Visions of Spring

Hello! My name is Tomis. I work with the Manhattan Free School – a newly formed democratic free school in the East Village of New York City.  The following is an exploration into a day at my school.  Hopefully, you find this helpful in shedding some light on the practical importance of Free Schools amidst the social revolution we all seek.

All of the names have been changed for privacy.

Today started somewhat familiarly.  I walked into the classroom and noticed Jane (the new volunteer) sitting at the lunch table and Jackson (staff member) on the “research only” computer in the back right corner of the room.  As I took a step forward to approach the “sign-in” table, I noticed a dark, mouse-sized rodent scurry under the wooden-framed couch. Max, the black-haired and boldly adventurous gerbil had escaped for the umpteenth time.  Jane helped me trap Max in between two closet doors.  The past three or four times this has happened it took at least twenty minutes to finally capture the gerbil, however, this time I think we had him in under ten.  I am awful with the gerbils.  To me, they are rats that are just a bit cleaner, as a result of their domestication.  Jane did the dirty work for me this time.

Elise, one of our new students, arrived with her father and one year-old brother.  She gave me a tutorial on how to use her Leapster – a hand-held electronic learning device for kids.  A few minutes later, I found myself in the Studio (the name of one of our classrooms) writing letters on the chalkboard with Jamie (5), Rachel (6), and Nicholas (5).  Jamie had written Nicholas’s name on the board, but missed a couple of letters, so we began identifying capital and lowercase letters to each other. Eventually, we spelled Nicholas’s name correctly, and then each of their names next to his.

By this time, most of the students had arrived and we were about to begin our “morning meeting.”  The morning meeting takes place at 9:30, (or when a significant majority has arrived at school), and is spent making announcements, whether general or pertaining to the day’s activities.

After the meeting, I stayed to meet with Rachel (6) and Nicholas (5).  These two have been quarrelling and physically fighting on and off since the beginning of the year.  Last week it got so bad it was voted they would be sent home for the day and in the future would have to meet with a staff member at the beginning of each day.  These two are especially rebellious for a five- and six-year-old, and appear to need a significant period of time before being fully effected by the fruits of a free school environment.  I am positive that if I were a teacher in a traditional school, there would be no hope for helping these two “get along.”  Not only because there would be much more coercion involved in my relationship with them, but also because I would have no support from their peers.

Part of the free school “curriculum” is community and cooperation.  One aspect of this curriculum concept is what we are currently calling the “complaint committee” (I may propose a new name at a future school meeting).  Staff and students call meetings regarding individual behavior, rule breaking, or disputes between students.  Each day, a rotating group of students and staff meet as the complaint committee, and are responsible for resolving complaints that people have written. The committee reviews the complaint and involves whomever necessary to ensure that everyone is understood, and that a solution is being worked towards.

Daniel (11), Charles (17) and Jackson (staff) joined me for the meeting with Rachel and Nicholas.  Some five- and six-year-olds love to talk about how they feel and what they’re thinking, and those kids generally enjoy the school meetings.  Nicholas and Rachel, though, are generally uninterested in the meetings and are quick to get distracted.  It would appear that this renders the meeting powerless, but I have witnessed just the opposite.  When the child realizes that his or her behavior could result in a boring meeting where they must retell the event and contribute towards finding a solution – they tend to be more willing to work it out amongst themselves.

This is often the case with Nicholas and Rachel, and I am convinced that today’s improvement had something to do with the painfully long (probably fifteen minute) meeting they had to endure before they were free to play.  Whether brought on by the meeting itself, or the threat of the meeting, the goal is for them to be able to work through a dispute and fully understand the other person, in order to establish genuine cooperation.

By this time, the students had scattered and were all involved in one thing or another.  I noticed Steven (12) and Jackson (staff) were about to begin a game of chess.  Sadly, I had never played chess growing up and still had yet to learn.  I asked them to teach me how to play, so they turned their game into a tutorial.  I picked up the basics from watching them play one game, but the strategy involved still seemed hazy.  They were satisfied to only play once, so I announced that I would want another lesson the next time a game took place.

In the relaxed atmosphere at a free school, it is common for students and staff to teach and learn from each other, rather than perpetuate the absurdity that adults know everything and have nothing to learn from children.  The largest obstacle I must overcome to be an effective teacher is to suppress a history of complacency and cultivate an increasing desire to continuously learn new things.  The scars from my compulsory schooling are slow to fade.

After the chess game, I helped Jamie (5) and Rachel (6) identify a feather that they had found on the ground near the gerbil cage.  It was small and brown and I suspected it had come from one of our pillows that were stuffed with feathers.  The girls were concerned (and a bit excited) at the prospect of a bird having been inside the classroom.  We used the Internet to find that pillows are commonly stuffed with duck feathers, and then found some pictures of what they look like.  We compared them to the photos and realized the feather was most likely from our pillow.  The girls seemed satisfied.

While I ate my daily bowl of spinach and Italian dressing, a Journalism graduate student from Columbia University sat down and interviewed me.  She was visiting the school to gather information for an article she is writing on democratic education.  As lunch began to break up, a large group of kids made plans to go to the roof to play a game involving Nerf guns.  After being harassed for breaking the “no Nerf guns inside” rule, they decided to take them to the roof where they would be free to use them in their full capacity.

I stayed with the few kids that did not want to go to the roof, but soon everyone had chosen to make their way up there.  I joined the Nerf-gun-capture-the-flag game midway.  A series of strict rules were already established and agreed upon by both teams – it wound up being a combination of freeze tag, Capture the Flag, and Nerf gun melee.  I cannot speak for the rest of the students involved, but I certainly learned that despite my slender physique, I am out of shape and in desperate need of more cardiovascular exercise.

Soon after we returned to the classrooms, a parent of a new student came in to give a demonstration on how to play a didgeridoo.  He told us about his time spent in Australia, how he became interested in the instrument, and some of the culture of the aboriginals responsible for the didgeridoo.  As you would expect, some students were fascinated, some listened politely, and others could care less.  One student suggested we start a didgeridoo band and perform to raise money for the school.

The last half hour of each day has been voted to be set-aside for “quiet library time.” This is to help everyone wind down before the school day ends, and allow for total silence for any activities that require it.  The rule was created at our democratic meetings, which are held each Wednesday morning.  These meetings are in place to foster social democracy and allow for the staff and students to collectively create the rules and structure by which we agree to live.

Unlike the monotony of compulsory schooling, each day at a free school is expected to be different, vibrant, and fresh.  That is not to say there are not any daily structures or activities that carry over into consecutive days, weeks, or months, however, we are at liberty to evolve as seen fit by the group.  Most importantly, each student learns how to be responsible for him or herself and to the rest of the community.

The education of the young cannot be isolated from future society it will inevitably create.  If we want to see a world that values solidarity and social democracies, we must first give them a reason to – we must turn alternative theories into tangible realities.  The State approved curriculum does not stop with reading, writing, arithmetic and standardized tests, but becomes a full-fledged system of indoctrination – breeding high levels of cognitive complacency, spiritual insecurity, and political impotency.

Demonstrated in their ability to walk and talk without any external prompting, we know that humans are innately curious and natural learners.  An education of empowerment recognizes this reality and creates an environment that promotes self-knowledge and allows students to discover themselves free from fear.  It is fear that causes one to feel unsafe or insecure – acting as a cancer on their psychosomatic state.  Accepting and affirming people for who they already are, not who you wish for them to become, is the only way to fully eradicate the poison of fear from one’s development.