Ran across this link on twitter a few days back and finally got around to watching it today.  It’s a trailer for the video Voices from the New American Schoolhouse.  It reminded me very much of the model of A.S.Neill’s Summerhill School in England that we studies in my undergraduate program in university.

The idea that schools can work when students are more involved in the administration of the school is an interesting one.  I would need a bit more coaxing before I would be inclined to believe that all students can succeed in the setting, but one thing I do know is that the current model of education as represented in our orderly, disconnected classrooms today is doing nothing to help our students learn.

One young students mused that much like we have found out much about what babies need to thrive, she figues that

someday researchers will find out that teenagers need to talk to learn and develop.

Of course, it’s not just teenagers, but all of us – learning comes from conversations.  So, then why do we place so much value on teachers whose classrooms are quiet, orderly, straight and filled with repetitive tasks?

Education is in the heart of the listener, not in the voice of the teacher.

Kids love to connect, either through conversations or – more often nowadays – digitally.  It IS real to them, despite what adults say.  It’s where their heart is, thus it’s where the learning will take place.

Just what would happen if we let them run? Who knows, maybe even REAL learning!

Technorati tags: technology, education, whipple, learning, newamericanschoolhouse