Green School -- by Emery Greenwood

 

At the edge of the city, past the rice fields and through some winding hills lies Green School Bali. Centered around sustainability in all aspects of learning, Green School takes a new approach to education focusing on hands on learning rather than a traditional academic setting. Under the bamboo archways and treehouse-esque buildings, you find classrooms that feel more like summer camp meeting houses. The classrooms, though intricately built of bamboo and open air, aren’t where students find themselves throughout the day. Students are taught to embrace learning wherever it finds them, whether that be under water participating in their coral ecosystem projects or up in the trees focusing on Balinese habitats. At first glance, the Green School seems great, teaching students about the earth while actively working alongside it.

 

However, from a purely academic lens, the lack of traditional classroom structure and formal curriculum creates a dangerous situations whereby student led learning becomes more like student led play. I was pleasantly surprised when we, as visitors were required to wear passes which detailed rules we we were to abide by:

●      No photos or videos allowed

●      No smoking

●      No interaction with students

●      Stay within visitor area

An open campus concept can create excess risk in terms of outsider access to students, but the security team, parent workspace and required passes brought reassurance that the organization was doing its best to control who enters and remains on school grounds.

I must admit that I enjoy structure, rules and routine. Throughout my elementary school experience I found comfort in knowing what classes I had and when and what expectations I was to meet, so while learning about the schools nontraditional approach to education I couldn’t help but be wary of the standard of education these students receive. Looking beyond my personal grievances, I do believe there are types of students who would benefit from having control over their daily schedules, allowing the day to take them wherever their curiosity takes them. Students with attention deficit issues would thrive in the environment that Green School provides, their attention spans would dictate their schedule.

Alas, children need structure early on and throughout educational experience to prepare them for the tasks of adult life. A traditional schooling environment with pre-planned classes teach children about responsibility, organization, and prepares them to enter and adult world where punctuality, respect for  other people's time and following through with obligations are highly valued skills. While Green School wouldn’t have been the right school for me, the beautiful campus does bring about a type of whimsy and grounding that a typical school lacks.