How To Grow a School: Starting and Sustaining Schools That Work

by Chris Mercogliano

From the introduction: My hope in writing this book is to contribute to the proliferation of educational alternatives; first, by examining the core characteristics of any good learning environment and the basic steps involved in starting one; and second, by telling the stories of a wide variety of uncommon schools and learning centers . . .

Genres: Education, Teaching

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Chris is the author of How to Grow a School: Starting and Sustaining Schools That Work , In Defense of Childhood , Teaching the Restless , and Making It Up as We Go Along and long time director at The Free School in Albany.

Reviews

[Brian Conor]

This book was BRIMMING with White Savior Complexes and notions of naturality which rendered their educational visions as mere missions to most efficiently replicate the status quo. In seeking "natural" learning and child development, as well as uncritical views on institutional histories of oppressions and injustices, the schools which sought to put students and adults in power really gave the reigns to the social "commonsense" and order which results and reinforces it. If you want to create alternatives to traditional education, everyone would be better served starting with the very ideas about what education is supposed to do and be. If you think it is being corrupted by modernity and needs to return to some natural state, you are have a lot more thinking to do about what you implicitly value as good, natural, and important. Don't just rebrand your version of salvation as basal or natural. You shouldn't be out to save anyone. You should be working WITH students and communities.

[Selina]

Lots of stories about people who started alternative schools (both public and private) and concise summaries of how it went for them.