Author Archives: UTS Support

Year 2009 — Volume 3 — Issue 5

Claiming our democratic rights
Pages: 1-15

Abstract
Using autobiographical research this paper reminds us that schooling and education are not the same things and that mainstream schooling is an undemocratic institution that “dumbs us down.” The paper also makes the point that we need to slow down and rethink why it is that we are pressuring and hurrying our children to do things in school and in life earlier and earlier, and we need to understand the damage that this is doing to them. Ultimately, the paper insists that we need to reclaim our democratic rights as children, parents, teachers, principals and citizens.
Carlo Ricci

v3151

Destructive Staffroom Discourse
Pages: 16-30

Abstract
Holt’s first book “How Children Fail” set in motion the education reform of the 1960s. Holt illuminated the plethora of problems in ‘cookie-cutter’ mainstream schools, such as the culture of the fear of failure. This qualitative study examines the concept of the “Destructive Staffroom Discourse” in mainstream elementary schools as an impairment to the atmosphere necessary for learning to occur.
Jonathan Pitt and Kristian Kirkwood

v3152

Disempowering Families: An examination of school policy
Pages: 31-40

Abstract
Quite often schools attempt to take on the unofficial role of the custodial parent, creating rules and regulations that infringe upon parents’ roles. Schools also limit the degree to which families can be involved in their children’s schooling. Some school-created literature that is available to parents takes on a tone of entitlement that some parents may not feel comfortable in challenging. As a result there is the potential to infringe upon family values and beliefs. This paper looks at three areas where schools have gone too far in their supposed role to educate children.
Michael McCabe

v3153

Reflections in Education: Considering the Impact of Schooling on the Learner
Pages: 41-58

Abstract
Each child has unique gifts waiting to be discovered and cultivated. Unfortunately, our current school system does not always provide children with the opportunity to develop their special interests. The following article is a personal narrative structured as a series of reflections, and aims to reconsider schooling’s role in assisting the crucial development of creativity. Drawing from ideas of researchers in the field of alternative education, I present reflections on my role as an elementary school teacher, and I examine the impact of teaching, curriculum and our current evaluation system on the development of children’s creativity.
Kathleen Anderson

v3154

 

Year 2008 — Volume 2 — Issue 4

Starting a School
Pages: 1-20

Abstract
As Holt suggests, we need to create gates so that those who want to escape the walled garden can more easily do so. To this end, creating an alternative school is one such gate. Not surprisingly, many believe that doing so entails a lot more obstacles than it actually does. Some believe that you would need many credentials, for example a PhD, or a Masters in education, or you would need to be or have been a principal in a public school or at the very least a certified teacher. The truth is that none of this is a prerequisite for starting your own school and that anyone with the will to do it can. Of course there are challenges, yet these are not insurmountable. We hope that those who are thinking about starting a school will use this piece as a resource and as an inspiration to start their own school and to continue to put up gates for those willing to escape.
Carlo Ricci and Kristin Simpson

v2241

Critical Pedagogy and Beyond
Pages: 21-34

Abstract
In this paper I deal with critical pedagogy’s historical contribution to the contemporary debate on the alternatives to schooling. In particular, I analyse Paulo Freire’s method and its actual applications, and I suggest an interpretative framework to evaluate its successes and its limits. Furthermore, I consider a critical analysis of critical pedagogy based on a teaching/facilitating experience in a formal education setting in the United States. Finally, I contend that educational alternatives to schooling should question the pedagogical fictions of learner and teacher as theoretical generalizations of schooling practice, and should acknowledge the participative nature of knowledge building processes.
Riccardo Baldissone

v2242

“No Common Thread”: Identity Crisis at an Alternative School
Pages: 35-65

Abstract
This study uses the phenomenon, or case, of the White Pine School as the basis for developing an understanding of how schools make their identities clear, distinct, and attractive to participants. This twenty­six­year­old parent cooperative “alternative” private school seems to be experiencing an identity crisis in which there is little consistency of vision and practices with which to enact that vision. The causes, manifestations, and possible solutions to this identity crisis are herein examined.
Kristan A. Morrison, Ph.D

