Radical educators wanted!

We haven’t talked too much about our education beliefs: I mentioned a couple of times that we firmly believe in the “doing” approach to learning. Breaking news: we also believe that learning can only happen under meaningful circumstances, and that it has to be consensual.

One of the most interesting and controversial movement in education is Free Schooling. Present in many countries, it is born out of the Spanish Anarchist movement of the late 19th century and promotes a non-hierarchical schooling structure, a curriculum defined by the students and the teachers together and a democratic decisional process. One of the most famous free school is Summerhill School, founded by A.S. Neill and still ran today by his daughter. Neil wrote a cult-book, A Radical Approach to Child Rearing, which illustrates his radical perception of education and of children’s sovereignty.

The high school program of the Albany Free School, the longest running inner-city democratic free school in United States, is currently looking for a full-time teacher, and so is the elementary program. They are offering a unique opportunity to learn more about this movement, its values, challenges and hopes. They even made a movie about the school, which allows us to penetrate the very seldom daily routine of this learning community, with its ups and downs.

They also have internship positions available.

Good luck!

Non-profit, For-profit or For-Change?

This question is still haunting us, even after our readers’ great insights. As found on Futureshifters, an article from Entrepreneur brings an interesting light and many answers to our dilemma.

After all, social enterprises traditionally lean toward the nonprofit model because of the perks they can receive from the business’s perceived “aura of goodness,” says William T. Hutton, a nonprofit attorney and longtime law professor in San Francisco. “Particularly in the educational sphere,” says Hutton, there’s “an innate suspicion that [nonprofits] are much more inclined to be selfless.” This perception, as well as the generous tax breaks that nonprofits typically provide to donors, make it significantly easier for social enterprises to raise funds and land government grants.

Of course, it isn’t just about the ability to reap charitable donations; there are plenty of other reasons to launch a nonprofit social enterprise. The confusing thing is there are just as many reasons — if not more — for social entrepreneurs to set up a for-profit business as well.

To help you figure out which model makes more sense, we weigh the pros and cons… (Read more)

One thing the article does not consider though, is the possibility for non-profits to have revenue-generating activities/products to insure their sustainability without having to rely on grants, donors and philanthropy. A good example is the Albany Free School, which owns several apartments that provide an income helping to lower tuition for its students.