Whoever crosses the threshold of this unique school will forever change their attitude towards studies, teachers and classmates, because instead of the usual classes with desks and a blackboard, there are playrooms and theme parks, and instead of teachers, there are coaches who participate in children's games, discussing only those topics that interest them. But despite this unusual approach, the students achieved high results in many fields of knowledge, from writing poetry to researching nuclear physics or creating IT programs.
In the Netherlands, a school has emerged with no curriculum, no classes, and even no teachers (Agora College).
When we talk about school, most of us imagine noisy corridors, classrooms with rows of desks and teachers with a pointer at the blackboard, but that’s until you look at the unique educational institution Agora College, which is located in Roermond (Netherlands). Having crossed the threshold of a conventional classroom, students find themselves in a huge hall with different thematic zones, where in a chaotic manner you can see tables littered with books, paints, laptops and all sorts of small things, a bunch of armchairs, chairs and incomprehensible boxes and a large TV for presentations. This kind of creative work environment is usually seen in architectural firms or advertising agencies, but is not associated with the school process.
The huge hall is divided into several zones where students can relax, play and gain knowledge (Agora College, Netherlands).
Interesting: When a group of enthusiasts secured permission in 2007 to open an experimental school, Agora College, which was supposed to enhance student creativity, not teach, children were given the opportunity to design the classrooms themselves. This decision was justified by the fact that when the teachers were asked to do this, they offered a standard boring interior, and the founders sought to ensure that it was the children who enjoyed their studies and developed.
Children of different age categories study in the same class (Agora College, Netherlands).
No less surprising is the beginning of the school day, when children from different age groups (from 12-16 years old), united in one group, come up with … an activity for this day or several, depending on how deeply they want to study the topic they like. After 10 minutes, the trainer, by no means a teacher, gives each child the opportunity to present his plan for today to the whole class in order to show that he will not be idle, but really engage in research in one direction or another interesting for him.
The coach (teacher) only helps with leading questions, and the students themselves find the answers (Agora College, Netherlands)
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The coach, with the help of questions, tries to direct the child's search in the right direction, involving classmates who give advice on how to do it easier and better. And this is not just research for the sake of a tick or a mark. Each student has his own journal, in which they note not only the direction, but also how the matter is progressing, and when the topic is exhausted and the child has determined that he already knows enough about this issue, he puts a special seal that the task has been completed.
Each student does what he is interested in, the coach can only teach practical skills (Agora College, Netherlands).
After a collective discussion, the children go to the part of the hall in which it is more convenient for them: who goes to the music room, who goes to the workshop or studio, who sits at the laptop, and who even goes out into the corridor where the wall for teaching rock climbing is installed. All this action is watched by coaches who do not interfere in the process, but can only direct the child in the right direction with leading questions, without imposing their point of view or generally accepted concepts.
This is how classes are held in the third year of study (Agora College, Netherlands).
One of the mentors of this unusual school, Rob Houben, said that the motto of their school is the words of Albert Einstein - "Imagination is much more important than knowledge." That is why the entire teaching staff tries to move away from an authoritarian attitude towards students, in no case resorting to the generally accepted system of rote memorization, because it is these two components that forever kill the desire for learning and creative thinking in children.
Students of Agora College are allowed to use various office equipment and gadgets to receive information from the Internet (Netherlands).
Looking at such a system of education and complete freedom of action, a reasonable question arises: "But what about the ministerial curriculum, scheduled by the hour and the arsenal of knowledge that children should receive in each subject?" As it became known to the authors of Novate. Ru, in this European country, the Ministry of Education does not “lower the approved norms from above”, from which teachers have no right to deviate either to the right or to the left, but only … asks to bring pupils or students to the required level of knowledge within a certain period of time.
Students in the first 2 years learn only what they want (Agora College, Netherlands).
Thanks to such a loyal attitude of state structures, it turned out not only to open a school that has been actively promoting freedom of education for more than 10 years, but eventually to release from its walls a creative generation that has high communication skills, the ability to work in a team, flexible thinking and the ability to quickly and efficiently solve any interdisciplinary tasks. And these are precisely the qualities that are most appreciated by employers and will certainly come in handy in life.
The classroom is more like a modern office of a large firm than an educational institution (Agora College, the Netherlands).
The experience of Agora College is to actually give up all the control that a coach (teacher) usually has over the activities of students, entrusting them with their own education, while unobtrusively helping.
The unusual school has a themed game room instead of regular classrooms (Agora College, Netherlands).
Passionate learners create interest groups and invite professionals to learn more (Agora College, The Netherlands).
There are times when a student is very carried away by some specific research, and the knowledge of the curators or information found on the Internet is not enough, then he is allowed to contact specialists in this industry, providing free access outside the school during classes. These students can also create interest groups, and not necessarily classmates. Carrying out their research, they have the right to invite the necessary consultants on this issue, as well as enthusiastic peers from other schools by arranging round tables.
The school often holds meetings with parents who actively discuss with the children those of interest to them (Agora College, Netherlands).
And another important aspect, even if the child absolutely does not like mathematics, physics or geometry, and it is necessary to obtain the necessary level of knowledge in all subjects in order to pass the national final exam, which is compulsory for all educational sessions of the country, then they found a way out. Having complete freedom to do what they like to do, the student spends the first couple of school years, but in the third year they begin to learn what is necessary to pass this exam as conveniently as possible.
Children at school study all compulsory subjects recommended by the Ministry of Education on their own (Agora College, Netherlands).
So, for example, all students need to know the Pythagorean theorem and a few other mandatory rules and laws, but many are not interested in mathematics or physics at all, then coaches find other branches of knowledge that are close to a particular child, and where the necessary theorem or law is applied with the most practical and interesting point of view. This is how children begin to understand why they need to know this, and not just mechanically memorize, because it is necessary.
Children arrange workplaces themselves or can voice them to their liking (Agora College, Netherlands).
When teachers of a non-standard school are asked what are the basic rules of teaching, the answer is always the same: “We give children the opportunity to play, because when children play with something, they become interested. And then you don't need to teach them, and you don't need to control them. The fact that such a training system is becoming more popular is confirmed by the fact that for the next three years all groups have been completed and there is no recruitment anymore.
Each hall at the Agora College school is equipped in such a way that it is comfortable for children to study, do what they love and communicate with classmates (Netherlands).