v2243

Hypothesis Formation, Paradigms, and Openness
Pages: 66-86

Abstract
A part of hypothesis formation, while necessary for scientific investigation, is beyond direct observation. Powerful hypothesis formation is more than logical and is facilitated by mind­opening. As Percy Bridgeman, Nobel laureate, said, science is: “Nothing more than doing one’s damnedest with one’s mind, no holds barred.” This paper suggests more open schooling helps generate more open hypothesizing which helps one do one’s damnedest with one’s mind. It is hypothesized that a more open process of hypothesis formation may help schools and society forge new ways of living and learning so that more people more often can do their damnedest with their mind. This writing does not offer a new paradigm but rather attempts to elaborate on the notion that new paradigms are difficult to form without openness to what was previously quasi­unthinkable. More on these topics and issues is included in the author’s Reopening Einstein’s Thought: About What Can’t Be Learned From Textbooks ­­to be published by Sense Publishers in June 2008.
Conrad P. Pritscher

v2244

 

Year 2008 — Volume 2 — Issue 3

Open Universities: You do not need a high school diploma to get into university
Pages: 1-16

Abstract
In this paper I hope to empower students by exposing the myth that a high school diploma is a necessary first step to getting into a post secondary institution. In what follows, I will be sharing a brief history of open universities, give an example of an open university in a specific context and celebrate its policies, and continue to challenge some more myths about the importance of a high school diploma for success in post secondary schooling . .
Carlo Ricci

v2131

Freed to Learn: Five Fundamental Concepts of Democratic Education
Pages: 17-26

Abstract
Children are natural learners each with distinct interests, abilities and rates of cognitive, emotional and social growth. Democratic Education institutionalizes five key concepts to free these natural instincts and individual differences to drive community self-governance and individual self-directed learning within a formal schooling environment. This paper summarizes the five concepts fundamental to Democratic Education and suggests how they can be applied within a school setting.
Leo J. Fahey

v2132

“Let them Jam!”: Incorporating Unschooling Pedagogy in the Secondary School Music Classroom
Pages: 27-35

Abstract
This paper examines how the principles of unschooling were accidentally uncovered during my tenure as a music teacher in a secondary school in suburban Toronto , Ontario . As traditional music pedagogy during my first year at this school was unsuccessful, I delayed the start of each class in an attempt to shorten my instructional time and lessen the acrimonious relationship I had developed with my students. This delayed segment of class time evolved into an extraordinary and valuable learning experience for all of my students which became known as “jam time.” This form of learning embraced the pedagogical philosophy of unschooling, which eventually motivated my students to increase their musical knowledge and skills as well as embrace traditional music pedagogy. In addition, this paper also examines the contextual philosophy of unschooling versus traditional pedagogy in the secondary school music class.
Dr. John L. Vitale

v2133

Rites of Passage, Aboriginal Education and Learning for the 21st Century: Walkabout as a Radical-and Workable-Alternative
Pages: 36-56

Abstract
The Walkabout Program is an alternative and experiential learning practice that helps students to develop necessary skills for authentic learning and real world preparation through the completion of six learning passages. This aboriginal-based program celebrates the vital transition-or passage-from adolescence to adulthood. The six learning passages include philosophical, practical, emotional/physical/spiritual challenge, career exploration, community/global response, and creative endeavour. Although its primary focus is to challenge First Nations educators to rethink status quo schooling, the Program has equally beneficial opportunities for all students.
Blane Després

v2134

 

Year 2007 — Volume 1 — Issue 2

Are important and authentic Teachers members of our family?
Pages: 1-7

Abstract
In this paper I would like to share an episode that happened in one of my graduate classes where we expanded the definition of teacher and therefore received a wider response to the question of who is your most important and authentic Teacher. It was interesting for me to note that only one person picked a school teacher and that of the 17 most important and authentic teachers among this groups lives 14 out of the 17 were family members.
Carlo Ricci

v1221

Holistic Education – A Personal Revolution
Pages: 8-22

Abstract
This paper analyses the holistic approach inherent in unschooling, which takes learning outside of the restraints of mainstream education in order for each child to become the author of his or her own curriculum. Although educators now advocate student-centered modifications to the school system, we still view people in schools as agents, factors or products of an indispensable institutional agenda. The latest research and revisions developed in the name of reform are still generated in the context of a system that is unable perceive its own inadequacies and so projects them onto others-students, teachers and parents. Inspired by the work of Paulo Freire (1972), I contend that students must realize the pervasive oppression of schooling and gain power over themselves and their circumstances in order to become socially literate. These values of awareness, resistance and freedom involve going beyond reform to a genuine remaking of the learning environment in the spirit of holism.
Steven Taylor

