gauthier I co-founded the school
democratic of their our schools a
bit unusual that welcomes children
from 3 to 18 years old without age
without notes without a program so what
which led me to this idea
atypical to join this project from the co
based on not my school
because I had a school path
classic then after a course
academic as classic
maybe we can maybe
look more in childhood where
I was engaged very early in a
municipal council of children and a
city council of teenagers have
engaged a price learned to have this
social engagement it’s a commitment
democratic for others but I
think that beyond that it’s after
first contact with dr julien and this
model here in quebec someone that
I met and with whom I
worked who is a social pediatrician
who has put in place an approach
innovative care and development
of the child so are 0 to 18 years old
his approach is really to go
to look for the well being of the child in
disadvantaged areas
and to do that he’s going to identify them
needs the forces of the child and of
his family and with an important pole
of speakers around him a
specialized teacher educators
psychologists of the workers
social
they will really identify what is the
plan of action together to put in
square
finally his approach and it’s also a
approach that mobilizes the family that
mobilizes the child’s environment and this
to identify sources of stress
toxic that children can live and
so fix it because you have to know
that toxic stresses stress
recurrent for the child whether it’s
0 to 18 years are deleterious and can
destroy the brain or in any case
bring about that his development his
surely important volume that these
synaptic connections is done less
between the neurons
So here is this first
approach that led me to have a
other view of the child and after that it’s
the meeting of marine locatelli of
clara bellard of film director
documentaries where she presents
innovative alternative approaches on
the children on the addressants who have me
led to dig further how or
within the educational milieu we could
have different systems
learning and so german spoken
d democratic school this is a
movement that has existed for 40 years
around the world there are schools that
have formed and these are these schools
who welcome children from 3 to 18
years in a father’s community
where they learn in self learning
and where the child as much as the adult to
a pathway and representative and can
decide where to go what are the
evolutions on the school where goes to
school and finally it’s also
schools that puts forward its values that
are the
there benevolence self-confidence
justice so I join in in 2015 and
2016
a project in creation that is here in
belgium of creation of a school
democratic which consists of two
parents teachers
and then in September 2016 we launch
school with twenty young people
so with this pedagogy that is
based on self learning the
co-management of the school by children
by adults and the rhythm of the child
who is they respect and who is
important and that will allow him to
draw his learning path
so maybe at this stage of the
presentation you ask what it
looks like a day
Looks like learning by a child
who can decide what he will learn
I will take an example I take
the example of 2000 and a child in
in the school that is 11 years old and that happens
one morning at 8:40
he’ll go to the welcome board and then
he will you he will mark his presence
he’ll have a little planning of the
day there are workshops that are
proposed in the morning by a mother
volunteer who comes to do a course of
cooking for young children
then in the afternoon there is the speaker
who comes to us from the university that
comes to propose a project of creation
a robot and then also courses
recurring who come back a week
to each other with me or others
school stakeholders who are going
give a math class in the morning for
the big ones and a history class
the afternoon and mylan at this moment the
day he thinks no I’ll maybe
go to robotics course
the afternoon in the morning I will see
other camp here it is in his
reflection and he really has this
ability to draw sound
learning especially there on this
ski day will choose as like
activity as course
it’s a little what we find then
at university or in companies
in the formations really to be in
to learn this autonomy this course
of 2 to make his choices and then to
do some learning to do the
to keep its commitments and it ends
not in schools
traditional classic this is what we
try to set up then in fact
the child development center
at harvard shows that precisely and
proves that it is through autonomy through
learning the autonomy of the
younger age precociously and so
progressive that the adult can bring
the child to develop is his
executive functions so there I you
show this picture because it shows
although we are trying to be
younger to bring children to
use the different utensils that
can have at school and do it
in a safe way
but more and more its autonomy and
its executive functions that we all
which are the working memory that are
the self control that are the
cognitive flexibility the fact of
can be creative to be able to
bounce
and if one develops the
precociously gradually from the
younger age the brain is better
build and this immense strengthen and
end of year adults more fulfilled
in the society
so that’s the role I played that
play other adults in the school
democratic of their no it’s to be
facilitators and to bring
kids to learn to learn so
to be autonomous and learn from them
even if they can according to their
abilities according to their age it will vary
from 3 to 18 years old and so I
I encourage I show the example I do not
do not make room and and I’m going to
withdraws gradually so that the child
do it yourself
that’s it now is actually going
try to leave again on hilal because
that we left him he was just at
beginning of his day he wants to go
join his best friend
colin and to do this he will go through
the locals he’s going to look for if he’s
already happened he’ll see me I’m
bringing back games and then a
ream of paper with children
volunteers bones 3 years old and and his brother
arthur who arrive early in the
day and he will say hello and
then there at that moment arthur mdir
beats romain it lacks some paintings
green is what you could buy
and then there I want noted alain jada of
school council because we entrusted
colleagues from Madeira which I
will speak after after millan will continue
in the garden to try to find
colin and there they fall on elin and
line 7 years ago who arrived a little bit more
later we have the right to get there
9.30am in our school and they discuss
he tells her that she still has
still in conflict with louison who has him
took his picnic his snack of
10 o’clock and she decided she
to write a word and that this model is going to the
put in the box of mules for the
adjustment advice that’s the
discussion is done now they
find settlers coming up
it was he was in the garden by train
to observe the work of the land turnips
till the earth yesterday and and they go
go and choose their book activity
turn on the board there he decides that
finally in the morning it’s nice this
that they will do these pursue a
personal project that they had put in
place with death of great harmony 15
years and 14 years old it is a construction
of a cabin so they will do that of
the morning then the afternoon will be
put on more activities to such
that you get to make history the
history class to prepare their
exams that will pass in June two of
twelve years the ceb exam
so it shows that we can
learn from everything and in everything and is in
