My teaching assignment at LOS Deurne

Monday August 26, 2019 LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

I arrived at LOS at noon. A kind local person offered to drive me to the school and on the way he informed me that the building the school is housed in used to be a restaurant some years ago. Indeed, the former use of the place was still evident. Spacious and sunny with a big lawn-covered garden with trees, it quickly made me visualize it full of customers who were surely enjoying their food and surroundings in what could be a Michelin star winning diner. I entered through the wide open front door (no locking required as I was told) and asked one of the girls who were buzzing around the hall to show me to one of the teachers. My request probably sounded weird because the girl reappeared after a while bringing just another girl along, not a teacher.
Emma, the principal’s daughter and student of the school welcomed me warmly in English asking me to excuse her mother’s absence as she had to deal with an emergency doctor’s appointment with her brother. She reassured me that she would be back at school in half an hour and she offered to show me around the premises and provide me with any possible answers for my first questions.

The ground floor of LOS building consists of four or five really big rooms. At the entrance hall one can find the check-in counter where students alone check in and out of the place by filling in a google sheet every day. The walls are filled with posters containing useful information and rules presented in a way which make them easily understood even by the youngest members of this school community (children who were at the stage of learning how to read).

Each pictogram in the poster above is accompanied by an audio description of the rule which is accessible by clicking on a bullet under it. As the age of the students varies a lot, there is also a very concise and informative poster, more of a target shape, which represents parents’ will about the whereabouts of their off-springs after negotiation and discussion with teachers. So for example, by just looking at the poster you could easily understand that Norah, a 6-year-old girl could not leave the school fence alone or visit the local butcher’s where most students bought their lunch from until further notice.

In a nutshell, the place looked more of a big country house inhabited by many excited campers rather than youngsters of the attitude we are used to meeting in our country (sadly school is still seen as a boring routine activity you are obliged to follow because you are told so by parents and policy makers).

The extra big kitchen is a place to be used for preparing and enjoying food, chatting, organizing activities and spending time. Next to it, there is an entertainment and sports room where students can use to play the billiards, listen to music, practice indoors sports and dance. The rest of the ground floor is full of meeting corners which host the school circles, one for every subject/activity taught/done. Every room had access to the garden a patch of which was occupied by a group of students and where work was in progress: the building of a tree house was of vital importance to the three boys I met there struggling with tree logs and wooden sticks. Three big tree trunks create a climbing lessons pit on the other side of the garden while the shadow of the trees and a swing rope is at everyone’s disposal.

Soon I was invited to attend a small teachers’ circle on the grass, a meeting which started by everyone taking turns to speak without being interrupted and finished by everybody’s consent to the decisions taken and the usual meeting minutes keeping on a two-page document which as I was told was to be filed in a digital form, too.

After exploring the ground floor I found myself in front of the door leading upstairs. The rule was clear: shoes should be taken off, permission to enter should be asked for and no loud talking was allowed. I went upstairs bare-footed and whispering my questions to Emma who led me to the rooms. A room for meditation, another one where students with organizational duties (the school had decided to sell double copies of books online and use the money gained to buy equipment or pay for other necessities) worked on filing invoices and checking orders, a library-like space with students searching the web and studying books.
My first day at LOS came to an end with me helping teachers and students on duty with the cleaning up of the school. For some reason, using the vacuum was a well-justified, guilt-free and liberating activity for me. I would love to see my students and colleagues’ reaction to this!

Tuesday August 27, 2019 MY SYLLABUS ON DEBATE

An earlier start today and the first thing I did upon arrival was to set up a small Greek corner near the school entrance with stuff I brought with me from Greece.

