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Alternative schooling

B

This thread was inspired by   and this quote:

'School can ruin or taint so many aspects of life'  in this thread:

 HI EVERYONE I am new here 

This set me thinking about what type of education would actually suit autistic people best.

One thing I'd like to avoid is forced education - making people study subjects they dislike or are not good at and especially the exams - from what I see, there is much more pressure on achievement for children nowadays than when I was at school which must be very stressful.

Also, I wonder what would help to alleviate the bullying that certainly was endemic when I was at school - smaller classes maybe.

From my own experience the bullying and trauma of school can have a lifelong detrimental effect. 

Montessori schooling impresses me:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

What do you think?

Any radical changes you would like to see in education - whether private or state?

I am talking about the UK because that's all I have experience of but please talk about your own country too.

Parents

  • Small schools seem much better -my kids go to a small rural school (less then 40 for the whole school). There are two classes and the kids learn and play together so it's more a family vibe and they tend to look out for each other more. My daughter still struggles with the playground being small and noisy, but overall it's a better system. Kids who have had trouble in other schools sometimes transfer here, which helps boost numbers too. 

    The one thing, the teachers could do with more assistance for the very different learning levels in their classes, so I do think we should invest more in schools, listen to teachers and provide what they need as it's a crucial time and worth a lot of futures to get right! 

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing
    Cinnabar_wing said:
    Small schools seem much better -my kids go to a small rural school (less then 40 for the whole school). There are two classes and the kids learn and play together so it's more a family vibe and they tend to look out for each other more.

    That does sound good and I'm glad to hear it.

    I went to school in the 60s-1980 and this was in a city and the poorest/roughest areas.

    I think I had a combination of factors that led to extreme bullying and an education that didn't bring out the best in me.

    I wonder how much has changed over the decades and whether state schools in particular are better nowadays, especially where bullying is concerned.

Reply
  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing
    Cinnabar_wing said:
    Small schools seem much better -my kids go to a small rural school (less then 40 for the whole school). There are two classes and the kids learn and play together so it's more a family vibe and they tend to look out for each other more.

    That does sound good and I'm glad to hear it.

    I went to school in the 60s-1980 and this was in a city and the poorest/roughest areas.

    I think I had a combination of factors that led to extreme bullying and an education that didn't bring out the best in me.

    I wonder how much has changed over the decades and whether state schools in particular are better nowadays, especially where bullying is concerned.

Children
  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing
    Cinnabar_wing said:
    I think raising it to 18 was a mistake, as school just isn't for everyone, and kids should be able to go to vocational courses, apprenticeships and jobs instead, and those who want to pursue academics are then able to.

    I agree.

  • in reply to B

    The local high school is a mixed bag like most others. They were featured on a programming as they ran a class where the kids restored an old vintage tractor that had been sitting about on the head teachers farm. And they are working really ahead with teaching tech too, and I heard they had a forest school class for pupils who weren't engaging in school. 

    But there is still bullying, children get basically assaulted by others on the way home, to the extent they then drop out of school, and nothing is done as it's 'just kids'. The SNP's policy not to exclude means disruptive aggressive kids stay in school, harming teachers and other pupils alike. At the moment there is nothing teachers can do about problem pupils, and I've heard teachers saying it's making schools unteachable. (This is opinions of secondary teachers I've heard, I don't have any experience myself).

    School only became manageable for me after 16, which was school leaving age at the time, and then suddenly nearly everyone who didn't want to be there left (apart from one unfortunately). I think raising it to 18 was a mistake, as school just isn't for everyone, and kids should be able to go to vocational courses, apprenticeships and jobs instead, and those who want to pursue academics are then able to.