Progressive Education

Lynyrd Skynyrd lyrics  “Cause I’m as free as a bird now and this bird you cannot change…” comes to mind when I think of what progressive education means to me.  While many in our society may consider the thought of children being free to make educational choices not such a good plan, it is basically what has been my educational choice for my sons for pretty much all of their schooling.

My sons began their education in a Montessori preschool.  Here they were not given lessons on the color of the week or the number of the week, but instead offer a variety of beautiful material to explore and learn many colors, numbers and all kinds of other intangibles that often aren't even presented to children in school.  After attending several years at a private Montessori school, my sons were home schooled and for one year experience the public education via virtual online school.

Through all these years of education, I discovered so much of their learning took place in the world outside the classroom.  They learned about animals by visiting zoos, wildlife safaris, pet stores and watching programs on television or documentaries.  They learned about scientific concepts like inertia and gravity through riding roller coasters at theme parks and studying up on how they’re made and exactly what is all involved in acceleration, velocity and physical force.

If you want me to point out that my sons haven’t had the full curriculum of so many course choices and requirements in almost every public education school in this country, yes, this is true.   And do they even know how to study for tests?  Yes and no…so I guess it depends on if it’s a subject they’re interested in where  studying really isn't necessary or if it’s something they don’t really care too much about where they must study to be able to understand what’s going on in class. 

So while at their progressive school, they don’t have the full fledged curriculum offer as the public education schools and there are no tests to take or grades to receive, they’re definitely learning.   And it is the “what” that is being learned which is so important in progressive education.  In high school, they do have to meet the requirements of credit hours for certain courses in order to graduate, such as English, Science, Math and Foreign Language subjects.  They don’t receive a grade at the end of the semester, instead completing an essay about it.  In this course evaluation, they write about what topics were covered and what was learned, as well as what they liked the most and least and what they want to learn more about regarding that subject.

But what my sons are really learning is how to relate to people of all ages by being role models for the younger students and working together with peers to learn and solve problems.  When you walk into a high school literature class, you won’t see students sitting in rows of desks with a teacher in front of the classroom.  Instead, you may at first not even realize who the teacher is as it may be a student leading discussion in the class.  There may be several different discussions in small groups about different concepts in literature.    Or you may discover no students at all as they went out to explore some place that relates to a work of literature they’re currently discussing.   Learning outside the school walls is a very important part of progressive education.  You may see a group of students out hiking on a school day and ask, “Shouldn't they be in school?”  When in fact what you’re seeing is a group of students exploring nature firsthand, perhaps stumbling across a plant species they discussed in Plant Science class.   And there may be one student who is discovering that they can actually make it up that large cliff side without too much assistance. 

Most people know how public education works – probably having firsthand knowledge of it.  And that being the case, it may be difficult to open one’s mind to another alternative form of education that could possibly do as well of a job educating without grades and tests.  It may at first appear a little far-fetched to even think this possible.   But upon deeper exploration, one will discover that progressive education teaches to individual students by understanding how each one learns best and using all avenues of learning to best educate.   Part of our school’s education philosophy includes this statement, "Only when a child is given genuine freedom to choose can he or she genuinely choose to learn."  So for me progressive education is the ability to soar like a free bird on the ultimate journey of knowledge - fly free and explore the world.   

Our First Year at Kino School

With our first year as being part of the Kino community approaching its end, I would like to share our experience so far at Kino School and what we have discovered along the way.  We moved here at the end of July and our most pressing concern was what to do about our sons’ schooling.  We thought about enrolling them in traditional public school.  Certainly, they would do fine attending public school, but what would they be learning?   Too often it is little more than factual memorization which is most likely forgotten as soon as it is spit out for tests and they continue on to the next batch of facts. 

So we considered this private progressive school we discovered prior to moving here – Kino School.  We came in for our first visit, and let me say this is not just a school…it is a community.  When we arrived we saw staff, parents and students busily (and happily) cleaning and organizing for the approaching first day of school.  My sons were immediately excited about the prospect of attending Kino.  To be honest, I was probably sold before I even entered the building with my background in child psychology and belief in education that follows the child.  Yet it sure made us all feel better to actually experience the Kino Community.  We decided that we wanted our sons to explore and learn in their unique individual ways and knew that here would be the perfect environment.

