Dear friends, in our previous article, we described briefly the pros and cons about the alternative education, but in order to express a realistic opinion, we have to see what are our pragmatic options related to alternative education.
1. Homeschooling
The different methods of homeschooling are as varied as the children who participate.
Most parents who choose homeschooling do so to become more involved in their child’s education, which they believe may be thwarted by the lack of one-on-one attention offered in traditional schooling.
Parents who homeschool often follow the suggested curriculum from their child’s school district and teach the same lessons at home in an environment where they can help to fully engage their children in their studies without the social distractions of public or private schooling.
2. Virtual Public School
One of the newest options in public schooling is virtual online charter academies.
Virtual charter schools are run by public schools.
The students will receive class materials such as textbooks, science supplies, DVDs, workbooks, and whiteboards sent direct to their home. They will also assign the student a teacher. The student will do all work from home supervised by their parent.
So how is this different than homeschooling?
Virtual public school is not homeschooling, because the public-school district is still responsible for the student’s success. They are graded like any other school. Students still must take standardized tests and meet state attendance policies. The parent is responsible for helping the teacher achieve success with their child. The parent works in tandem with the virtual educator. The teacher makes up the lesson plans for the student and will help determine if a student moves on to the next grade level.
3. Unschooling
Unschooling is an alternative education style that suggests that students learn primarily through life experiences.
Real life experiences—including play, household responsibilities, internships and work experience, travel, books, family members and social interaction—are all used to help the mold the child.
Unschooling is often viewed as an extension of homeschooling, yet the difference is that unschoolers do not follow the set curriculum and standards of traditional schools in the same way that the majority of parents who homeschool do.
4. Sudbury School
A Sudbury school practices a form of democratic education in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational syllabus or standardized instruction by classes following a prescriptive curriculum.
There is no curriculum or set of required courses. Instead students studying what they want to study.
Students have complete responsibility for their own education and the school is run by direct democracy in which students and staff are equals.
5. Montessori
Parents who see the value in Montessori schools report that their children develop an eager love for learning and are more likely to specialize in one specific area that brings them joy and satisfaction, ultimately resulting in grooming them into a young adult who is much more confident and happier with his life choices.
In a Montessori school students are free to explore the interests and lessons that they value the most while the teacher observes. Grades, tests and other forms of educational measurement are not found in Montessori schooling; quelling the highs and lows that competitive education garners.
6. Waldorf School
Elementary education in Waldorf schools focuses on art (rhythm, movement, color, form, recitation, song, music), and the upper years focus on science (observation, reflection and experimentation).
Waldorf School is based on Rudolf Steiner's view of education which is based on ananthroposophical view and understanding of the humanbeing, the education mirrors the basic stages of a child's development from childhood to adulthood.
The overall goal of a Waldorf education is to enable students as fully as possible to choose and to realize their individual path through life as adults.
Maybe you have not yet decided to follow one of these paths, but what remains the most important is our attention to our child needs and the aptitudes we can develop in his formation either through a personalized school system like the ones we overviewed, or just by encouraging and help him to have extra-curricular activities in the interest area.