Two mothers visited the school and they were invited to sit around a small table with Anja and Fanny. As I was informed, parents were free to visit any time for a short time, maybe for a cup of tea and a chat, a fact I witnessed happening twice in the day. The visitors were offered water and all four of them had a discussion for quite some time in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Today I learned more about how this school was established. Two years ago, five mothers who were pretty concerned about their children’s education decided to set up this democratic school in Deurne in the site of a former restaurant. Their children had been attending a similar school in Eindhoven which was moving to a new place they didn’t seem to approve of. LOS opened its doors in January 2017 and after three months of operation it underwent the first evaluation process by an external committee. There were suggestions for improvement which were implemented and after the second evaluation in two months’ time the school was certified. However, being recognized as an education providing organization in Holland doesn’t mean that one gets funded for operation costs. Therefore, the school has been making their own way out of this trying to collect money from donations, bazaars and by selling books online.
Apart from the history of the place, I had the chance to talk a bit about these Begeleideirs’ vision of education. According to their view, learning happens when humans feel the need for it and they start seeking it. This takes time, and that is why children should be left alone to decide. The coaches’ (this is the English translation for Begeleiders) duty is to provide them with opportunities and stimuli, to expose them to real life situations and favour their inner search for identity and mission. When I expressed my worries about the time when a child learns how to read and write (a state which in our education system is reached at the age of six or a bit later) and how schools like this make sure that they all accomplish this task, this is what came as an answer:
“…. You saw our students and us taking part in circles where all decisions are taken. Before having these meetings, we hold training sessions about the way we should all behave and act and vote for the post of secretary. A student who didn’t know how to read and write nominated himself for the job but he was turned down for the moment being due to his inefficiency to cope with the task. As a follow up, the student asked to be taught how to do this and writing and reading sessions were scheduled with a begeleider right away.”

A few moments later, Anja had a private session with  an 11-year-old who joined this school community after several attempts to progress in what we call regular schools (her account made me understand that we are talking about a difficult to handle character and an emotionally negative family background). He stays at school for 2 hours daily and what he does is working on his personal study schedule and finding pleasure in the company of his new friends. I asked Anja to give me an example of the homework he gets. How about this? "Watch Karate Kid movie and come to school with a list of questions" or "Use clay and make your self-model while having your eyes closed". This is what J. does every day.

I kept asking questions and soon I learnt that youngsters in Holland take tests for the national baccalaureate between the ages of 16 and 18. After successful exams they can apply for a place at the university school of their choice and maybe asked to sit for another exam then. What they try to do in this school is primarily help children unveil their real gifts and conclude alone to what they want to do in life. When this stage is reached children make their own working schedule, arrange their study sessions with begeleiders and pursue their target.
Today I also saw children having their school snacks which they bought themselves from the local grocery 100m outside the school. This is what they had….

As expected I had to investigate children’s interest in what I wanted to talk to them about. So, I made a poster advertising my stuff and asking them to choose.

Tomorrow, we will be talking about Greece and we will try to play a game.
Final gains of the day at school were a chat with a mother and a glimpse of the secret house project in the garden children have been working on! Oscar’s mum drives 80 km a day from home to school and back but at least she is certain that her boy is well taken care of and happy here. When I asked her how other parents she knows react to her decision to have Oscar here she told me that most of them acknowledge the truth of her arguments for this institution but they are unable to follow mainly due to their finances or they just wait to see if this whole endeavour will bear any fruit. While we were having this discussion, Oscar was jumping on the trampoline giving us a live proof of his mother’s claims. Mariken, a coach, interfered for a while: "Julie, we need schools, more schools, suitable for all types of learners." A sense of criticism against inclusive schools was left bouncing on the trampoline with Oscar.... discussion over it to be continued!

Thursday August 29, 2019 WE ARE SAILING!

The session on Greece was scheduled for one o'clock in the afternoon. I arrived at school at 8.30. Kids were still getting in. I found the coaches and some parents drinking coffee and talking around the round table at the entrance hall. I started organizing the things I needed for my class. As I needed a room with a projector I was shown to a small but colourful room which I could use. Futon beds on the floor, a green wallpaper at the back and a window with a view to the garden that could be covered by the rolled-down white projector screen.

