Alternative Education Options for Your Children

With the nightly news rife with stories about sexual abuse, violent crime and unhealthy peer cultures, many families are becoming more and more apprehensive about sending their children to public school. Some parents, however, are unsure of what alternatives there are available to the average family. While homeschooling is becoming an increasingly popular option, with approximately 2% of America's students now being educated at home, for whatever reason other families may not feel this is their best option. The educational philosophies introduced here are meant as a brief introduction to the wide variety of options that are available to families considering how to best educate their children outside the public school system without bringing them home.

Faith-based education is probably one of the most well know alternative educational routes. Many options for faith based education exist across the United States. They are generally fairly aggressive academically and, as in the case of The Friends Council on Education and the National Catholic Education Association, they do not always require a student and their family to be a member of that faith to attend. In addition to Quaker schools and Catholic schools, other popular faith-based options include schools affiliated with the Council for Islamic Schools in North America, the Jewish Education Service of North America, the Mennonite Education Agency and Christian Schools International.

The Carden Educational Foundation is founded on the work of Mae Carden (1894-1977), an educator who developed a unique reading method and comprehensive elementary school program consisting of an extremely broad based liberal arts education. She encouraged reading and spelling based on phonics, but approached other subjects in an integrated fashion emphasizing the development of independent analytical thinking and problem solving skills. She also incorporated great deal of arts appreciation into her curriculum through artistic, musical and dramatic activities. Carden viewed grammar as a critical tool for comprehension, using text-only readers to encourage children to form a mental picture of the material they were reading. Her curriculum included history, geography, math, science, art, music, physical education and foreign language (usually French). She published a work specifically for parents entitled, Let's Bring Them Up Sensibly. The foundation can be contacted for more resources and a list of schools using her methods in specific areas.

The School Development Project implements the work of James Comer who felt that a positive social enviroment was the key to success in education. The place of that education must fulfill the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of the children. His work advocates a proactive approach that focuses on basic academic skills and adheres to fostering growth in what he determined to be the six primary areas of child development: physical, cognitive, psychological, linguistic, social and ethical. The SDP can be contacted for a list of schools using the Comer Process. For more information on Comer and his work, try reading Rallying the Whole Village by James Comer, himself.

Based on the work of Theodore Sizer who believed that a teacher must have a concrete vision of what kind of person they want to send out into the world in each child, The Coalition of Essential Schools has been advocating academically challenging, small scale education for over twenty years. Sizer believed education needed to produce children who were informed, well-adjusted, responsible, and thoughtful, children who would be life-long, self-directed learners. He saw teachers as facilitators and co-learners who also grow and develop alongside their students. He advocated a curriculum with depth as opposed to breadth and focused on long term, in-depth projects culminating in class exhibits and presentations. He encouraged teachers to evaluate students based on a portfolio basis with an emphasis on higher order thinking (i.e, analysis, synthesis and evaluation vs. memorization and application). Sizer designed a 42 week school year that regularly included interaction with the community. Their website lists all affiliated schools and contains more information about their programs.

The National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools is primarily rooted in the philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. This organization views the child as an innately intelligent individual and believes that as a student the can set their own limits within safety. They pride themselves on being as free of coercion and control as possible. Most Free Schools, as they are known, are governed by the students with each student having an equal vote no matter their age. A.S. Neill's Summerhill is an account of a successful Free School in England he taught at for many years. Another recommended reference work is Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich. Many Free Schools are also cross referenced with the Coalition of Essential Schools as their educational philosophies are somewhat compatible.

Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori Method, encouraged individual or small group work in areas of the student's choice focusing on an attitude of cooperative versus competition and the development of individual responsibility for one's own education. Association Montessori Internationale-USA maintains a listing og certified AMI-USA schools. Families looking into this increasingly popular educational philosophy should be aware that many schools use the label Montessori without certifying and should always investigate how closely the school they are considering actually follows the Montessori model.

The North American Reggio Emilia Alliance is the best sources for information about this approach to early childhood education that requires preschools maintain a specific physical environment emphasizing natural light and incorporating nature to encourage social interaction and stimulate learning. Teachers do not present a predetermined curriculum, but design in-depth, long-term, open-ended projects based on the interests of the children. Children are encouraged to research and then present the results of their learning in artistic and symbolic forms. Schools are seen as parent-teacher cooperatives and require a very high level of interaction with parents. Regional points of contact for the NMREA are available at their website.

Anchored in the work of a German philosopher, Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf education is an arts-based education focusing on gentle rhythms and experiential learning in a sensory rich atmosphere. Early childhood curriculum places a strong emphasis on nature and natural cycles to introduce math and science concepts and fairy tales to introduce language arts. The scope and sequence begins fairly limited but expands into a broad base of subject mater in later years. Associated Waldorf Schools of North America provides comprehensive information on Waldorf education and affiliated schools.

Choosing an educational path for one's children is one of the most critical decisions American parents face today. Thorough research of all the alternatives available to them, from local public school systems to private or homeschooling options helps to ensure the best possible learning environment for a beneficial educational experience and the acquisition of the necessary skills to achieve life-long success.

Other Recommended Reading for Parents Exploring Alternative Education

Education in America (history, criticism, activism)

A Different Kind of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto

Government Nannies by Cathy Duffy

Separating School and State by Sheldon Richman

The Unschooled Mind by Howard Gardner

A New Look At Schools by Daniel Greenberg

Democracy and Education by John Dewey

Alternative Educational Philosophies

How Children Learn by John Holt

How Children Fail by John Holt

The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education by Carolyn Edwards, Lella Gandini, and George Forman

You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin

Experience and Education by John Dewey

The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori

Reading: Chaos and Cure by Terman and Walcutt

The Holistic Curriculum by John P. Miller

What Are Schools For? Holistic Education in American Culture by Ronald Miller