Opening space, transfer-in, small spaces

[Bernd Weber]

Dear Michael, dear all

I must have done something wrong being confronted with lots of
interesting postings after coming back "from the bush" where I was
last week, because my replies went only to Michael and not the list.
If I would have notized that, I would have written in German,
Michael.
Anyway, here it comes again for the list.

Bernhard

I tried again, but there must be some wrong configuration with the
listserver because the text went again automatically to Michaels
Adress. I had to write the oslist Adress by hand. Anybody who knows
how to resolve this?
-------------------------------------------------

I suppose your were in the wrong schools to get an answer to your
question.

The so called Alternative Schools/Alternativschulen-Freie
Schulen/Ecoles Experimentales...beeing a late reaction to '68
have applied the basic idea of Open Space, although of course the
Technology as such, in its formulation by Harrison did not exist at
that time.

They had their circle of kids, teachers (and sometimes parents and
people from the surrounding communities) discussing and deciding and
planning. Their freely chosen self-organizing working groups breaking
out into the environment, their principles for self-organization and
freely chosen responsibilities.

And, of course, the kids went away from an activity, when they felt,
that thy did not learn or contribute anything, they thought to be
interesting, or had at least fun...

I remember enough such situations in the Arbeiterfriskole in
Kobenhavn, in the Freie Schule Frankfurt, in the Laborschule
Bielefeld, in the Tvind Schools, in the
Eltern-Schüler-Lehrer-Kooperative Vienna (Austrias first and only
secondary alternative school, which I founded together with others)
etc...
where children, kids and adults could clearly feel, that the Space
was very open, especially in the Classroom, (although the 'classroom'
was very often outside the school-building in midst of real life and
society)

And look at O.S. Neill's book or at the book written by  the pupils
of the Escola de Barbiana. There is not doubt, that space was opened
there.

I am shure, the german school system would not have gotten such a bad
pisa result, if it would have learned from the experiences of these
schools in due time. There had been enough critique formulated for
many years, only that neither this theoretical critique, nor the
practical one (by showing up that alternatives are viable) had been
enough. Alternative and democratic pedagogics never got the necessary
leverage in the ex-faschist societies to become more than a minority
alternative program (and, as such, for the rich... how should poor
people pay alternative schools, since the state did not support them?
Thats the difference to some scandinavian countries).

But perhaps it is still not too late for this overdue change...

Measuring the system with its own declared objectives (for example
the so called Zielparagraph §2 in Austria: "Erziehung zum reifen,
selbständigen, kritischen Staatsbürger" - educating the kids for
becoming mature, independent and critical citizens), values and
principles (Unterrichtsprinzipien) and showing that the system did
absolutely NOT deliver such persons, and showing, that it can be
done, was not enough.
Now the international rating was a shock.
FINE
Without shock no change in rigid systems.
But looking at the actual discussion, I have my doubts, if the shock
has been big enough

Still there is a deep parallel in history:
Conferences could not get rid of the idea, that they had to cram the
participants like gooses with inputs, forgetting about communicative
quality and quality of beeing together. Everybody knew, that the
relevant things happen during the breaks, but people did not believe
that there is alternative. Harrison was able to believe in an
alternative way and constructed OST

Normal schools can not get rid of the idea, that they have to cram
the children and students like gooses with inputs, forgetting about
communicative quality and quality of beeing together. Everybody
knows, that the intelligence of pupils is going up drastically when
they do their things, and that they show a dramatical decrease of
intelligence/increase in dullness during the normal classroom
situation, but most teachers, parents, politicians... do not believe
that there could be an alternative. Before I left Austria, ther was a
growing influence of so called "Offenes Lernen" coming from
Montessori etc. concepts into basic education and growing from
primary to secondary education. Learning-workshops
(Lernwerkstatt-Konzept) etc. I do not know, where they are now.

Actually I work in the Development Cooperation context.
Easy to see the same deep parallel phenomenon.

Let me speak "word-word processing language":
Select/substitute:
conference-school/development project
participants-pupils/target groups-beneficiaries
input/first world knowledge
breaks/informal relations built up during the intercultural encounter

....... well, let us not get too far from the thread ;-)

Coming back to the School/Open Space/Classroom-theme:

There have been lots of such schools in Germany, in the Netherlands,
in Austria...
At the moment, I am not informed, what happens at this level of
society in Europa now, but I am shure, quite a lot of the alternative
concepts and experiences have survived or transformed themselves in
one way or the other.
I think it will be interesting and enriching for both sides
Alternative pedagogics community & open space community
to meet
in open space

Bernhard

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