...and now for something completely different

Leo Tolstoy
Aside from his literary achievements (Anna Karenina and War and Peace among others), Tolstoy was also a harsh critic of the education system in his native Russia. His criticism was not only appropriate for other parts of the world during the 1800's when he was alive, but is also appropriate for today's problems in education. He started and ran a radical village-school for peasants on his Yasnaya Polyana property from 1860 to 1863. The school was aptly named "Yasnaya Polyana." From the back cover of Tolstoy on Education: "Tolstoy allowed his pupils to come and go as they pleased, and insisted that teachers, too, should be free to teach what and at whatever length they wished." Aside from Tolstoy on Education (translated by Leo Weiner), other good books concerning his views on education are Tolstoy As Teacher: Leo Tolstoy's Writings on Education by Tolstoy and Robert Blaisdell, and Tolstoy as a Schoolmaster by Ernest Howard Crosby.
http://www.ltolstoy.com
http://www.skoletorget.no/abb/eng/plumstone/plum_yasn.html

Discussion Evening

The education committee is inviting all school families (grown-ups and kids) to an evening of discussion on child-centred and self-directed learning: what does that really mean and how can we accomplish it?

Join us this Thursday, February 7th at 6:30pm in room 225 for stimulating dialogue and sharing of ideas on how to enhance our children's potential to learn and flourish in an inspired and inspiring environment.

refreshments and childcare will be provided

To link for some in-depth information on child-centred and self-directed learning click here

Child Centred Learning

Child centred learning puts children at the centre of the education process. Teachers become facilitators rather than directors of education. In a child centred environment children are valued as individuals, they are active participants in their education and their entire well-being is considered in planning and providing education.

When the child is considered the centre or focal point of the education process each child is recognized as unique. The teaching becomes more flexible and teachers aim to provide experiences that their specific children will benefit from. No longer can one plan fit all classrooms and no longer is one teacher directing the whole show. Teaching becomes less important and learning becomes key.

In summary, a child centred education would:

• meet the needs of individual children and acknowledge their ideas
• have adults that act in the best interest of the child and family
• be concerned with educating the whole child, mind, body, heart & hands
• lead to the realization of each child's potential
• be inclusive of all children and celebrate their differences
• ensure that all children are tolerant of each other
• provide a safe learning environment where children's feelings are understood
• allow for individual expression, experimentation and risk taking
• treat children like the real people that they are
• offer a learning place where children are happy to attend and want to learn