Enter The Alternative School

Enter the Alternative School is an in-depth examination of public school alternatives to traditional educational models in the US. This book analyses how urban education can respond to a system growing increasingly standardised and privatised. As an example, Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS), a public alternative schooling model, successfully served predominantly low-income and minority students. It also changed the New York City public school system while promoting methods that allowed educational institutions to make changes in the lives of their students. Written by a sociologist who was both a student at CPESS and a teacher at a school developed from the CPESS model, the book analyses education from a range of vantage points, assesses outcomes, and invites readers to consider the potential of alternative educational models to address the challenges of reforms that attempt to provide quality education to the low-income and minority students otherwise under served by public schools.

Enter the Alternative School is an in-depth examination of public school alternatives to traditional educational models in the US. This book analyses how urban education can respond to a system growing increasingly standardised and privatised. As an example, Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS), a public alternative schooling model, successfully served predominantly low-income and minority students. It also changed the New York City public school system while promoting methods that allowed educational institutions to make changes in the lives of their students. Written by a sociologist who was both a student at CPESS and a teacher at a school developed from the CPESS model, the book analyses education from a range of vantage points, assesses outcomes, and invites readers to consider the potential of alternative educational models to address the challenges of reforms that attempt to provide quality education to the low-income and minority students otherwise under served by public schools.

This book brings into focus the innovative methods of learning in many Indian schools. It sheds light on schools that make the learning process fun for the teacher as well as the taught, in contrast to the whirl of examination-oriented learning in mainstream schools. The researched data on alternative schools in the country offer the reader an array of institutions all over the country, where efforts are being made to move away from traditional and mainstream learning. It includes exclusive articles by leading practitioners in the field, who offer an insight into the ground reality when a certain philosophy is applied to a school, and also experiential accounts of how such alternative practices mould the learner, teacher and impact the parent as well. The book also consists of a directory of alternative schools in India, including many schools that are tucked away in remote corners of the country. Interestingly, the common thread binding these ‘alternative schools’ is concern for the welfare of the child by teachers who see their work as much more than a job.

Excerpts from The Alternative: School Within a School: Whoever thought it was a good idea to let squirrelly adolescents design their own curriculum wasnt completely nuts. Much to everyones surprise at Drake, some of us managed to get rather conventional educations at SWAS. I studied Trigonometry and Analytic Geometry [which] taught me enough Calculus to pass the AP math test. I no longer wanted to stand out in a crowd; I needed to belong to one. SWAS was exactly that a crowd of unique people. There is no doubt that the project trips provided the most important teaching/learning experiences - and not always in lessons we intended. Yet it somehow never occurred to me at the timethe teachers not only put up with it but seemed to enjoy it. The tap dancing, the hammering, the constant painting, the tree-climbing: they didnt just put up with it, it seems they encouraged and delighted in it. They believed our energy and enthusiasm were essential to our learning. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about SWAS was the ability of the program to teach at once the importance and value of community, while at the same time helping students gain the personal strength to be individuals. Before there was Restorative Justice, SWAS had the Grievance Committee; before anyone ever spoke the word Mindfulness, Paul Ehrlich and I taught yoga to the whole school; before anyone touted Project-Based Learning, we had semester-long project groups; before the emphasis on building students self-esteem, we had weekly Support Groups; and before any focus on Academies or the Small Schools Movement, we had ... SWAS.

This book explores the unique phenomenon of public alternative schools in Toronto, Canada and other large urban areas. Although schools of this kind have existed for more than a century, very little has been written about the alternative school movement. These alternatives focus more on child-centered instruction, give many students (and teachers) opportunities to organize the school differently, provide a greater voice for teachers, students, and parents, and engage students far more with experiential learning. When traditional school structures are failing to meet the needs of many children and youth, there is a rapidly growing need for information and discussion about alternatives that will encourage their talents and serve their needs. This book draws attention to the issue of alternative schooling to help make it more accessible to a wider audience.

The book is directed at all who are concerned with progressive school change and the promotion of democratic citizenship and social justice.