Different Education Models In The Classroom

“No Teachers, No Class, No Homework; Would You Send Your Kids Here?”

  As an elementary, middle school, or even high school self, I would be all for going to a type of school like the one talked about in this article.  As a mom of 3 boys, the title seems less appealing.  Let's first talk about what type of school this is.  A democratic school.  A school where the students basically can do whatever they want at their own time.  There are teachers, but the teachers are there for support, not to make the rules.  After reading this article, I wanted to see more about this type of school and found this video.  It is interesting to see really how much freedom there is at Sudbury  

School.  Is this the type of school I would send my kids too?  Probably not.  Why?  Because in my opinion, that video gave me anxiety just watching it.  I think schedule and structure is just a few of the important pieces to a successful future, and these types of schools are not my type.  I do though think that we can incorporate some of the features of these types of schools in the public school classrooms such as creating the rules as a whole..

https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/no-teachers-no-class-no-homework-would-you-send-your-kids-here/265354/

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"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" 

The Wikipedia description of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed talks about classrooms where the students are co-creaters of the knowledge they learn.  This is a type of classroom that I can agree with because I feel the the children in my classroom need to feel like they are part of a community.  Knowing that they help set the rules of the classroom will hopefully inspire them to follow them, since they took part in making them.  Also the children need to take responsibility for themselves and for their classroom that they go to 180 days of the year.  When a strong community relationship is built within the classroom, classroom management, learning, and goals can hopefully be achieved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed

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"Flipped Classroom"

This type of classroom is exactly what the title entails.  It is flipped.  The students basically do the homework in school, and the learning at home.  Instead of the teacher standing in front of the classroom lecturing about what is needed to be learned, the students will watch a video or tutorial at home, on their own time, at their own pace.  In the classroom the students take part in activities to help engage the students in the content they had learned at home.  I am the type of student that likes to ask a lot of questions the moment I do not understand something.  My worry about this type of classroom is that it lacks the interaction during the initial learning of the content.  Another worry is that not all students have access to the internet or a device that will allow them to take part in the online learning concept.  Let's take today for instance (October 17th, 2019).  Many communities are out of power.  If I were to have to watch a video for an interactive lesson tomorrow and I did not have power, I would not have the knowledge of the content that is needed for the next day.   Although I like the idea of being able to learn the information at my own pace, there are a lot of factors in life that could make this type of classroom a stressful experience for some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom

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"Montessori Education"

The Montessori classroom is an intentional classroom where everything in the classroom is intentional.  From the materials, to the classroom set up, to the structure of the classroom.  The Montessori classroom allows the children to move freely within their "prepared environment".  With this type of structure, the learning is individualized.  I like the idea of the Montessori classroom, but I feel as though there has to be a significant amount of training to help make these classrooms successful. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

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"Waldorf Education"

The Waldorf classroom is focused on the children using their imagination and creativity to activate their learning.  These types of classrooms use free play, artistic work, circle time, and practical tasks.  

The set up of this classroom at the preschool level is made to feel as if the students were at home.  A warm environment with natural materials to help foster ones imagination.  As you can see in the photo below, the classroom looks as though it is in someone's home.  Rugs, big windows, plants, and natural wooden materials. 

The Waldorf education discourages the use of electronic media as they believe that such devices conflict with the developmental needs of the children.   The curriculum is based on art, music, gardening and mythology.  Much different than the schools in my community.  

I really love the environmental feel of this classroom.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education

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"Glen Urquhart School"

This type of education is geared toward the curiosity of the children.  Looking at the Glen Urquart's Pre-K classroom, the students are able to direct their own learning through the guidance of the teachers.  There are teacher-led small-group and whole-group lessons that are geared toward certain skills and concepts such as: social emotional, physical, artistic, scientific, language, and math.

This would most pertaining be a school that I would send my boys to because I feel like the curriculum is very similar to what I teach.  But for the yearly tuition to attend GUS Pre-k school at $15,750 a year, I like my options at Passos Avante Preschool in Peabody (nearly half the price of GUS). 

https://www.gus.org/prek-faqs