[BryanK]

Originally Posted by Streck-Fu

Just remove standards completely. LINK

Reminds me of that movie "Accepted" . No separation of age groups? That'll work out great I'm sure. Will the diplomas be finger painted by the 5 year olds? Oh well, to each his own. If parents want to pay for their children to f*** off all day that's their prerogative. I'll bet the POTUS of the 2040's will have "graduated" from this school.

ETA: Apparently this is not a new method. Alternative education was attempted before several times. I agree with Pete though, how do you measure progress? Historically, Alt Ed has been for the more troubled students who don't excel or meet the standards at a regular school, but how/why would a 5 year old need to be comingled with people twice or three times their age?

U of CA paper

U of MN paper

Snip from first link:

In order to support this claim, I wish to offer the following argument. The public school system which began to take shape in the 1840s has developed systematically as a standardized and bureaucratic system so as to allow business leaders to control the socialization process of the nation's children. Those interested in opposing this process created alternative schools. The goals, methodology and decision making process of alternative schools are in direct opposition to the goals, methodology and decision making process of the public school system. This resistance emerged as soon as the effects of the new public school system began to be felt. The resistance, however, was allowed to expand during two periods. Historians have labeled these periods as the Progressive Movement (1890-1940) and the Free School Movement (1960-75). During these two periods, business leaders, instead of attacking alternative schools, provided a small amount of structural support (funding networking, publicity and studies). It is this support which explains the actual growth of alternative schools during the Progressive Movement and the Sixties. Corporate foundations and business-led school boards provided support during these periods in response to the pressure brought by larger social movements at the time, as well as in response to the evident failures of the public school system (manifested by truancy, insubordination and dropping out). Corporate funding was withdrawn from alternative schools and a media attack was launched against them when business leaders became disappointed with the results of their support, or when they perceived the experimental schools as oppositional rather than alternative (Shapiro, 1990).