Until the time of my session lots of things happened. A group of six children were driven by a coach to a sports place where they spent some time doing sports activities. A conflict took place in the secret place in the garden where the tree house was being built and one of the participants ended up with a deep scar made with a wooden stick and his rival's anger. A group of students visited a kitchen furniture factory to ask for a  free of charge remake of their kitchen. Jonas, a child who had been receiving home schooling up to this moment proved to be rather shy and reluctant to leave his mum's lap. Tanja, the mother, stayed at school all day in an effort to support his child's first steps outside home. I think it is better to leave images speak for themselves and just add that older students were using the study rooms upstairs to study (German, Maths and other subjects) while their younger schoolmates were obviously enjoying themselves downstairs.

Today was also Bren's birthday and I had the chance to see how birthdays are  celebrated here. Nothing of the fuss colleagues make in our school, noone  was behaving like the host/waiter here. What struck me the most was that all students gathered in the garden, made a line and wished him in turns. Bren was very serious with receiving wishes and treating kids with ice cream. I had my treat as well!

As usual I kept roaming about the place and taking pictures. Children kept a lunch box with dry food mainly with their name on it. They used this plus the fresh food they bought from the local butcher's to have their meals while at school.

I wanted to add something to my Greek corner so I asked Pien's help to make a a small poster-like phrase book with basic greetings in the two languages. English was used as the medium and I was once so surprised to see that English is taken in so naturally here.

It was time for my session on Greece. The kids were great! Warmly responding to the video I showed and asking questions about everything. Tanja attended the whole class, participating in the kahoot game at the end, too. The session ended where it began: around the garden table with the kids following my steps (Niko, I had to rehearse quite a lot before doing it!) so that we make our paper boats.

Kids stayed with me for one and a half hours enjoying their Greek adventure. Paper boats were named and painted, some of them sailed to their Dutch home some were put on display near the Greek corner. I knew we were close to the end of the day when I heard the noise of vacuum cleaners and that of dishes being stuck in the dishwasher. By the way, the school is full of electrical appliances which children use with great ease as the message on the storeroom implies.

Children evacuated the building rather unwillingly at around 3.30 pm.  Begeleiders and me left at 5pm. A circle again, to discuss about what had happened during the day, about each child in particular. Decisions made: Jonas, the shy little one who insisted on having his mum by his side all day, should choose a place in the school and the coaches should make it look warm and safe enough for him. D., the boy with the wound in his belly hides a sad story so he needs a lot of care. I saw Anja hiding some tears when she spoke to me about him and I was so amazed hearing her say that D. had confessed quite a few bad things about his life at home which she insisted on keeping a secret, even from her colleagues. Their reaction to that was to ask her to reassure him that all his secrets were safe with every coach in this school. The appeal for the free kitchen remake stood good chances to be satisfied and a visit of the perspective donors was going to be arranged soon.

Finally, discussion turned into things I wanted to make clear, so here is what I learned:

1. The school pays  five thousand euros per month as a rent for the building.

2. Hardly any coach who works in a Democratic school receives a payment which can guarantee his keeping alive on the job earnings. All coaches do a second job to earn a living or rely on the family income. Therefore, these ladies and gentlemen who are in this school do volunteer work basically following  their heart call! The group of begeleiders here in LOS can be found here.

3. Only some of the coaches in this school had undergone studies in the education field. In Holland, anyone can set up a school but if they want to be certified there must be at least one among the organisers with an education degree and if the school hosts secondary sector students there should be at least one subject related teacher.

4. My question was rather expected. Kids use a place where sharp and dangerous objects and tools are within everyone's reach (knives, garden tools, needles, axes and many more). How do you make sure that children refrain from using them as weapons? The answer was short and firm: anyone using a knife or other device in a life threatening mode is expelled from school.

Tomorrow, I will be talking to the kids about school life in Greece. Hm, where do I begin?

