Pine Community School FAQ

• What is a "democratic school"?
• Links

<Still to come ... >

• What happens when they move on to High School?
• What's a typical day like at Pine?
• How much parent involvement is allowed and/or expected?
• How much does it cost?
• How long has Pine been around for, and how did it start?

Please email us with any questions you have ... we'll reply as soon as we can, and if appropriate, also add the answers here.

What is a democratic school"?

There's a great answer to What Is Democratic Education? at The Online Directory for Democratic Education

Another good answer is given by the International Democratic Education Conference,

"A Democratic School is a school which is, in some capacity, self-governing, with each community member having influence on decisions and outcomes. A contrast might be made with more 'autocratic' school structures, in which power and authority are concentrated in the teachers and adult administrators. In democratic educational philosophy, students, including and especially children, are seen as active participants in their own learning and their environment. Each student's voice is given weight in decision-making both personal -- for instance, the direction of his or her own education -- and communal -- the rules and adjudications by which the school functions as a whole." - Andy Holloway

Links

Learn more about democratic schools and other similar philosophies at these wonderful sites.

• Articles by Ron Miller on holistic education
• Education for Life, a philosophy "that emphasizes inner development and both individual potential and harmony with others"
• A Comparison of Traditional and Natural Learning