School without walls, without desks and without cramming: Why outdoor lessons are gaining popularity in New Zealand
Schools that don't have walls, don't ring a bell, and don't have a grueling discipline where you don't get called to the principal's office, where boring calculations and tasks are replaced with practical research, have been gaining popularity in recent years, and even a pandemic can't stop it. The world is changing-so fast that parents are forced to think about adjusting their children's educational program, and a return to the origins, to nature, to the environment where you can hear and understand yourself, ceases to be something exotic and meets more and more support. The green school in New Zealand is an example of this.
Nature is at the center of the school curriculum.
This is how the creators of the "Green school" in New Zealand, Michael and Rachel Perretts, themselves teachers with many years of experience, managed to work in Japanese and Indonesian schools as well. At the beginning of 2020, a new educational institution was opened, unlike the thousands and millions of schools that accept children around the world. Actually, there are no walls in the "Green school" as such-except for the very minimum.
The green school is located on a former dairy farm on the West coast of the North island at the foot of mount Taranaki. The campus is surrounded by hills, and the Okura river is very close by. This is where students learn, despite the fact that lawns often serve as classrooms and the vast expanses of New Zealand serve as gyms. The school practices learning in a natural environment, in nature.
No esotericism – the school studies traditional subjects, except with a bias in environmental topics. But the teaching itself is organized in a special way. Math in elementary school can be taught in the garden where pumpkins grow – and children do not speculate, but in reality learn to count how many pumpkins will grow in five rows, if each has five plants. Different disciplines are not studied in isolation from each other, they are intertwined, giving children the opportunity to get a completely unique experience.
Here they believe that the focus of learning should not be cramming, but the student himself and his communication with the environment and people around him. Yet ecology is not just the science of nature, man, plants and animals, it is the study of their interaction with each other. Children learn to think creatively, take active actions, experience failures and adapt to real conditions; the organization of learning involves constant cooperation of students, independent distribution of tasks and responsibilities.
Life at school is defined by several fundamental principles, including empathy and concern for the feelings of others, honesty and ethics of one's own thoughts and actions, building strong relationships with the group, and striving to ensure that both the person and the environment remain clean for as long as possible.
The New Zealand Green school pays special attention to building relationships with local tribes. Students learn their language. And the opening of the school was accompanied by a welcome ceremony conducted by Maori. And the very location of the future school was blessed by the elders. The " day of knowledge "was marked by the admission of teachers, as well as students and their parents to the number of "Tangata venua", that is, "people of the earth".
Bali Green school experience.
The first "Green school" was opened in Bali, near the city of Ubud, in 2008. It was created by John and Cynthia hardy, a couple from Canada. John became a successful jeweler, but he always remembered his childhood fear of school-John had dyslexia, and standard teaching methods were difficult for him. The school became a Kingdom of bamboo buildings in the middle of the Indonesian jungle. The school, devoid of signs on the doors of offices, and indeed the offices themselves, became the personification of the movement towards an eco-friendly way of life, to a clean planet.
The Bali school strives to save resources as much as possible and minimize the impact on the environment. The choice of bamboo as a building material for buildings is explained by the fact that this plant is a record holder for the growth rate, which means that cutting down what is necessary for construction will be quickly replenished by nature. Electricity is obtained from solar panels and the energy of a nearby river. Even the food for the school comes from the local vegetable garden – the one where the students themselves and their mentors work.
The lessons themselves are based on the principles of minimal consumption and environmental friendliness, for example, crafts can be created from old plastic bottles or ice cream sticks.
And the main thing, of course, is nature. Not forgetting the undeniable benefits of this lifestyle for growing organisms, the creators of the Bali school, as well as schools in New Zealand, proclaim it as a way to know yourself, learn to communicate with yourself and with others.
How to study at the «Green school»
Life and study in the" Green school " are distinguished by such an important advantage as emotional security. In addition, school leaders are sure that through interaction with nature, the child gets the opportunity to show their abilities and unlock their potential. The surrounding world – the one that is located in the immediate vicinity of the "Green school" - becomes a kind of guide on this path.
But, of course, despite the attractiveness of this format of education, not every family is ready to send their child to this school. It's not just the cost – and it is, by the way, quite high, and often includes the cost of moving to New Zealand for the child and his family. It's just that this return to nature, paradoxically, is becoming too progressive for many parents.
A river flows in the immediate vicinity of the campus. But looking at the water, most parents will only experience anxiety, and the river itself will seem primarily a threat to children's safety. "In this case, our school is not for you," says Director Chris Edwards, a teacher with many years of experience, who graduated, by the way, from Oxford-perhaps the most classic of all possible universities.
Of course, children's safety issues are carefully considered, and for those families who see them as a prerequisite for the child's incredible learning and development opportunities, the school is happy to open its doors. As well as those who are calm about non-compliance with the school hygiene standards preached for centuries: dirty hands in the "Green school" are rather encouraged, because it is impossible not to get dirty when planting plants or caring for animals.
The 2020 pandemic, on the one hand, disrupted the usual course of things in the field of child education and training, and on the other hand, allowed us to think about new formats for organizing schools. Perhaps the values that the Green school preaches in New Zealand will come to the fore in the near future.
