The School as a Microculture

It takes time to build trust and strong cultural norms. As a young school, the most important thing we can do is to facilitate the creation of a safe environment by:

• Allowing children the freedom to be themselves without fear of judgment;

• Cherishing an atmosphere of deep respect for differences;

• Encouraging expression of all thoughts and feelings in ways which are physically safe;

• Sharing knowledge, experience, enthusiasm;

• Minimizing competition and encouraging cooperation;

• Facilitating problem solving and conflict resolution through consensus;

• Encouraging decision-making and self discipline;

• Facilitating mastery of skills desired individually by students, thereby increasing their power in this world;

• Providing an environment which is safe for experimenting, making mistakes, changing;

• Preserving and enhancing curiosity and creativity.

This process is intentionally iterative, so it will take time and we need to be aware of that.

Foundational Agreements

In order for everyone in the community to have equal opportunity to pursue self-directed education in an environment where they feel safe and supported, they must be able to share space, time, materials, experiences, and resources with the other people. While negotiations about what that looks like will be complex and ongoing, it’s vital that everyone involved know what kind of culture they are opting into before the community begins to engage with the process of building a microculture.

Once they join Kaleide, all our Primary students need to sign a “Student Agreement” contract –a few, clear written agreements that make explicit the expectations of the community and give the students the choice to opt in. We have the students sign them during their first term in school.