Experience with Progressive Education

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  elgrande on 23/08/2019 - 20:48

  I think your over thinking it.

  But maybe thats because I did not attend a progressive school.

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  SharedSugar on 23/08/2019 - 21:16

  +1

  I spent a little time this style of education during primary school. I intensely disliked the experience. The lack of structure did not suit me and I went from very good results to having significant problems. I only spent about 6 months there, before returning to traditional style schooling. This was a long time ago.

  • 

    fantombloo on 23/08/2019 - 21:21

    Yes, all kids are different. There is no perfect school for all kids.

    Monitor your kids and see how they perform in those areas you prioritise, and make adjustments if you feel the need to.

    It is also completely OK to send each of your kids to a different school if it suits them better and your resources can stretch to that.

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  [Deactivated] on 23/08/2019 - 21:25

  I did 1 term ( perhaps 2?) at Preshil and hated it! It was more me than the school. I was a daydreamer and needed discipline and routine as a child to get any work done.

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  MsBin on 23/08/2019 - 21:55

  +9

  Teacher and education lecturer of 20+ years here. Education has changed a LOT in recent years, with much more emphasis on the 6 C’s- collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship and connectivity.
  I would recommend visiting a few schools of different kinds and asking for a comprehensive tour as it’s really easy to pick up on the ethos of a school with acute observation. Don’t fall for glossy school promo materials or ‘Pinterest’ classrooms, but ask;
  - Does the school make you feel welcome, safe and happy when you enter?
  - Are the grounds tidy and maintained?
  - Are the classrooms adequately fitted out for modern learning? Do they use technology to create content that reflects their learning, or just to play games?
  - Are class materials and displays student created to reflect their current learning goals/ topics, or do they just “look good”?
  - Most importantly, do students and teachers actually look happy to be there and are they engaged in the learning process?

  I know it can be hard to entrust your ‘baby’ to the education system, but please believe that while any profession has a few lemons, the vast majority of teachers know what they are doing and want to see your child happy and thriving. Hope your search goes well!

  • 

    ihbh on 23/08/2019 - 22:11

    +1

    Thanks; I found this guide very useful: https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/look-classroom2/

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  Findo on 23/08/2019 - 22:28

  I would consider an IB school, and one with a robust literacy and numeracy learning progression framework. School funding info can be found on the ACNC website, and if a school isn't listed, it probably isn't worth attending.

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  HardlyCharly on 23/08/2019 - 23:05

  It really depends on your kids, how they learn, personality etc, and you won't know until they try it. You can't force them to be something they may not be. Personally I would have killed to go to such a school, I always felt severely limited by rote education, but had no choice as we lived out in the sticks in a small town.

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  mskeggs on 23/08/2019 - 23:06

  +1

  My direct experience has been with Waldorf and Steiner schools as a student teacher, and knowing staff and students at these as my own kids are at school.
  I would personally love to see progressive education become the default mainstream, I think it would benefit the majority and is a viable replacement for traditional pedagogy.
  I also think that the last couple of generations of teachers in primary schools of all types, and many high schools, are adopting many elements of progressive teaching styles.

  My personal decision was to send my kids to public schools. This wasn't a financial decision, though there are financial benefits. Our local primary was good (although is declining under a new principal) and our local high school is improving under a very good principal. A big part of this decision was because I found a lot of the parents at our local progressive schools undid many of the benefits of the education model, by spoiling their children or having very unrealistic and indulgent discipline and work ethic expectations.
  For me, this is the biggest problem with this style of learning. As a group, parents who choose progressive education are extremely invested in their children's education - this is great with many families, but it is terrible when there are parents who helicopter or otherwise dominate or over indulge their offspring.

  My eldest is at uni now, and the others well progressed, and finding public schools that reflect our values from the top down worked for us. I would suggest that as the best starting point, go meet some principals and staff in order to make an informed decision.