Friday August 30, 2019 LONGING FOR THE CAMP FIRE

Good morning wishes from the apple tree at the entrance! I was the first one to arrive today. After me Mariken came and  started doing the usual routine stuff as she explained to me: turning on the computer for people to sign in for the day, putting some coffee in the coffee machine for people to share, changing batteries in the wall clock. I met another begeleider today, Jeannette. Tom, a nice boy who is helping me around a lot, had asked her to come earlier and help him make coconut cookies for breakfast. While Tom was measuring some self-raising flour Norah and her friend were preparing their own "fantasy" meal in the sand pit.

Cookies were baked and consumed pretty quickly. Cooking is a routine here and this explains the presence of a shelf with cookery books from all over the world. Greece couldn't but be included.

After my kitchen adventure I was invited to attend an ICT circle. The coach and kids met around a round table in the room called "Fantasia" and talked about organising their sessions this year. What participants really discussed what  was who would take on teaching and helping the others on various fields (webmail, social media, data protection, java) in accordande with their expertise. Tom is going to help his peers with programming.

One of the things that has impressed me the most is the fact that kids speak very good English. I grabbed the opportunity to talk to Moos today (his height and looks make me guess he is no older than 9 years old). He told me that he mastered the English language through gaming. He has been playing computer games since he was very young and been talking to his game companions (Americans,  English, Norwegians) in English. I am not sure how much this jeopardised his safety but it has certainly boosted his foreign language skills! The same kid is very keen on designing trains. He has been working on a new design which he insists on sending to LEGO in Denmark and asking them to turn his design into a new lego model. The coaches will mail his design once it is finished (entrepreneurship on the go!). As finding a parent for a chat is not one of the difficult things around this school, I had a conversation with Peter. He came to find me with his bouzouki meaning to have me test his skill at playing it. He had bought the instrument on a trip to Rethymno and he liked the sound of it so much that he studied hard and he is really good! Peter and Tanija live quite far from the school. They do appreciate the work done here. Today they received the portfolios of their children which they must keep at home so that kids can fill in according to the school's guidelines and using the stickers provided. I will soon upload some photos of it. Inger and a student were doing some serious work: they were calculating the money they had managed to collect in one year from different sources (selling online second hand books which they managed to get from other schools for free, money from bazaars and other activities). The amount of 2.305,79 euros will definitely buy things they need but I was impressed by her saying that their real gain is the opportunity to offer books at a lower price to people who can't buy new ones and the joy children and staff get from the  appreciation letters they receive. Well done, all!

Since it was a very hot day today, no one sat around the camp fire lit in the garden. They all chose to play with the trampolines or have a chat away from it. The treats I had brought with me from Athens were delivered in the house. The kitchen today was full of people. The puzzle table was crowded. The world map was about to finish and everyone was hoping to be the one to fit the last puzzle piece in. I looked around. How beautiful this place is! Anyone longing for an alernative kind of schooling?

Saturday August 31, 2019 AT 's HERTOGENBOSCH MEETING BOSCH!

Erasmus+ is also about getting to know the culture of the palce you visit. So time for a day trip to 's Hertogenbosch or Den Bosch. Locals  strongly recommended it so it seemed that taking the 40-minute train ride to the place was worth trying. It was indeed! Den Bosch is a city of almost 153.000 people with a medieval vivid past still evident in the streets and the canals which run under the houses. The city owes its name to Duke Herny I of Brabant so it actually means "the Duke's forest". What makes tourists visit the place is the wonderful canal network under the city, Sint-Jan's cathedral built in 1220 and Jheronimus Bosch, the famous painter whose life is closely connected to the city. Erasmus also lived in this city for four years and this is where he was taught Greek. Should I add the the Bossche Bol, the giant chocolate profiterole I tried right after I got off the train at Jan de Groot cafe? Oh, yes! I took the boat ride and saw the city from below. In the 90's a major preservation project gave the canals a fresh look by making them navigable again. Sint-Jan's cathedral is enormous. Though it was built a long time ago it bears a sign of the modern era. On the roof top a statue of an angel which holds a mobile phone (that server is surely divine!) reminds people of the latest rennovation in 2011. Jheronimus Bosch' s Cultural centre gives the visitor a good idea of his works despite the fact that the paintings you see there are copies of the originals which are scattered around the world in famous museums like Museo del Prado, Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the Metropolitan Museum of NY.

