Discussion PointsDiscussion Points

- What is the purpose of school? Goal?- How would you define the result of successful schooling?- Does technology change the purpose for school?- Do children have an innate desire to learn?- Are children capable of self-governance?

Natural PlayscapesNatural Playscapes

Children made this den using hammers and other tools.

"There is... a thoroughly robust attitude to the risk taking activities of all the children... The children play together all over the site."Sandra Melville

"Children often play alone... Sometimes in hideaway places where nobody can see you. Other times children need open spaces where everyone can be seen."Helle Nebelong

"One half of the garden is full of shadows and has a jungle-type character. The other is a garden full of light and flowers.

"There is a heart-shaped path and small nooks with love-seats. Here you can meet your loved-one and be romantic."Helle Nebelong

"Play is equal to formal education in terms of its fundamental role in enabling children and young people to engage positively with the complexities of the world around them."PLAYLINK Play Policy

"All loose, available equipment or tools are used to make new frames and spaces for role play."Frode Svane

Children don't always use equipment the way the adult world expects them to.

"It is important that children be allowed to find out the nature of things by themselves. Everything should not be explained, demystified, beforehand." Helle Nebelong

"Children need and want to take risks when they play. Play provision aims... [to offer] children stimulating, challenging environments for exploring and developing their abilities... to manage the level of risk so that children are not exposed to unacceptable risks of death or serious injury."Play Safety Forum

School playgrounds do not have to be concrete deserts.

It is important for children to be able to play in natural environments whilst at school.

"[U]se of natural materials where you can still see the shape and pattern of the tree, naturally placed boulders... use of sand, grit, gravel, and the creation of natural habitats for wildlife. These all inform and enrich our experience as well as providing stimulating play environments."Judi Legg, Play in the Park

"Children are not stupid nor do they knowingly endanger themselves under normal circumstances. By developing a real interaction with fire, in conjunction with safety practices, children can learn about the uses and dangers of fire first hand."Bob Hughes, Play Environments: A Question of Quality

Piles of sand dumped in parks for street kids were the forerunner of today’s playgrounds. Who says sand has to be in a sand box? Use stumps or boulders to create the outlines of a space for sand, or simply make a pile and replenish it as necessary.

Use reclaimed logpoles to make a teepee that can be covered with annual vines in summer and burlap in winter, weave willow wands into a hut, or plant a weeping mulberry to form a natural green cave.

Use reclaimed logpoles to make a teepee that can be covered with annual vines in summer and burlap in winter, weave willow wands into a hut, or plant a weeping mulberry to form a natural green cave.

Returning to my own childhood, what I played with most (next to the hill) was a pile of bricks left over from the construction of my family's home. Bring loose parts into your natural playscape for endless hours of building.

Inspiring SpacesPossible School Sites?

Inspiring SpacesPossible School Sites?

Returning to my own childhood, what I played with most (next to the hill) was a pile of bricks left over from the construction of my family's home. Bring loose parts into your natural playscape for endless hours of building.

One-Can-Dream SpacesOne-Can-Dream Spaces

There are even tree houses for Vince!

Ground level spaces can also promote the outdoors.

Alternative SchoolsAlternative Schools

Sudbury valley schoolSudbury valley schoolDemocratic Education/Free SchoolDemocratic Education/Free School

“We were so busy. We picked hard things to do most of the time. Everything was always, 'You have got to get one step further.' It was never stagnant. Everything was a challenge.”

“The bulk of what you learn at Sudbury Valley is life. You learn how to deal with people and how to get things done and how to organize all the things you learn. Some of it you learn from seeing adults do it, or participating with adults. But most of what you learn, you learn from the other kids, and it has to do with life – how you live and how things happen. We learned it together.”

“We had our own world. We were solid in our own world. It was a world of children.”

“The atmosphere was a mixture of everything. You could walk around the school and find somebody baking cakes, or having a heated argument, or talking about Hinduism, or making modifications on the barn. You could go sit in the sun or you could go sit in the sewing room.The school made me self-sufficient.”

“I believe that everything you do helps everything else you do, because if you're doing one hard thing, it's not that different from doing another hard thing. It may take different physical skills, or maybe different mental habits, but it takes the same kind of concentration and requires the same kind of thinking.”

“The school gave me the gift of time to let my own interests rise to the surface. When you sit down to paint, you don't just sit and paint. You have to think about what you're doing and why. Any creative effort, perhaps any effort at all, requires a great deal of thought, even reading a book. You don't just read a book. You think about what you read. Otherwise you're doing it for nothing. The school gave us the gift of time to relax, to have those things come to the surface that were there; it gave us the time for reflection, for the introspection that you need to really develop your own creativity.”

“School was something I looked forward to every day.”

Summerhill SchoolSummerhill SchoolFree SchoolFree School

Imagine a school...Where kids have freedom to be themselves...>

Where success is not defined by academic achievement but by the child's own definition of success...>Where the whole school deals democratically with issues, with each individual having an equal right to be

heard...>Where you can play all day if you want to...>

And there is time and space to sit and dream...>...could there be such a school?A.S. Neill's Summerhill >

Outward BoundOutward BoundExperiential EducationExperiential Education

Design PrinciplesWe use these principles to design and deliver programs:Learning through Experience—Facilitating engaging, relevant, sequential experiences that promote skill mastery and incorporate reflection and transference—Learning from success as well as failureChallenge and Adventure—Using unfamiliar settings to impel students into mentally, emotionally and physically demanding experiences—Utilizing and managing appropriate riskSupportive Environment—Designing an experience that supports physical and emotional safety—Developing a caring and positive group culture

OutcomesThese are the outcomes common to all of our programs and what we measure:Character Development—Demonstrating increased self-confidence and self-actualization—Demonstrating compassion toward others and living a healthy and balanced lifeLeadership—Demonstrating the ability to set goals, and inspire and guide others to achieve them—Demonstrating the ability to collaborate, communicate, solve problems and resolve conflicts effectivelyService—Demonstrating social and environmental responsibility—Actively engaging in service to others