Is your philosophy similar to Montessori Schools? The Freedom School Cooperative is similar to Montessori in that both believe that children are naturally curious and do not need to be forced to learn. Both programs give children the freedom to make decisions about their time and what interests them. The difference is, while our children meet at our cooperative we do not create any pre--determined activities that we believe are developmentally appropriate. Interest is the only criterion for choosing any activity and success is measured by interest.
Are your activities similar to those found at Waldorf schools?
Waldorf Schools, similar to us, believe in providing educational opportunities that support the whole child. The overall happiness and ability of each child to recognize his or her full potential is the primary goal. Through deep play, both environments encourage the intuitive wisdom of the child. However, Waldorf schools move children in a particular direction and follow a specific curriculum, where our belief is to give children access to the full complexity of life, and the curiosity, confidence, and competence to participate in it and if need be, change it.
Is it like homeschooling?
Although we are currently a homeschool cooperative, our philosophy and environment is different than that of traditional homeschooler cooperatives. Homeschoolers, for the most part, see the family environment as the best place for children to grow. Although The Freedom School Cooperative believes that the home is a critical place of learning for our children, we also believe that children learn best about their place in the world by participating in a democracy with peers and adults. This gives them the skills to tolerate diversity of opinion, speak out against inappropriate behavior, and develop and fulfill group projects. Being involved in our cooperative still allows the family to be the central place of learning, but it gives a child the opportunity to discover true independence by being involved in a diverse community.
Will my child learn the "right" things by participating?
Homeschoolers all have different ideas about what there kids should learn and provide many different learning opportunities. While at our cooperative, we do not set out for the children to learn anything in particular. We do not believe that while they are with us there is any one set of "right things" for them to learn. After all a musician doesn’t need to develop the same skills as a physician necessarily, just an overlapping set so they can communicate with each other. Our focus while involved in our cooperative is the opportunity to overlap and learn from each other. Here children are free and are trusted to learn what they need to without anyone insisting on any particular bits of knowledge. Since we cannot stop children from learning we trust the children in our group to stay alive to the world around them, self organize thier time together, and learn that they can master their own activites and world.
How do kids get into College without credits or grades?
Colleges and Universities across the country recognize the growing importance of homeschooling and other alternative educational programs. Grades are no longer prerequisites for admissions to many institutions. High School grades are only one of many factors that colleges consider. Most colleges require and rely on SAT scores and most of our college bound students have taken and done will on them. Most colleges seek well-rounded, inquisitive, and motivated students, which are qualities that blossom in in the children that participate in our program. The children in our group excel at personal interactions and do well in personal interviews since during their time with us they have the chance to practice the art of conversation, self-awareness, meetings, collaboration and public debate. Even Harvard has a specific admissions officer assigned to candidates from alternative schooling backgrounds. Of course, the most important requirement for success in college, as in any of life's pursuits, is self-motivation. This is why graduates from other coops and formal Sudbury type schools, who want to go to college, do - usually to the college of their first choice
What colleges do children from these types of programs attend?
Most homeschoolers that want to go on to college do and many start their college studies earlier than their peers. A study was done in (1991) of the alumni from Sudbury schools and found that 90% of the students attended post secondary school and 96% of those were 4-year colleges. Many attend top schools in the country. Ask us for a complete list or read Legacy of Trust, Life After the Sudbury Valley Experience by Mimsy Sadofsky and Daniel Greenberg. Although we are not a Sudbury School at this time, many aspects of our programs philosophy are adopted from this program and the influence on our children can only be assumed to be parallel.
What is the student to parent/staff ratio?
The plan is to have two parents available for about 8 children. The adults in our program are not “teachers” but facilitators or nurturers. We are there to help the children when they need help, recommend books, help set up opportunities, internships, talk, lead, discuss, converse, offer insights in meetings, organize field trips, provide continuity for the community and culture. etc. The core group is also responsible for the continuing operation of our program. . The lead but are not administrators. Learning happens in its own way, in its own time.
How is the program structured?
The Assembly acts as the governing body of The Freedom School Cooperative. The Assembly will meet about three times a year, it is made up of students, parents, and FreedomHill Fellowship staff, as well as community members. The primary responsibility of the Assembly will be to set major policies, amend by-laws, set membership program, and make general budget allocations, and awards diplomas (when we are approved as an Umbrella). All decisions are by majority vote. The Assembly elects a Board of Trustees every January to serve as an advisory committee and to evaluate the cooperative's adherence to its philosophy and make broad-range recommendations as needed. The Assembly also elects officers, including an Assembly President who signs official documents and chairs Assembly meetings.
"School" Meetings are held weekly and all those that are involved attend. These meetings are central to the cooperative since we do not have a principal or head of the program. School meetings take place every Wednesday during the school year and the Judicial Committee will meet daily to enforce a thick rulebook established collectively by students and parents.
Can my child learn if there is no set curriculum?
Some families may follow a specific curriculum at home. We do not provide an pre-designed classes but the children learn a great deal while they are involved with our group. While we do not provide classes, we do provide an environment that responds to children's interests and goals. Children are natural learners and actively learn all of the time. Because children here freely choose their pursuits, their learning is generally deeper and more satisfying and more enduring than some of what is taught in regular curriculum activities.
What if my child is not self-motivated?
Unfortunately, it seems that our assumptions of what children should be doing influences our view of whether or not they are learning or succeeding. If we set these expectations aside, children are free to explore what interests them and find their own path to evaluate what is or is not successful for them. When left to their natural instincts and drives, all children are self-motivated. This natural quality drives them to learn to walk, talk and explore the world around them. When this inner drive is given freedom to “be”, it is strengthened and developed and carried into adulthood.
Some children that have been in conventional schools may have already lost a good bit of their inner drive and motivation. When they transition to homeschooling and have a chance to participate in our cooperative, they will have to regain their knowledge that the world and all its possibilities are open to them. The Freedom School Cooperative will provide an ideal environment for these students to recover their innate inspiration and self-motivation.
How will my kids learn what they need to if they play with their friends everyday?
We believe kids learn much of what they need to through play. We don’t try to modify it, interfere with it, or qualify it. Play is the work of young people. We see play as children’s main educational mode and a place to learn to concentrate, imagine and communicate. Through play they can learn what their aptitudes and affinities are and through play they can acquire the skills they need to be successful adults. Many schools limit the amount of time children converse with each other and with adults. Many homeschoolers spend more hours alone longing for interaction with other children or other adults. At The Freedom School Cooperative, children may spend most of their time in conversation with others. We believe that time spent socializing is invaluable to a student’s education and growth.
What will my child learn?
Many adults go through life without truly discovering their passion and determining who they are, what they want and how to pursue their goals. Children that attend are free to do so are able to discover early on in their lives, what their passion is. This is an intense learning process. Children and teens that are allowed to pursue this process early on become eager to learn the academics that they need to succeed.
At The Freedom School Cooperative students will pursue their own interests and they will determine the course of the days they are here with us along with their friends. The ebb and flow of activity depends upon individually pursued directions. Students often join and share an activity initiated by someone else thus there is a constant interpersonal transfer of information, communication, and enthusiasm between members of the community. In such a flexible and egalitarian context, interpersonal and communication skills become very important. Children will learn everything they need to in order to become responsible and motivated adults.