  • 

    ihbh on 29/08/2019 - 12:03

    Thanks for the feedback. We're influenced by the likes of the Finnish schooling system, forest schools (and bush schools in Aus) and Alfie Kohn where play is an important part of the early development for children.

    Do you have experience in self-directed learning, which is different again from progressive schools because in theory it doesn't have to follow a syllabus and is driven by the child's interest and requires a broad range of age of students to learn from one another? My thinking here is that a bit of an introduction to the basics (3R's, etc.) is valuable because knowledge is inter-related and to explore something now and then might be less efficient, and there's what you don't know you don't know in terms of interest until you are exposed vs esoteric intellectual stuff such as chemistry and Latin which have a high chance of not being useful over anyone's life unless they have an interest in it. So perhaps some breath with traditional learning combined with life skills and a few areas of deep project based learning driven by the child's interest.

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  EightImmortals on 24/08/2019 - 09:25

  +1

  Progressive education is a pedagogical movement that began in the late nineteenth century; it has persisted in various forms to the present. The term progressive was engaged to distinguish this education from the traditional Euro-American curricula of the 19th century, which was rooted in classical preparation for the university and strongly differentiated by social class. By contrast, progressive education finds its roots in present experience. Most progressive education programs have these qualities in common[1]:

  Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, expeditionary learning, experiential learning
  Integrated curriculum focused on thematic units
  Integration of entrepreneurship into education
  Strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking
  Group work and development of social skills
  Understanding and action as the goals of learning as opposed to rote knowledge
  Collaborative and cooperative learning projects
  Education for social responsibility and democracy
  Highly personalized learning accounting for each individual's personal goals
  Integration of community service and service learning projects into the daily curriculum
  Selection of subject content by looking forward to ask what skills will be needed in future society
  De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied learning resources
  Emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills
  Assessment by evaluation of child's projects and productions

  Sounds great. I wish we had that option growing up.

  • 

    weezlebub on 28/08/2019 - 12:12

    Sounds like lefty indocrinations with zero focus on education, more focus on self actualisation …

    Perfect place for your child to experience 'safe schools' first hand …

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  SlavOz on 24/08/2019 - 09:48

  -1

  Never heard of this tbh, but sounds very questionable.

  Honestly I had a tough time learning at school because the current system is poorly set up but tbf that was mitigated by the social skills I learned. Schools are tough and they'll break you but if you persist you come out much stronger and ready for real adulthood.

  Very few career paths followed these days care about how you did at school or even uni. If you can read, write, count, and show a determined attitude you can make it in almost job or life path you choose. Putting your kid in what honestly sounds like a toxic environment (that's just me) would be a bad idea. Let your child have a normal childhood at a normal school with normal friends.

  • 

    EightImmortals on 24/08/2019 - 10:12

    What if you want your kids to be better than just 'normal'?

    • 

      SlavOz on 24/08/2019 - 10:30

      Then raise them to be determined and passionate - don't expect a private institution to do it for you :P

      Seriously, I wouldn't go making a decision like that on your child's behalf anyway. If they want to be above average then they'll do everything later in life to get there, when they're ready and determined. That drive is often what often makes people successfull. Nobody becomes successfull (or at least simultaneously happy while being sucesfull) by being pushed by their parents from a young age. In most cases this has the chance to do more harm than good. Your kid won't be able to be better than normal if he doesn't know what normal is :P

      • 

        EightImmortals on 24/08/2019 - 11:24

        "Then raise them to be determined and passionate -"

        But numerous studies (no, you can look them up yourself :) )have shown that the education system as it is work very determinedly against those qualities. There is also a famous study on how is crushes creativity and individuality. Those are the exact things I would expect to be encouraged at the school mentioned in the OP.

        "Your kid won't be able to be better than normal if he doesn't know what normal is :P"

        Maybe, but conversely they might not strive to be their best out of fear of the 'normal' crowd harassing them back into line. Look how the world at large works at the moment for example and how 'different is treated by the 'normal' masses.