The third and fourth green network schools are opening in South Africa and Mexico – and maybe this is just the beginning. Perhaps "green schools" are not just a return to the roots, but a transition to a new, higher level of development.
Перевод: Лебедева Милана
incatalog.kz
Nature is at the center of the school curriculum.
This is how the creators of the "Green school" in New Zealand, Michael and Rachel Perretts, themselves teachers with many years of experience, managed to work in Japanese and Indonesian schools as well. At the beginning of 2020, a new educational institution was opened, unlike the thousands and millions of schools that accept children around the world. Actually, there are no walls in the "Green school" as such-except for the very minimum.
The green school is located on a former dairy farm on the West coast of the North island at the foot of mount Taranaki. The campus is surrounded by hills, and the Okura river is very close by. This is where students learn, despite the fact that lawns often serve as classrooms and the vast expanses of New Zealand serve as gyms. The school practices learning in a natural environment, in nature.
No esotericism – the school studies traditional subjects, except with a bias in environmental topics. But the teaching itself is organized in a special way. Math in elementary school can be taught in the garden where pumpkins grow – and children do not speculate, but in reality learn to count how many pumpkins will grow in five rows, if each has five plants. Different disciplines are not studied in isolation from each other, they are intertwined, giving children the opportunity to get a completely unique experience.
Here they believe that the focus of learning should not be cramming, but the student himself and his communication with the environment and people around him. Yet ecology is not just the science of nature, man, plants and animals, it is the study of their interaction with each other. Children learn to think creatively, take active actions, experience failures and adapt to real conditions; the organization of learning involves constant cooperation of students, independent distribution of tasks and responsibilities.
Life at school is defined by several fundamental principles, including empathy and concern for the feelings of others, honesty and ethics of one's own thoughts and actions, building strong relationships with the group, and striving to ensure that both the person and the environment remain clean for as long as possible.
The New Zealand Green school pays special attention to building relationships with local tribes. Students learn their language. And the opening of the school was accompanied by a welcome ceremony conducted by Maori. And the very location of the future school was blessed by the elders. The " day of knowledge "was marked by the admission of teachers, as well as students and their parents to the number of "Tangata venua", that is, "people of the earth".
Bali Green school experience.
The first "Green school" was opened in Bali, near the city of Ubud, in 2008. It was created by John and Cynthia hardy, a couple from Canada. John became a successful jeweler, but he always remembered his childhood fear of school-John had dyslexia, and standard teaching methods were difficult for him. The school became a Kingdom of bamboo buildings in the middle of the Indonesian jungle. The school, devoid of signs on the doors of offices, and indeed the offices themselves, became the personification of the movement towards an eco-friendly way of life, to a clean planet.
The Bali school strives to save resources as much as possible and minimize the impact on the environment. The choice of bamboo as a building material for buildings is explained by the fact that this plant is a record holder for the growth rate, which means that cutting down what is necessary for construction will be quickly replenished by nature. Electricity is obtained from solar panels and the energy of a nearby river. Even the food for the school comes from the local vegetable garden – the one where the students themselves and their mentors work.
The lessons themselves are based on the principles of minimal consumption and environmental friendliness, for example, crafts can be created from old plastic bottles or ice cream sticks.
And the main thing, of course, is nature. Not forgetting the undeniable benefits of this lifestyle for growing organisms, the creators of the Bali school, as well as schools in New Zealand, proclaim it as a way to know yourself, learn to communicate with yourself and with others.
How to study at the «Green school»
Life and study in the" Green school " are distinguished by such an important advantage as emotional security. In addition, school leaders are sure that through interaction with nature, the child gets the opportunity to show their abilities and unlock their potential. The surrounding world – the one that is located in the immediate vicinity of the "Green school" - becomes a kind of guide on this path.
But, of course, despite the attractiveness of this format of education, not every family is ready to send their child to this school. It's not just the cost – and it is, by the way, quite high, and often includes the cost of moving to New Zealand for the child and his family. It's just that this return to nature, paradoxically, is becoming too progressive for many parents.
A river flows in the immediate vicinity of the campus. But looking at the water, most parents will only experience anxiety, and the river itself will seem primarily a threat to children's safety. "In this case, our school is not for you," says Director Chris Edwards, a teacher with many years of experience, who graduated, by the way, from Oxford-perhaps the most classic of all possible universities.
Of course, children's safety issues are carefully considered, and for those families who see them as a prerequisite for the child's incredible learning and development opportunities, the school is happy to open its doors. As well as those who are calm about non-compliance with the school hygiene standards preached for centuries: dirty hands in the "Green school" are rather encouraged, because it is impossible not to get dirty when planting plants or caring for animals.
The 2020 pandemic, on the one hand, disrupted the usual course of things in the field of child education and training, and on the other hand, allowed us to think about new formats for organizing schools. Perhaps the values that the Green school preaches in New Zealand will come to the fore in the near future.
The third and fourth green network schools are opening in South Africa and Mexico – and maybe this is just the beginning. Perhaps "green schools" are not just a return to the roots, but a transition to a new, higher level of development.
Перевод: Лебедева Милана
incatalog.kz