What does dynamic system mean?
The dynamic system prioritizes pluralism and it is designed as an alternative to “monism” that conventional school systems are based on, regarding the concepts as “teacher”, “grouping” and “educational environment”, which are three axes that determine the educational framework.
1) All teachers are my teachers
2) All kids are my friends
3) Learning is everywhere
“All teachers are my teachers”
Early childhood/primary school teachers are asked/requested to be talented in multiple disciplines, which means that they are expected to have skills in many different kind of branches as math, literature, drama and botany. However, it is almost not possible for anyone to be capable of such a wide scale. So, each teacher may have improved and weak skills in certain areas.
Due to the nature of early childhood, children use different disciplines during this period as a means of production to support an exceptionally difficult effort: recognizing the world. In other words, it is understandable but unrealistic to expect teachers to be both highly skilled and multi-disciplinary.
In this case, a system in which teachers have the opportunity to practice branches that they are more skilled, successful and feel happier with, for sure, and children experience various aspects of different teachers, seems to be the most accurate proposal for this contradiction. This kind of opportunity strengthens their communication and relationality.
In a conventional system, each group has a teacher who is often assigned randomly and the group has to accept their qualifications and inadequacies. When you condition a teacher to a group, you almost manifest a destiny. However, no child should be deprived of the richness and background of a teacher just because they have been assigned to another group since early childhood is a special period and all disciplines are needed to be benefited as much as possible.
In Arkadaş School each teacher carries out workshops about their interests that make them feel happy, free and capable, and all children get the chance to meet all teachers within these workshops.
Conditioning a group to only one teacher may cause deficits in school bonding in case of unusual changes in teachers’ lives (moving, illness, leaving work for various reasons), and there may be incompatibilities between children and teacher who take over the group since they do not know each other. That’s another reason why we need a system in which every teacher has an emotional connection with all children.
Early childhood and second childhood is the time of tremendous growth in all areas of development. Assigning observation process to a single teacher also undermines the likelihood of accurate measurement and evaluation. The more a child is observed by different types of professionals within various activity areas, we would be able to carry out a more reliable observation.
All teachers are teachers of all children, but each group has a permanent teacher who is responsible for tracking their diet and sleep activity, which are considered as important daily routines.
“All kids are my friends”
The concept of “class” in conventional education causes children and families to be isolated from other age groups and their families. However, each child is a color of the rainbow and they need to experience each other despite their different chronological ages.
There are no categories in the course of life, neighborhood, streets and among relatives etc. referencing chronological age or you can not see a playground entrance sign says “Only 5-year-olds are allowed”. Using such unnatural categories as a measure isolates the school from outside world.
The idea of whole school being a group itself is needed to prevent the dynamic occurring with gathering of different age groups from missing and to improve families’ tendency to share their experiences.
Additionally, development stages are important references for a school and learning processes should be organized in accordance with these stages. In Arkadaş Okul, there are groups of children of similar chronological ages and suitable framework programs for these groups, yet it is important that such classifications do not prevent children of different ages from coming together, and that they do not trivialize the relationships between children.
”Learning Is Everywhere”
In early childhood and second childhood there is a strong connection between physical environment and psychology. During this period, spatial stimulation is an important topic for children’s creativity and efforts to understand the world. In the conventional system, the environment, so-called class, stands out as the main area of learning, which means that most of the day is restricted to this limited space and other physical facilities remain subordinated, moreover, stagnant. However, it is important for the development dynamics of this period to effectively evaluate all areas of a school, while all educational spaces are being available for all groups to establish formal bonding through the learning environment.
The relationship between the place and the child trapped in that place turns into a certain oppression over time as it is indirectly dominating the child. Due to this domination, the child exhibits behaviors involving cognitive and psychological auto-blocking.
In Arkadaş Okul, all areas of the school, including corridors, halls, balconies and terraces, are considered a learning area and each is believed to reflect their own dynamics. There are no rules and limitations on the use of these areas and they are not separated since they belong to all children. If children are not able to use an area, it is discussed and resolved with them. They are not discouraged with the idea that the area belongs to “another group”.
The school yard is designed not only as an area where children play, but as a living space with a small botanical garden considered as an important area of practice for Ecology Workshops which hosts approximately 50 species. Plants are considered main instruments of the school.
Children grow their own fruits and vegetables in “Yardy Gardeny” and learn about harvesting.
There are also unique areas as “Log Park” with raw forest products as woods and cones and an open-air stage called “Little Black Fish” which were arranged as essential learning stations.
Besides all these, we believe that an alternative school does not limit itself to school boundaries. All parks, copses and neighbours’ gardens around the school are considered as learning environments that lie beyond those boundaries. In Yedi İklim, children use copses, forests and parks for certain activities everyday. In such times, an ecosystem becomes a curriculum while natural environments become a school.