Sweet greetings from Den Bosch, Holland on a hot day of 30 degrees Celcius!

Monday September 2, 2019 A TASTE OF GREECE AND CIRCLE TRAINING

Goedemorgen, Inger and Mariken! The ladies were already working when I entered school this morning. Inger told me she had a very good feeling for the day and I think I will trust her instict for the days to come. Mariken told me that they were going to have a circle today to work on the qualities of a good circle chairperson and of course I was invited to join. I had some time until then so I used it to prepare samples of Greek dishes to be presented in the cooking workshop on coming Sunday. I was surrounded by Jeannette and curious Tom who helped me spot kitchen utensils and cutlery.

They seemed to enjoy what I prepared for them considering the time they stayed around the kitchen table. Little Norah was a bit disappointed though as she couldn't try my food so I have to think of something lactose free for her as well of a non-gluteine Greek delicacy for Mariken. That's a project.

 

 

 

When cooking and early lunch was over I found my place behind this door.

Comfortably seated on the floor, children and coaches had a white sheet of paper in front of them with their name of it. The paper went around in the circle in a clockwise mode and each person held it for a minute and put the positive qualities of the person which might be useful in case they were appointed as the chairperson of the circle meetings. When the circle was complete there was an extra minute allowed for people to add any new thoughts. Norah who can't write yet was helped by Mariken. Right after that each person took turns to read the qualities on their paper. Finally, the most important qualities were put on the big portable notice board and were discussed within the group.

In the following video you can see Mariken helping Norah to read her qualities. I was amazed by the fact that everybody was so patient and encouraging with the little girl.

 

Tuesday September 3, 2019 ELECTIONS AND CLEANING DAY

John Cleese of Monty Pythons has been the inspiration of the road sign Mariken came up with a couple of years ago. She is trying to spot the right place for that at the school etrance so that everyone gets the message: Bring your free and whole self inside!

The day started with the morning exercise in the play area of the school. Children spent some time dancing and moving around. Five of them joined John (begeleider) to the tennis court which is in the nearby park where they would spend the next two hours practising.

 

The first big event of the day was the cirle meeting to decide on the leader and procedure of the meetings in the future. Three of the most experienced children would act as mentors for the rest of the group. All children took turns to express their feelings and opinion about the whole procedure and there were 3-4 of them who said they were not interested in participating in the meetings. These ones were asked to give a very good reason for this and their decision was respected.

Stef, a really smart young man showed great interest in travelling around the world and he already knows a lot about history and current issues. We had a discussion yesterday about volunteer programmes for young people around Europe and I shared all information I had about Erasmus+ funded projects with him. This morning I enjoyed listening to him playing the piano and I couldn't but think of how promising young people like him can be for our world.

Preparing my workshops for Sunday Festival here at LOS

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course a bit of help to the wonderfully active and caring children of this school who started cleaning and getting ready for the festival on Sunday  ...

Thursday September 5, 2019 FESTIVALOS FEVER AND MAZE CRAZE

Things can get pretty exciting here. I am thinking of the hasty moments my colleagues live back at home trying to get ready for the school opening next week and the only thing I can do is share a bit of the excitement by being helpful to my hosts for the preparations in LOS.

Coaches were really busy with preparing and putting the QR codes around the place for visitors to be able to watch short videos and material related to the work done at school. Using QR codes is a safe way to  share audiovisual material with other people. I helped them put the laminated signs in certain areas in the building.

 

Signs were also put up for the workshops and the rules of the house (like the cat sign I did which informs people about their obligation to take their shoes off if they want to visit the rooms upstairs).  

