Education Without Walls
Cutting through the jungle of information to forge a learning pathway is a new paradigm in education. Standing at the ready to skill-up, equip and encourage children to blaze their own trail are the educators at Green School.
No one knows better than the students themselves, that developing the skills for the 21st century is where learning is at. Students are more than capable of researching, analyzing, connecting, creating, innovating, adapting and collaborating around themes and projects to find the answers to questions and solve problems. As digital nomads, growing up in a highly connected global world, they have a huge head-start. The teacher is the facilitator in this process.
Students working on Project OROS (Operation Rain Or Shine), Green School energy hub
By focusing on the development of 21st-century skills, the role of the educator is evolving rapidly. Many schools are now focusing on the mastery of a set of skills and knowledge, blurring the lines between subjects and coordinating curriculum components into packages that make sense to students and to the real world. It is all about a creative and necessary shift in education, a shift that equips children with globally relevant and sought-after skills.
“The School focuses on helping students develop critical thinking skills, creative problem solving, skills in connecting, collaborating and thinking in systems, so they are ready to contribute to the the world of today and tomorrow. These competencies make our students sought after graduates, including by Ivy League Schools in the US.”
Kate Druhan, Chair of The Board of Management
Parents, faculty, and experts from the sustainability world come together to cross-pollinate ideas, immersing students in an environment where the concept of lifelong learning is as alive as the jungle itself. ‘Learning for Sustainability’ is Green School’s core purpose and students’ integrated learning projects reflect this purpose. To give just a taste of projects currently underway, here are some examples – growing food – seed to table, fuelling School buses to run on used cooking oil, community waste management systems, zero-waste maker-space projects, renewable energy initiatives and a Zero Carbon project. Importantly, the learning experience of any project initiated is as important as the end results.
Building skills for the world of tomorrow, are reflected in the Green School Skills, which include critical thinking skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, systems thinking and communication are core to the learning experience. And providing real-world opportunities to catapult the learning to another level, is central to this idea. Take, for example, Bio Bus – our school’s ecological transportation system that is fuelled by used cooking oil. Students of all ages – whether in primary school or High School have age-appropriate ways to interact with these projects.
BioBus, Green School sustainable transportation
This is no ordinary school. This is Green School. And by no means is the model perfect, but we build reflective practice into every element of the learning experience. This is how we are learning and growing and we aim to connect with those around the world to support the evolution of educational systems and a movement towards a sustainable future.
In a way, Green School is an incubator of ideas, but our students have the opportunity to prototype and build these projects into real-world solutions and integrated learning. Making mistakes and learning from these are all part of the learning experience.
It may look like a hive on the outside, even a little chaotic, but behind the scenes, is a carefully planned, carefully coordinated learning strategy, curated by a team of educators from around the world with a myriad of educational experiences making The Green School Way (as we have coined our Green School Curriculum and Pedagogy) happen and organically growing and enhancing this as it grows.
This is where innovation meets action in education. Green School is progressive education within a mix and community of people that are very much engaged and part of the learning experience. An educational eco-system that is not static but grows and meanders within the framework of the complex and wonderful world we live in. A village in the heart of the Bali jungle, with students at the center, forging new paths in learning. Could this be the future of education? We think so.
Green School Bali is a Pre-K to 12 holistic private school in the jungle in Bali. We believe education is boundless and wall-less. If you would like to learn more about applying for 2018/19, please visit our website here: www.www.greenschool.org Watch: School of The Future, Now Video