FREE
FOR ALL
said. “I’ve always liked to read a
lot. I was reading books in my old
school that I’d read when I was 6,
and my teacher was always saying I
wasn’t taking enough time, I wasn’t
trying hard enough, but I’d already
read the book!”
Experts pointed to Finland as a
sort of guidepost. Finnish schools
are often cited as among the best in
the world, and students rank highly
in all subjects. There, students
aren’t measured at all for the first
six years of their education, they’re
not tested until high school, they
have more recess and free time,
and take fewer classes. The teachers have more creativity in assigning curricula. Though there’s more
structure in Finnish schools, their
values share a certain kinship with
democratic schools.
Kristan Morrison said she thinks
Americans are hungry for alterations to the system like these, but
with current government views on
education, it will be a while before
schools can change course.
“There are still so many restrictions from federal and state governments,” Morrison said.
“Teachers go in to teaching because they want to be engaging,
creative, and then they’re stuck
with all this testing.”
HUFFINGTON
01.13.13
These ideas are not lost on
Berger, who has clearly taken creative, progressive education to
the extreme.
“We’re trying to nurture kids
to stay themselves,” Berger said.
“That’s what they need to bring to
the world, to live a successful, individually happy life. There’s much
more power in that, and it really
brings diversity to the fold.”
Later in the day, Berger wandered up to the top floor, past
the “gym,” which is really just
an emptied-out classroom. He
said they had an epic, all-school
“rock paper scissors” tournament
in there recently. Generally, the
classrooms are small, with artwork lining the walls and folding
chairs and messy tables scattered
around. At night, many of these
classrooms are rented out to yoga
classes or artists looking for studio space, so Berger can supplement the school’s income.
On the top floor of the brownstone was Berger’s small office,
which he shared.
He leaned back in his chair.
“One of the joys of running a
school like this is there are so
many opportunities to get to know
kids for who they really are,”
Berger said. “We’re figuring out
how to make the world for everybody, not to fit everybody
into the world.”