms of angina pectoris. Fixing such a posture for a long time contributes to deformation of the chest and weakening of the muscles of the diaphragm, which is fraught with pathological changes in the heart.

In addition, V. F. Bazarny denied the prevailing opinion that a student's head bowed low over a notebook is the result of poor eyesight. The scientist showed that at first the student instinctively tilts his head while reading and writing, after which, over time, a decrease in visual acuity is observed. That is, according to Bazarny, myopia is secondary and it is the result of the “low bowed head syndrome”.

One (but not the only) distinguishing feature of the Bazarny method is that schoolchildren periodically get up from their desks and spend part of the lesson at the desks - special tables with an inclined surface, at which students work while standing. This mode of work has shown high efficiency in terms of preventing myopia and posture disorders. And these are not the only advantages of using the Bazarny method.

Standing schoolchildren feel more free, their shoulders are relaxed, the diaphragm is not squeezed by the desk cover, which does not disrupt the normal functioning of the respiratory and circulatory systems, making it possible to improve the supply of all organs, including the brain.

In psycho-emotional terms, work standing behind desks allows schoolchildren not to feel lonely in difficult moments of the lesson, and helps to foster a sense of mutual help. Pupils in the classroom are more active, independent, more confident in their abilities, show more interest in learning.

More materials on the Bazarny system: read the detailed article How school cripples

Video about the Bazarny technique: Save the children - save Russia

Home schooling

But some parents go even further and, becoming heretics in the eyes of the educational system, completely take their children out of school, that is, transfer them to home schooling. What motivates such rare madmen who were not afraid to take responsibility for the lives of their children completely on themselves, who were not afraid of paper-bureaucratic obstacles and the furious persuasion of others, not to mention relatives? Indeed, how can one live in our world without a school, master knowledge, learn to communicate with people, get a good prestigious job, make a career, earn decent money, provide for old age … and so on, and so on?

We will not remember that in tsarist times, home education was ubiquitous, we will not even remember that in Soviet times, quite famous personalities studied at home. We'll just think about what the average man is guided by when sending his beloved child to school? The basis of everything is concern for the future. FEAR before him. The future in the case of home education is very uncertain and does not fit the pattern: school - institute - work - retirement, where everything goes according to the once established scheme.

But are you sure the child is happy with this “established pattern”?

Try this experiment: take a piece of paper and write 100 of your friends on it. Then call them and find out what education they received, who is in their specialty, and then find out HOW long have they worked in this specialty. Ninety-five people will answer that not a day …

The question is: why graduate from school?

Answer: to get a certificate!

Question: why get a passport?

Answer: to enter a university?

Question: why go to university?

Answer: to get a diploma!

And finally the question: why do you need a diploma if no one works in their specialty?

I agree, until recently, if you did not have a diploma, you simply could not get ANY job, except for a janitor, a lifter and a loader. There were two options: either to become a loader, or … an entrepreneur (which, according to the mistaken opinion of the majority, is not given to everyone). In business, a diploma is also not needed. Smart enough …

Today, thank God, the range of opportunities for non-graduate students has expanded: most commercial firms no longer require a diploma of education, but a resume and portfolio, that is, a list of your achievements. And if you YOURSELF have learned something and achieved something, then this is only a plus.

And what, tell me, can you learn if instead of what the child is interested in, he is forced to study integrals and benzene rings for six to eight hours at school, and then do his homework?

Now let's get back to the question again: are you sure that the child is satisfied with this scheme? That he would prefer to spend 15 years on something that is not useful to him, studying what he likes right now, in order to become a specialist in this in a year or three?