Anja was busy turning dull plain white paper into colourful one while Fanny was preparing samples of fantastic snacks which will be evaluated and consumed today  (lucky me!). Inger was building a greenhouse in the yard with the help of some boys. Tom was reading the announcement for the FestivaLOS in the local newspaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I really enjoyed today was my class about the myth of the Minotaur and the maze. Children aready knew some things about it and they were keen on building the maze and figures for Ariadne and Theseus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fanny's birthday (one of the begeleiders) was celebrated in great joy. The kids sang for her and they dived into the pleasure of eating fresh fruit. The class on how to dance syrtaki was my treat! Happy birthday Fanny!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day ended with dinner in Helmond. It was a ladies' affair and much enjoyed. Thank you, girls for the treat!

Friday September 6, 2019 UNBOXING AT LOS

Kalimera from LOS! This surely was an unboxing day. The first good news arrived in a white box: the schools has been awarded with the "Healthy School" label and Tom was very excited to spread the news.

Then it was time for the school flyers, a kind offer from a local shop made people here very happy.

 

 

 

 

The school is so proud of the work done here and promoting it seems like sharing the truth. I liked the nice quality posters containing children's thoughts about their school (or should I say home?) and I am pretty convinced about the truth they display after seeing it with my own eyes. In addidtion, lots of the things found here come from people who wanted to help turn this place into a warm nest. During the last few days I have seen parents stopping by bringing their contributions to the Sunday festival. If this is not a proof of sincere promotion, then what?

I asked Anja about her thoughts of having a mixed age group of children all under the same roof and following a common daily routine. She confirmed what I had seen happening in a Finnish school I visited some years ago. Older students care about the wellbeing of the younger ones. They monitor, protect, share, play with them like they are the same age. She also said that the same attitude is true the other way round. The little ones are worried when they see an older student cry and they always inform the coaches if they see something strange going on. I saw this happening when I was invited to play "Stratego" with a mixed age group in the nearby park.The kids were communicating so wonderfully and they enjoyed the luxury of a green park right next to their school. No coach escorted them there and there was no monitoring by an adult even though playing included running through trees and bushes next to the stream you see in the video below. The kids played with a lady's dogs who happened to be at the park and when the time came to return to the school everyone called for each other and made sure the group was safe and sound at LOS.

 

A final comment for the day: the school is a living proof of the fact that what we call  sustainable and self-organised educational institution is not a utopia. Everywhere you look you see beautiful things made of re-usable material. Lots of resources are preserved in order waiting for the next user and use. From kids' bikes parking lot to the brushes case, things echo a feeling of responsible use and respect to the people who share the premises.

Sunday September 8, 2019 FESTIVALOS FOR EVER!

Sunday morning in Deurne and the living is .... fun! The town s awake, full of colour and sporty look. People are gathering in the main square in athletic gear, ready to join the town's semi-marathon. I was lucky to be there in time for the kick-off of the little ones.

 

 

I guess my description today might resemble the one a toddler makes after visiting an amusement park or any of those childhood memories which remain engraved for a long time. The school opened its doors at 10.30 to parents, children and coaches who were there to help. Preparations were on the way: flowers were anxious to find their place in the vases, chocolate cake was shaking at the idea of being cut and put on display in colourful platters but it was  soon to find comfort in the company of the neighbouring romantic cupcakes, the baking equipment hastingly sought a comfortable seat on the kitchen table, juice was rushing into the big glass jars, lavender flowers were aready dreaming of the wardrobes they were meant to scent and so many more I am sure I forget to mention.

 

 

 

 

 

I had promised my share in this wonderful feast so I soon prepared my corner for the Greek food workshop scheduled for one o'clock.Soon the kitchen was filled with people, kids' laughter and Greek music. The food I made along with other delicacies cooked at home by parents and kids filled the counters in the garden and school students took over...selling them was a demanding but enjoyable job, too.

