Democratic School
I’ve just started university and have met lots of new people from all sorts of countries. Despite their different backgrounds, they all went to the same type of school as me. The schools had lots of rules, lots of sitting quietly, 3 hours of listening to lessons and never-ending tests. However, there was one student, Derek, who told me he’d gone to a democratic school. I didn’t know what he meant so I asked him to tell me more.
Derek explained that democratic schools are very different from typical schools where the teachers decide what the rules are. In democratic schools, things like equality and freedom are more important than getting good grades. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions. He explained that in weekly meetings students and staff members voted on school rules and ways to enforce them. They also decided what to do if someone broke the rules. Each student and staff member had one vote each, so, as there were many more students than staff, the students were in control.
As for the lessons themselves, Derek said that students made their own timetables at the beginning of each term. They could choose from a range of traditional subjects like geography, maths and woodwork. He also explained how the students weren’t separated by age and even more surprisingly that participation in each class was optional. They had to attend the class, but if they chose to, the students could do an alternative activity like reading or drawing. Despite this, the students often chose to prepare for exams in order to go to university.
If I’d gone to a democratic school, I wouldn’t have studied anything and I’d have spent all my time playing games. Even now, I need someone to tell me what to do and organise my life for me. But maybe that’s the point of democratic schools. Perhaps if young people were allowed to make more decisions themselves, they would be better prepared not only for life at university, but also the challenges beyond.