I suggest that the following are also worthy inclusions in a desirable education:
- enabling young people to have the time and space they need to discover who they are, and come to understand the world around them through asking questions, researching and discovery, doing things they like doing, whilst respecting the rights of others to do the same, without interference, and resolving how they will find out enough through these processes to work out what they like doing best;
- Students realising the benefits of choosing the people they want to work with;
- building effective communication and listening skills through dialogue and by regularly debating, discussing and deciding a range of issues with a broad range of people of all ages;
- ensuring the design, appearance and resourcing of chemical free, sustainable learning environments also represent and reflect the expressed needs of the people who use those environments;
- constructing learning around the expressed needs of each individual learner, free of coercion, manipulation and direction;
- creating a foundation for a learning environment that reflects values for a democratic way of life, in which values of freedom, responsibility, trust, equality, respect, fairness and justice are available to all.

That looks fascinating and it’s great to see those kinds of forward thinking ideas being used proactively in schools. Are there home educating families in NZ taking part too? And maybe those from small schools (Steiner, Montessori etc)? I’m not aware of similar projects going on in schools here in the UK, but there’s been a lot of research into the future of education by some of the Universities over the last 30 years, looking at methods used by home educators (because they generally get much better results than their school educated peers.) You could look up the work of Roland Meighan, Alan Thomas (University of London) and Paula Rothermel if you wanted to follow this up.

Hope that’s useful.

Sally

Lovely site – you came up because Google brings me things marked future of education.

I think you might like what New Zealand is doing. After years of rigorous research, and focused on the question the groups in our project focus on, “what do our children need for the world they will inherit?” they developed competencies. In the next years their content oriented teachers will be working through how to mix the old and new ideals. You can find them (soon on a blog on my site) or through a Google search on New Zealand school competencies.

Hope you love it – thanks for a wonderful post,
Alana

Good to hear from you and I’d be delighted if you’d use it.

Sally

Can I quote the last half of your blog for my editorial in the next issue of the Home Education Association Inc (www.hea.asn.au) online members’ magazine Stepping Stones for Home Educators. We’re doing a feature on simply living, decluttering, etc for our Spring issue due in October.

Beverley
editor@hea.asn.au