v1222

Self-Directed Learning and Student Attitudes
Pages: 23-52

Abstract
It is a commonly held belief that students who enjoy their experience of school perform better academically. Thus, educators often struggle with the questions of how best to motivate students and how to make learning fun. Some parents and educators, however, have simply moved away from traditional educational practices and are choosing to let students take charge of their own learning. The intent of this study is to evaluate the attitudes of students in two Sudbury model schools – schools in which students from ages 4-19 are completely responsible for their own education – and to show the positive correlation between freedom and choice in the learning environment and positive student attitudes. This study involves the opinions of 23 students from two Sudbury model schools, forming a small focus group. The schools both volunteered for the study, and students were asked if they would like to participate. The students who participated ranged in age from 4-16. Each completed a questionnaire that included both scaled questions and open-ended questions. Overall, students reported having a very positive experience of school as assessed by the questionnaire. There were also recognizable trends in their narrative answers that pointed towards an overall appreciation for the level of freedom in their schools. In general, the study proved that in the group surveyed there is a positive correlation between freedom in the educational environment and the students’ attitudes about school. This study points to the validity of self-direction in the learning environment, and notes several options for follow-up studies.
Jennifer Schwartz

v1223

Authentic Learning
Pages: 53-63

Abstract
In my paper I use my own children as examples of how this way of learning might look like. They are people learning from out of their own curiosity- evolving new interests and ideas as they go along, rather then having learning imposed on them. The paper also features Radio Free School, a weekly radio program produced by my family which is reflective of what I like to call authentic learning .
Beatrice Ekoko

v1224

 

Year 2007 — Volume 1 — Issue 1

Unschooling Passions
Pages: 1-30

Abstract
Unschooling is about learning through living. As unschooling parents we want to open up the world for our children to explore. But what if your child is passionately interested in just one thing? Doesn’t that close off his access to the world and limit his learning? I have two children who have discovered passionate interests. Instead of spending my time trying to convince them to try new things, I decided to explore their interests with them. I was amazed at how much of the world came to life when they were free, and encouraged, to immerse themselves in their deep, passionate interests.
Pam Laricchia

v1111

The Mystery of Pleasure: Thoughts on Teaching and learning Sex and Gender Relations in a Democratic Montessori Elementary Environment
Pages: 31-55

Abstract
Dr Maria Montessori (1870-1952), saw the child as a ‘spiritual embryo’ naturally gravitating towards a state of ‘normalization’ through the evolving discovery of a ‘cosmic task’ that emerged from inquiring into one’s identity and role in the universe. Although she laid a philosophical framework for this ‘educating of the human potential’; she never openly discussed sexuality and sexual knowledge as a necessary part of this development. Dr Riane Eisler is a contemporary feminist systems theorist whose ‘partnership model’ of sexual politics embraces (and, in fact, openly endorses) the tenets of the Montessori approach.
Matthew Henry R. Rich

v1112

War Against the Imagination: Technology, Kids, and Autonomy
Pages: 56-62

Abstract
All children’s movies produced, marketed and distributed by corporations are carefully designed sales delivery systems. They exist to sell. Secondarily, but of no less importance, they transmit ideology: even the most banal animated features transmit the social values and expectations of dominant culture. War Against the Imagination begins to develop a critical understanding of how the growing technological sophistication of story-telling media is changing both what and how stories teach young children. How are the boundaries between fantasy and reality disintegrating in the digital age, and of what impact on the lives of kids growing in our communities?
Anonymous

v1113

Apprenticeships: When schooling means more than doing
Pages: 63-74

Abstract
This paper is theoretically grounded in an educational movement known as unschooling. Unschooling is a learner centered democratic approach to education. Jerry Mintz (2004) defines learner-centered education as “an approach that is based on the interest of the student rather than curriculum driven, where someone else has the idea of what you ought to be learning,” and he defines democratic education as “education where students are actually empowered to make decisions about their own education and if they are in a school their own school.” This paper is about apprenticeship programs and how schooling and paper certificates have become more important in determining if someone can do a particular job than them actually doing it.
Carlo Ricci and Lisa Hill

v1114