I went to one of these as a child and learned nothing. It became a real struggle to learn in a time efficient manner. I would strongly discourage parents from choosing this kind of education for early learners as it doesn't include various social skills like how to sit in a classroom, address a prompt, etc.
No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
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Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#12> The pupils decide which subjects they want to study for each lesson and when they want to take an exam. So the student learns what they want to learn when they want to learn it. The student focuses on a subject when the brain is ready and interested. Sounds efficient. OTOH, one of the really valuable things about a curriculum is that it serves as a guide to a complex and bewildering subject. A curriculum, at its be…
as Platz already pointed out > Set subjects are limited to maths, German, English and social studies, supplemented by more abstract courses such as “responsibility” and “challenge”. Also, there is some accountability in the system. That means there should be some scale to determine if the student has met the required work for the week. > Rasfeld’s institution tries to embed student self-determination within a relativ…
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Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#13My partner became involved in Montessori a few years ago, and I've been really impressed with how it works.
If you don't know much about Montessori, here is my "in a nutshell" version: It's a method of schooling usually associated with preschool and elementary education. There are mixed age groups (e.g. 3 to 6) in classrooms. There is at least one adult who gives one-on-one lessons on how to work with "materials." The materials do the teaching, not the adult.
There are hundreds of different types of materials. They're designed to teach or exercise a particular skill, but they look like games and are all designed to be "beautiful" as to entice children to them (Montessori is really serious about this; materials are not allowed to be broken or chipped or worn). They follow a particular progression. Children may work with any material for which they've had a lesson. They can work with it as many times as they like.
My favorite example of how Montessori works is how it develops reading skills. First a child is introduced to materials that involve very short crayons - when they use them they strengthen the muscles in their hands. Then they're introduced to letter-tracing materials. Then they're introduced to letter/sound matching materials. Children who follow these lessons wind up writing first, and then reading follows very naturally. The emphasis on developing physical capabilities first really demonstrates the attention to detail that's typical of Montessori.
The math education progression is impressive also. There are materials that have children doing proto-multiplication, exponentiation, algebraic manipulation, and more. My partner developed a material that teaches counting, addition, and subtraction in base 8. (Her 4 and 5-year-olds understood it much more quickly than her colleagues!)
There are parts of the method I don't like (e.g. dogmatic resistance to rewarding performance, for example), but overall it feels like a huge improvement over typical early childhood education.
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#14We school-educated people associate learning with authority and it's hard for us to truly grasp that education takes place most efficiently under conditions of freedom. Repealing Hitler's 1938 law against home education would be an important step for Germany.
IDK. The toughest calls for home-schooling in Germany come from religious extremists, be it Islamists, Jewish orthodox or Twelve Tribes christian fundamentalists.
None of those are anti-authority to begin with. Also: Godwin.
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#15I went to a Montessori school for a while. Much like what is described here. For me it was fantastic and I sometimes lightly regret not continuing in high school due to (minor) practical obstacles. That said, I believe these types of systems are definitely not for everyone. Lots of kids are probably better off with a bit of structure and imposed discipline.
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#16My partner became involved in Montessori a few years ago, and I've been really impressed with how it works. If you don't know much about Montessori, here is my "in a nutshell" version: It's a method of schooling usually associated with preschool and elementary education. There are mixed age groups (e.g. 3 to 6) in classrooms. There is at least one adult who gives one-on-one lessons on how to work with "materials." Th…
> Montessori is really serious about this; materials are not allowed to be broken or chipped or worn
This is a traditional pseudoscientific gimmick to drive sales revenue.
In the real world, children are enticed by non-new and broken things just fine... until their parents, competitive peers, TV, or lovers insist they be more materialistic and wealthy signalling.
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#17We school-educated people associate learning with authority and it's hard for us to truly grasp that education takes place most efficiently under conditions of freedom. Repealing Hitler's 1938 law against home education would be an important step for Germany.
Mandatory schooling is much much older in Germany, see https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schulpflicht_(Deutschland) (in German). It was part of the Weimarer Verfassung of 1919: http://www.verfassungen.de/de/de19-33/verf19.htm (Art.145). In some parts, mandatory schooling laws were first passed in 1592; Prussia in 1717/1763, Bavaria 1802, Saxony 1835, etc. There's really no need to bring up Hitler in every article that mentions Germany.
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#18My partner became involved in Montessori a few years ago, and I've been really impressed with how it works. If you don't know much about Montessori, here is my "in a nutshell" version: It's a method of schooling usually associated with preschool and elementary education. There are mixed age groups (e.g. 3 to 6) in classrooms. There is at least one adult who gives one-on-one lessons on how to work with "materials." Th…
> Montessori is really serious about this; materials are not allowed to be broken or chipped or worn This is a traditional pseudoscientific gimmick to drive sales revenue. In the real world, children are enticed by non-new and broken things just fine... until their parents, competitive peers, TV, or lovers insist they be more materialistic and wealthy signalling.
Citation needed? I'm just describing the Montessori method, which was developed in the early 1900s. But maybe they were driving "sales revenue" then also?
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#19I went to one of these as a child and learned nothing. It became a real struggle to learn in a time efficient manner. I would strongly discourage parents from choosing this kind of education for early learners as it doesn't include various social skills like how to sit in a classroom, address a prompt, etc.
How early is "early"? Grade 1-5?
Kids younger than that don't need to sit in a classroom.
What does "appears a prompt" mean?
Re: No grades, no timetable: Berlin school turns teaching upside down
#20It really comes down to the children. If they have a lot of selfdisciplin it's great if not they are better off at more strict schools.
At the end of the day though, parents and their indirect involvement is the key to a proper education no matter what educational philosophy one follows.