While I was busy with mixing yoghurt, stirring batter and chopping mint leaves a lot of interesting workshops were taking place in the vibrant LOS site. Around the neighbouring kitchen table some pairs of doughmade hands were cutting cookies pastry with moulds and a similar number of mouths were watering at the prospect of seeing them getting out of the oven. Girls next door were lending their faces as canvases for face painting. Two cheerful companies at the atelier were competing on the production of felt and paper craft. Kids and their fathers in the wood craft workshop were cutting and gluing and screwing to make either car models or bird houses. In the garden the fire was made and popcorn was dancing modestly in the special iron cases over it. Emma and her friends were making hair wrap while a bunch of tiny visitors had already taken their seat on the lawn waiting anxiously for the first lottery draw of the day.

Maybe you can get some of the day's taste and sound by watching the videos below. What I would like to add is a big CONGRATS to the wonderful, united and cheerful community of LOS which provided me with so many inspiring moments and ideas of my "dream school" picture. Keep walking LOS!

 

Monday September 9, 2019 COOLING OFF!

The school is very quiet today. I guess everyone is tired after the festival. I am taking this opportunity to study and think about the Sociocratic method they are following here and maybe conclude to questions I need to have answers to until my leaving LOS on Sunday. I found the video below very informative about the way decisions are made and there are a few things I would like to share.

This is a reference text for the school vision and mission:

LOS Deurne is a sociocratic learning environment located in Deurne, a village in the south of The Netherlands. Students aged 4 to 21 can follow their interests, talents and ambition and learn in a natural way who they are and what they can bring to this world. The letters LOS stand for Leren (Learn), Ontdekken (Discover) and Spelen (Play), but also form the word “los”. In Dutch “loslaten” means “to let go”. We let our students go in full confidence that they can shape their own learning and development through play and other activities. Our vision is to facilitate an environment where children and adolescents can learn “for heart and soul”. Instead of classrooms and scheduled lessons LOS Deurne has functional spaces like a kitchen, a library, a laboratory, a workshop and an atelier where people of all ages meet and work individually and/or together on their self-chosen activities. All decisions are made in a sociocratic manner. Through the sociocratic circles we get to know and understand ourselves and each other. This way of decision making helps us build a school that’s a safe and comfortable place for all students and coaches. It is also an important step towards responsible citizenship and a practice in social integration.

SITES TO VISIT

http://www.wonderingschool.org/schoolcircles-resources/

http://sociocracyforall.org/

https://sociocracy30.org/

http://thesociocracygroup.com/

https://www.sociocracy.info/

https://www.consentmethode.nl/english?fbclid=IwAR3Gaab932tBpqeKFb5zAs6iPtOrqg7SeDm-gbKm14mVc6v_4pF1-Z5kA5M

MATERIAL TO STUDY 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yJ1gZYitOfdLjdP6Qxwh1pbvcDXGvowz/view?usp=sharing

Tuesday September 10, 2019 IT'S ALL ABOUT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The more I talk to people and observe what happens in this school the more I realise how close this group of children and educators are to the core of pedagogy. I got a glimpse of Anja this morning when she was helping Jayden to gain control of his body in the garden. And then, I talked to Mariken who was busy with preparing Eisenhower's matrix for children's portfolios. I didn't know anything about it so here is the link to more information https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/ and a video with the idea behind it: prioritize your tasks and focus all your energy to those which are the most important to you, not the most urgent.

It has also been a very sweet day, too. Kids had a circle meeting at 10 which was very quick and efficient and after that we all headed to the kitchen where we started making pancakes.

Thursday September 12, 2019 TOWARDS THE END

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS OR .... MY REPORT

 

 

 

 

 

My last day at LOS was very emotional. This has certainly been a place which keeps a part of the people who walk in it. My wonderful colleagues (I will be honoured to be allowed the use of the noun) gave me two books as a present. I put a photo of the back cover of "Free to Learn" by Peter Gray here for you read. Maybe it will help me put the blame on the right spot. "What's wrong with the system?" feels a more natural question to me after my visit here and every effort to move the load off children's shoulders the action to take. Addressing the kids today, I caught myself expressing my hope as a teacher: I do believe that you can become the future leaders of this world, of the kind who rule by the heart. Yes, that is perhaps what schools should be aiming at.