        • 

          SlavOz on 24/08/2019 - 19:26

          @EightImmortals: All very true, but I think the compulsion of conformity is what makes individuality possible. Those who want to go against the culture need a culture to go against. They need to be in an environment which challenges their creativity and resilience and tries to surpress it. Only then can they learn to stand up and be individuals.

          What you're suggesting is putting a child in an environment where they'll be encouraged in an echo chamber of similar ideas (albeit good ones). That's not individuality either.

          Don't discount the value of challenge. In many ways I feel like my desire to succeed was only driven out of spite for the culture that tried to suppress me. Think of early individuals who went against Church and State and risked their very life to start a revolution. That wouldn't be possible otherwise.

          Really though this probably the wrong place to get parenting or education advice. Talk to a child psychologist or guidance counsellor, find out how your child is wired and choose the best environment for them based on empirical evidence. Many, many people do end up doing quite well at ordinary schools. It's all a matter of personality.

  • 

    AncientWisdom on 24/08/2019 - 12:26

    If anything, your attitude is very questionable. Doesn't sound like you know much about those kind of schools, in actuality a normal school is for a lot of kids a toxic environment to go back to every day… But I wouldn't generalise either way because it depends on the particular school as well as the child and peer group.

    Edit:
    Also your perspective about the importance of school and uni in your career is eyebrow raising, not sure what you do for work but I'd definitely not agree with that.

    • 

      SlavOz on 25/08/2019 - 10:06

      Dude, like I said the public school system isn't broken, it's just outdated. Millions of kids go thru it every year and a massive majority come out just fine. Of course it has its limitations, but those are part of the barriers kids need to learn how to deal with to become adults.

      There will be no mother wing of progressive education shielding them in the real world from the bad ideas or environments you speak of. Uni or work will not accommodate kids who come from special education backgrounds and need to be carefully nurtured to get along. Heck, maybe your kid will do 10 years of public schooling, realize he's one of the many people who just isn't cut out for books, and go on to start a TAFE course in a trade they like (and likely earn a very good salary from it on the future, like most committed trades do).

      Your child is not special (sorry). They're going to grow up needing to dedicate their entire existence just to keep their shit together, just like all of us. They're going to be screw-ups in a lot of areas in life, just like all of us. You can't prevent this (nor would you want to).

      • 

        AncientWisdom on 25/08/2019 - 12:54

        You're just showing your ignorance. Progressive schools don't shield kids from the real world, they prepare them for it, often better than regular schools. And it's been shown that kids that come from progressive schools do better at uni than kids from the public school system. I'm not saying don't send your kids to a public school, some kids even are more suited to a public school, but don't make out of progressive schools something they're not.

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  brad1-8tsi on 26/08/2019 - 13:36

  +1

  I had friends who founded the Steiner School in the Blue Mountains in the '80s. There were 2 types of students. those whose parents (or the student) believed in that form of education or those who had been expelled from every other school in the district. Apparently it made for a heady mix of personalities.

  • 

    ihbh on 29/08/2019 - 11:48

    those who had been expelled from every other school in the district

    These are not the target students for progressive schools unless it's something they can accommodate that the traditional schools couldn't. :)

    • 

      brad1-8tsi on 29/08/2019 - 23:43

      they weren't the target students but when your school needs money and gets no government funding, as was the case on this occasion, you'll take whoever can pay

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  Icecold5000 on 30/08/2019 - 00:13

  However, areas that could have improved include being more collaborative (vs competitive), better social skills, and a better sense of social justice (vs indifference).

  The world is a competitive place and people only collaborate when there is something in it for them.

  If you want them to make a difference in the context of social justice encourage them to start a business and pay their employees honestly and treat them fairly. This will be more helpful to society than virtue signalling

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  AncientWisdom on 04/09/2019 - 23:45

  Research finds no advantage in learning to read from age five

  • 

    ihbh on 05/09/2019 - 22:04

    +1

    Consistent with the Finnish schooling system where kids start schooling later, yet has consistently been ranked at the top for a long time.