This is the story of a very unusual school which existed and thrived for several years in the early seventies. John Holt – America’s best known pedagogue wrote a graphic account of this school in one his books. This inspired Alan Falbel from the MIT to go and work in the school for a year and write a PhD thesis on this amazing school.

Peggy Hughes – a film maker worked in the school in the early 1970’s for two years and made a film titled We Have To Call It School.

A brief description

Early in the film one of the teacher says, “Children have to go school, and if we didn’t call it a school, they would not come here.” But, except for the fact that children have to be here during school hours, it is unlike any school.

No “education” takes place here. It is a place where some eighty-five children and a few adults indulge in their passions.

The adults are not teachers in the usual sense. None of them have a B.Ed or a degree in teaching. But having worked for years in the big wide world they possess many demonstrable skills, which the children love.

The Ny Lilleskole (Little New School) was founded in the early 1970’s in a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish government has a reputation of funding 85% costs of the schools run by parents. The parents have to collect just 15% of the costs.

This enables many experimental schools to blossom. The adults who started this unique venture had earlier taught in several off beat schools. Some of these schools became too particular about children’s “outcomes” and started veering towards normal schools. This disillusioned these adults and they decided to start a new place for children.

The school is located in an industrial part and basically has one long hall and two small rooms. There are no text books or school curriculum. There are no bells, periods, homework or class work. Of course there are no exams, tests, evaluations and marks. There are some interesting books, a workshop and a gymnasium where children have lots of things to make and do.

The school does not have any fancy scientific equipment, nor does it propose to buy one. What do the children do the whole day? Well the day starts with music. Some of the teachers are professional musicians and they share their love for music with the children. In the morning for almost an hour the children sway to music.

There actions are very spontaneous and rhythmic. As the teacher begins to beat on a drum the children begin to move, jump and dance. The children will often do movements they have never done before. They invent their own styles. There is a small but good collection of books. The workshop has a modest set of woodworking tools, and equipment for heating and working metal.

There is an oxy-acetylene cylinder and a torch to cut and weld metal. There are several science and math puzzles but no Math lab, nor any professional science activities programme like the Nuffield etc – science equipment which most American and British schools have come to think of as essential.

There was no separate painting room but there is evidence all over that the children did paint. There are two hand looms and one sewing machine. There is a large fish tank and it is totally legitimate for a child to spend hours watching goldfish. In the music room is a piano, some guitars, a bass fiddle made by a teacher and some drums.

The school is not richly endowed. It has only a small part of the material and equipment you will find in any conventional school. But whatever exists is there for the children to use. There are no elaborate rituals of getting the library book, or test tubes issued. On reason for the sparseness of equipment is that the school can’t afford it.

The children are resourceful enough to borrow things they need from other institutions. The unique thing about the school is that all major decisions are taken by the adults and the children collectively. It is very likely that even if the school had wanted some elaborate science package, it might have been voted down by some teachers and children.

For everyone young or old decides collectively how to use the little money optimally. The school takes a lot of trips, in and around Copenhagen. Moreover, some students took a walking trip across Sweden.

In Denmark it is compulsory by law for every child to attend school. The school does keep an attendance record, but there is no time wasted in this ritual. On a given day a teacher is given the task of noticing who is in school, and who is not and marking it.

No one is unduly worried if a child is absent. Usually they think that the child might be involved in something more interesting than coming to school. Children don’t have to account for their absence, nor do they need permission for staying away from school. They also don’t have to prove to anyone that during their absence from school they were gainfully occupied.

Like most Scandinavian countries Denmark has a long dark winter. When the sun finally appears every Scandinavian wants to bask in the sun. So at this time of the year only half the children would come to school. During the winter the children are more likely to be in school.

The physical arrangement of the school is very different from normal schools. A big brewery had discarded its old wooden beer crates for plastic ones. So the school had access to several thousand block-like wooden crates for free.

Often children get bored with the same layout of the school. During one collective meeting everyone decided on the new layout for their school. New plans were laid out. And then the work of implementation started in right earnest.

All books and existing stuff is taken down, the furniture removed. Then the beer cases were laid out according to the new drawings, the furniture rearranged and all the books and equipment put back. All children love to take part in this mammoth task. So, periodically the school redesigns and reinvents itself.

Many children like to work with a gas torch – they heat nails until they are red-hot, pick them up with pliers and then hammer them in all kinds of nail-sculptors. No safety inspector or school would ever give such little children to play with such dangerous equipment.

The main thing about this little school is that the parents and the teachers have deep trust in the children. Often the little ones would watch the slightly older ones for hours before they decide to do a thing themselves. Unlike most schools where children are segregated on the basis of age, here everyone can learn and teach. 

Why does the school work?

Ny Lilleskole is an exceptional school. It is also a successful school. It was started by parents and teachers who had become fed up of normal schools. After the children spend 7-8 years in this school, and once they cross the age of 14 they move on to conventional schools.

The surprising part is that these children despite coming from an off-beat school do remarkably well in conventional schools later on.  In Ny Lilleskole all the children do is talk and listen the whole day. This does not mean that the teachers do all the talking.

There are no lectures. There is only conversation, between children and between children and adults together. Usually, when the child is working with an adult they start talking, discussing, arguing, and others join in. Some people leave after a while, but others pitch in.

This school is a human community and the adults play a major role in it. In the first place, they are competent in many ways, not just at teaching. Most of them come to teaching after having done many other kinds of work.

They bring their rich life experiences to the school. They can do things, make things, and fix things. Children are naturally attracted to adults who can do things. Much of the natural authority of these teachers comes from their competence.

Also these adults are not frustrated, politically indoctrinated, alienated humbugs. They love life and the world. For all its faults, they feel the world is still a beautiful, varied, fascinating place, full of exciting things. They still think they can do many interesting and meaningful things.

So the children from the Ny Lilleskole do very well later even in the rigid conventional schools. They are still curious about the world, confident that they can find out about it, and good at doing it. Having for many hours of the day, for many years, actively, seriously and intently talked and listened to people, they have become very good with words and the use of language.

They have also coped with a variety of social situations, in and out of school. So they are well equipped to handle the rather limited challenges of a conventional school. Do the children from Ny Lilleskole like conventional schools?
They think they are absurd and dislike them. But one thing they have learned. They have learnt that the road to doing many things they want to do will be possible only after they finish regular college and university, and so they are ready to take that road, bumps and all.

A wonderful 34-minute film on this most amazing school can be watched on Google Video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8097260818511821806&hl=en