The collection of papers presented here focuses on a
new view of how to enable our children to realize
their full potential. Two models of education reform
underlie many of the papers presented in this web
site. The reader, unfamiliar with
Multiage
Education or the
Sudbury Valley model,
(RESPECT- What Children get
in Democratic Schools) should review these
brief descriptions.
To
begin we must rethink our perception of the manner in
which a child acquires new knowledge. Today’s children,
who have been bombarded with high powered media since
birth, are highly efficient acquirers of knowledge, eons
beyond most teachers in our schools.
Empowering the Child: Nurturing
the Hungry Mind (Chapter 1 will be available shortly) and the Raebecks Five elements
(several papers will be added shortly) will provide the
reader with some new insights into a new/old perception of
child knowledge acquisition.
The
second element, of our new perception of the child, is that
of discipline. The distinction between externally imposed
discipline and self discipline is discussed in
From Discipline to Self
Actualization.
The related issues of freedom and its relation to self
initiation and the efficiency of learning is presented in
The Freedom Continuum.
The
third element focuses on a revised view of how a child
becomes a fully functioning adult through the refining of
their social interaction skills.
The Preeminent Intelligence,
Social IQ,
brings together a variety of resources in support of this
tenant. Hanging Out, a
critical step in becoming a Fearless Communicator
documents how students from one school make the transition
from being shy and withdrawn to that of a Fearless
Communicator.
A
parallel paper on Hangin' Out, by Audrey Raebeck
demonstrates how this socialization process works even for
a mature (retired) population.
Finally I have included a short, student written paper,
A Fabricated World of Kings and
Queens which calls out for the restricting of our schools to
better meet the social needs of our students.