does that we know what we
believe in democratic school that’s
what is at the same time learning
formal participate in workshops
there are also informal apprenticeships
to go out and then jump
sheep or chat with his friend and then
shared about on topics that we
make think so the child is not
all in awareness and learning
but in a day if he’s in a
structured environment a
environment that has several types of
kind of intelligence at its disposal
well he’ll be able to learn from everything
and that’s what we’re going to favor and
then this is what shows especially the
neuroscience actually neuroscience
shows that in fact the brain of a
child his brain plasticity is
very strong
that is, he is constantly creating
transform strengthen or eliminate
connections between neurons and that
this will allow if these connections are
well are well worked from
develop his brain so we go
every day when we arrive in
school go to these centers
of adult interests as children
I also wear it centers
of interests try to develop them
we will offer workshops to each
others or if we need resources
outside we’ll get them a
neighbor who knows the garden that’s where
a a cooking lover someone who
is passionate about cinema a researcher
in mathematics for these people
passionate people can pass on their
passion and the science ninian sauce
show it actually the enthusiasm the
curiosity the intrinsic motivation
are really tall forms of
brain development and its
synapses its connections that is created
in the child
they can strengthen themselves they can
become perennial so precisely
the enthusiast there if the child plays so
the child does it with passion so
it is really in this perspective that we
will create class atmosphere the wall of
classify the mood in in the school and
and my role is the role of others
other adults and even
children and therefore no facilitator
holder necessarily to know but
rather to allow the children they
can fetch
look for them by themselves or towards
others what is what interests them
and the posture is also very important
because the child assimilates everything that
is in his environment by the game
through the learning he does and
so the adult who is here in this
environment must be a model a
example in terms of language in terms of
gestures in terms of attitude and our
motivational curiosity convictions
so the adults are learning as much
that teachers in the school and
fortunately for us we are not in
a quest in a school where we did not
than children 6 years old or 12 years old so
we have older ones who are also going
have interactions with the most
young people or younger ones that we have
reactions with the biggest ones for
some topics where they can be
even more knowledgeable connoisseurs than
others and so the interactions are going
really favor the fact that all the
world be model or modeling for
the rest of the collective
so here is a little how do work
these self learning is a
learning without really having any
program
this profusion in the classroom where everything
the world is an actor after we can
ask this question how finally
do we do that without notes and
what we learn is self
evaluate what we know value and well
millan in the morning when he went to do
his hut activities he was with
morin with harmony who are bigger
and half morin and is someone who is
really experts in all
building huts so he was able
show him taught he has more corrected
by observation and the afternoon with
corrective sheets
when he was doing the story is there
he could also self-evaluate sells to
price really aims this self
assessment that brings the child to himself
focus on its autonomy and as needed
we go
if it’s preparing a review towards
outside to university go
towards more formal evaluations
now it is Thursday we have advanced a
little in the week and Thursday morning is
the school council I was talking about
see you later
everyone arrives in the morning and we go
it seemed to discuss what’s going on
go to school together
children as adults and everyone a voice
everyone can vote on projects that
are proposed to me for example I’m going
ask that we buy new from the
green paint
there are other children flora
timéo and oriane who will ask this
make a partnership with the
local equestrian center of the village for
go up the horses are busy
So they worked a budget it is
was going to see the different people
and then we have for example also arthur
who will ask that a point of
school rules be changed there
where we eat at noon the places where we
eat so this collective exercise allows
to disguised children their sense of
citizenship their sense of taking
responsibility because they’re going
work skills such as
collaboration planning or
still self-esteem taking
speech in public and even outside the
school board the kids are going
to invest in the administration or
management of the school 11 starting from a
funding circle for example
Milanese is building with
other children and adults an evening
benefit for the school to bring
money other harmonies work
with olive tree at the development of
school and so on and that it allows
children to develop their metal
skills that are essential in
their life that of
to be committed citizens
that weave trust that
know who have developed
inter relation with each other
interpersonal skills that
are essential in society
it was Thursday morning on Thursday
afternoon where we have advice
of adjustment that takes place a little every
days and this adjustment advice it’s
another very important body of
school to guarantee peace if and
guarantee living together I will you
mentioned earlier and linky which
wants to bring a complaint against him so
he takes his snacks and well she
will come to this assembly where he
there are children and adults who are
are gathered together and she will present
the facts she will present the rule
who was transgressed and then we go
listen to each other in
their needs in their felt and
finally collegially we go
decide on a solution of a
repair in relation to what has
been done that allows children and
adults too since we also work
of 200 really creates in respect
in this collective framework of its values
that we have put forward that are the
benevolence freedom there the
sense of justice respect one
others and children as much as the
adults so in this type of school in
are guarantors it’s not an adult who
impose rules arbitrarily
or according to a regulation but these children
as adults who those who are guarantors
of the safety of respect there and the
benevolent frame so einstein was saying
than
if we judge a fish to its capacity
climbing a tree all his life he’s going to
to believe stupid and good in our school
we really have this focal this
new perception of the child to say
that everyone has a talent and so it is
important to look at each child
individually to identify their needs
to understand his expectations and of himself
make him aware of his
strengths of his talents and that they can
develop them and climb to his at
the tree if he has to climb a tree or
then to be in a pool
it’s more like a fish and I think
it’s our responsibility to all
adults here and also to
kids to really focus our
attention on how children
today’s tomorrow must have
really focus on them themselves
know yourself being anchored in
their learning or their ways of
do for to be citizens
flourished in society in connection
also with their environment their
nature and take care of them too
take it by taking it seriously because
it is they who will build the future of
tomorrow
thank you
[Music]
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