¿School without rules?
“We give children the opportunity to play
By Yolanda Conitzer
It is undeniable that school time is, torture
for many young people, a waste of time or
a period where the only important thing is
to see who makes the worst mistake.
More than a few wish they could just walk
to the exit, but we have rules. Several
schools around the globe have noticed the
problems of traditional education systems
and have made minor changes. Today I
will introduce you to the workings of one of
the schools that took creativity and
freedom to a new level. We are talking
about Agora School in Ruthermor
Netherlands, a government-approved
school with no timetables, no subjects, no
classrooms and very few exams. Could it
be implemented elsewhere? Let’s find out.
If I show you this photo, would you say it’s
a school? Probably not, looks more like a
Google office or an interactive museum.
These are the installations from the
Roermond School in the Netherlands. It’s
a school where teenagers aged 12 to 18
spend their days studying whatever they
want, with whomever they want, in any
way they want. No, it's not just about
letting students dawdle all day, in the
words of Rob Houben, director of the
facility, it's a school focused on learning
and not teaching.
because when children are playing with
something they get interested in. And then
you don’t have to teach, and you don’t
have to police them either” says Rob. He
describes Agora as a blend of a university
(where you know), a Buddhist monastery
(where you can think), a theme park
(where you can play) and a communal
marketplace (where you can trade and
swap things) A school where you do way
more than just your homework and
receives a grade, a place where you can
grow and experiment.
How does it work?
The Agora school is tied to the
regulations of the Dutch state, so at a
certain age students have to know
mathematics and grammar and must
know everything that is taught in
traditional schools; when they grow up,
they have to take standardised tests like in
any other school.
So how can you measure the progress of
students? How can you be sure that
teenagers are not wasting their time and
can pursue their interests while learning
the obligatory curriculum? Well, this is
where the coaches/teachers come in, they
are in charge of an average of 17 students
and they must help and push their
students so that they learn what they need
to learn and continue to motivate
themselves. The young people learn
voluntarily, because, according to this
model, you don't need to learn the law of
Pythagoras in a maths class, you can
learn it by designing a desk or doing
origami.
In addition to teachers, students
can view their progress on a platform and
see the assignments they give
themselves. The elegant platform was
created by three 14-year-old students,
who at 16 created their company,
Egodact, and work with more than 10
schools. This is an isolated story but it is
not the only impressive thing happening
within the Agora school. How many of us
can boast of having designed our desks?
All Agora students can. How many of us
are clear about what we will do once we
graduate? All Agora students are.
How is a day at Agora school?
Students start the day by
discussing projects and goals, where
students themselves can make comments
or join in with other people's projects, then
the work begins. At midday, there is a
break for lunch and then some quiet time
to think or read. the day ends after some
more project time, older students have
flexibility in their schedules. Not only the
students enjoy freedom, but also the
teachers, either when they have to teach
something to the older students or have to
support a project they can use any
technique they want, the teachers work
with the teenagers 4 days a week, on the
fifth day they observe the techniques of
other teachers or they are asked to go to
the city to find interesting things to share
or prepare a field trip. Because
“Knowledge is outside the school not
inside.” according to mister Houben.
Are there inconveniences?
Of course, not everything can be
rosy. The Agora method is very modern, it
was implemented only in 2014, therefore
there are still some problems to solve. The
first and most important is, in many cases,
money, maintaining the facilities of a
centre like Agora school is very
expensive. Although it receives support
from the state, this school ends up being
elitist, it asks for a "contribution" of 100,00
euros per year for materials and salaries.
These prices, although reasonable, are
quite high and scholarships cannot be for
everyone.
This is not the only factor that can
be inconvenient, the school asks parents
to be active with their children's activities,
sometimes if necessary, experts in a
subject will be sought to help a student, if
there is any photographer parent and
there is just a student who needs advice,
that parent is asked and expected to help.
Parents may not accept obviously but they
are supposed to be willing to support
school projects. As the last drawback, the
issue of spaces arises, the school is so
striking that it even has a waiting list. In
2014 it started as a project with 30
students, today they have more than 400
and not all those interested can enter
anymore.
 I want to end in a more cheerful
tone and it is that many schools are Sources
beginning to implement this educational
model that so far has proven to have good https://niekee.nl/onze-basis
Meet the school with no classes, no
results. The question of whether this could
classrooms and no curriculum
be implemented in other countries with
fewer resources is still uncertain, it can be
done, but the accessibility issue must be
solved. In any case, the Agora model is a
frankly inspiring idea that I hope will
become normal and widespread in the
coming years.