So thus began our experience as part of the Kino School.  If you're expecting to see student desks lined up in rows with a teacher desk at the head of the classroom you may be disappointed. Learning here is everywhere - distinct areas for science, math, language arts, shop, arts and crafts.  You may come across a group of students working on something together by themselves or a teacher leading a discussion about a lesson.  And as parents, we received constant feedback from homeroom teachers.  My high school son’s homeroom teacher sent me an email (and several more throughout the year) informing me as to what he was doing and I could certainly tell she took the time to communicate with him and truly ‘get’ what he was interested in learning and doing.  And there is a very low student to teach ratio…thus allowing the teachers the opportunity to truly know each student.

At the start of the school year, I immediately decided to volunteer to help out in the library and soon discovered there was a need for playground monitors - so I decided to do that as well. The entire playground experience is something every parent should observe at least once.  In schools where so many of the outdoor ‘free’ time activities and physical exercise are being eliminated for more academia, it is truly refreshing to observe the Kino students outside.  And what is even more amazing is how they are all – from the youngest to the oldest – outside together. 

Kino school goes out – they truly go out to explore and learn.  There are field trips happening practically every week.  Everywhere from local art shows, hiking and parks to fishing at Lake Patagonia, hiking down into the Grand Canyon and an excursion to New Mexico visiting Native American sites.  But how do they learn if they’re away from the ‘classroom’ so often? Every place they visit is their classroom – a hands-on, first person experience, a memorable classroom enriching their lives in a way that a mere sitting at a desk, listening to a teacher and memorizing facts could never do.  Our younger son went hiking where it was just the teacher and another student.  He never actually climbed up rocks at an 80 degree angle before, but with the other student helping him from above and the teacher below, he was able to accomplish something that he has wanted to do since he could walk.     

And of course Kino School offers several courses for students to elect to take or not.  Yes, these courses cover the basics – reading, writing and arithmetic.  Also, there are some pretty unique offerings…like Petty Arguments for example.  Our son is leaning how to present an argument using techniques that will guarantee even the most skeptical listeners will start to believe.   And what about selecting one of these options: Landscaping and Gardening where you actually do landscaping and gardening or Survival Skills where you learn how to survive in different situations.   There’s art, music, foreign language (our high school son is taking Latin and actually impresses us with his knowledge) cartooning, cooking, stained glass, chemistry, plant science, and many other offerings.   There’s an interesting history course our older son is taking – Ancient History. Now when his father rattles off, “The first to do this or that was the Romans, etc…,” our son is quick to correct him with the actual facts.  And don’t forget projects which all students decide to do at the beginning of the school year, work on throughout the year and present during Project Night.  A quick look around the school and one would see several projects completed by Kino students past and present.

And what does Kino Community mean to us?   Well, our first social event was the Hoedown where families provided chili and cornbread, gathered outside the school with live music and a bonfire where we roasted s’mores of course.  We also attended a Kino 101 night for a chance to learn more about Kino’s educational philosophy and have our questions answered.  Kino School has Project Nights with Potluck included – an opportunity for families to see what the students are learning at school with their work proudly displayed.  And usually there is musical or theatrical entertainment provided as well.  There are art sale events where artwork drawn by students is for sale.  And there are opportunities to volunteer on cleanup workdays or to just come in during holidays and weekends to feed the animals.   And even a greater sense of community is realized from the service our students provide in the larger community such as raising funds for charitable organizations or volunteering at the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen.

With the majority of the population believing that education should occur in a structured environment where teachers are in charge of the classrooms, handing out grades and administering tests required by local, state and federal administrators, it may seem impossible to imagine a different type of education actually working to teach our children well.  Yet during our first year at Kino School, we have discovered many different things reinforcing our belief that education is at its best when it pertains to life.  Here at Kino School is where a student is not just a passive participant, but instead is actually responsible for his or her own education.   Here at Kino School is where a student is not sent home with loads of homework, but instead actually does school work at school and if so motivated will voluntarily work on it at home as well.  Here at Kino School is where the teacher is not in control of the classroom making all the decisions, but instead the student and teacher work together to facilitate learning for each individual student.  Here at Kino School is where there are no grades to reward or punish the student, but instead the student is rewarded by the attainment of knowledge.   Here at Kino School… where learning and life are one.