Free School Frankfurt
The Freie Schule Frankfurt (FSF) is a state-approved substitute school in Frankfurt am Main . It is located in a converted residential building in Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen .
It was founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1974, making it one of Germany's oldest free alternative schools . It is an all-day facility with a primary school, special needs level and day-care center in which 50 children and ten adults live and learn together. The children are accepted into the FSF between the ages of three and six. At the age of 13 they then switch to a secondary school. Since December 2013 there has been a second location in Frankfurt-Eckenheim that accepts children from one year old.
History of the FSF
The school was founded in 1974 from a group of children to give the children a space to play, learn and work. The starting point was the first German children's shop founded by Monika Seifert in Frankfurt-Eschersheim in 1967 . When the children's group was then of school age , the teacher Renate Stubenrauch found herself, who identified with the goals of the children's shop movement and raised them in this sense in a regular primary school in Frankfurt-Rödelheim . In 1971, a teacher was hired for the new children in the children's shop, who taught in private rooms. An application from the parents to try school was rejected in 1973. In May 1974, the Association for Applied Social Pedagogy applied for approval for the Free School in Frankfurt. Classes started in September. After several rejections by the Darmstadt Regional Council and the Hessian Ministry of Culture and fines against the parents, they obtained approval after several years of legal dispute in the second instance and after an expert opinion by Hartmut von Hentig . After revision and objections, negotiations had to be continued and in 1986 the state of Hesse withdrew the revision under the red-green government alliance.
Educational concept
The basis of life at the Freie Schule Frankfurt is the pedagogical concept , the core of which is self-regulation: Children determine their learning activities and are guided by their needs and interests that they encounter from their individual life situation. They go through learning processes at their own pace and are accompanied and supported by the educators. In this way they actively open up the world - with the participation of all senses and intellectual abilities.
The starting point of the concept of the free school is the opinion that every child can develop in the best possible way if they have the chance to develop according to their very individual requirements and talents. This is how the Free School Frankfurt differs significantly from regular schools. The pedagogical principle that corresponds to this image of man is that of " self-regulation ". Each child decides for themselves what, how, when and where to learn. Children and adults have equal rights. The educators are the children's caregivers and advocates. They accompany, support and give them space and time for their development processes. They try to strike a balance between encouraging, challenging and letting grow. Parents as well as educators trust in the competence of the child instead of setting their own standards. In this development process, children are given the opportunity to develop their skills, especially in social terms, regardless of the pressure of grades and performance. Against this background, school and parental home are seen as socialization bodies that critically mirror each other. The place for these arguments and discussions are regular adult meetings.
Everyday school life
" Learning with head, heart and hand "
Everything that concerns children can become part of the school content at Freie Schule Frankfurt, be it a role-play with friends, learning to read or the desire to build something. They come together in small, mixed-age groups and work on a common topic with each other and with the teachers. This is how projects and learning opportunities emerge, which often have an interdisciplinary character. Cognitive, emotional and social aspects are equally part of the learning process. The learning of cultural techniques such as arithmetic, reading and writing takes place embedded in real-life activities (e.g. planning an excursion, reading timetables, writing packing lists). The children understand the subject matter according to the mathematical principle ( maths = teaching of learning based on the learner's questions). As the children get older, more abstract forms of learning such as courses or exercises come into play.
The possibilities for learning range from carpentry in the wood workshop to drums and piano playing in the music room, browsing in the library and puzzles in the maths corner to pottery and painting in the aesthetic area or playing theater on the stage. Motor learning is of particular importance in everyday school life . The children will always find offers and opportunities for exercise and can express themselves in this way. There are regular weekly appointments for sports in the gym and swimming. In addition, there are a variety of activities and learning opportunities such as English for all age groups, Latin, Spanish or French, if desired, excursions and city explorations, an annual school trip , games and gardening in the school garden in Kronberg , visits to museums and theaters and much more. The learning content does not always have to correspond to the conventional school subjects, but it does fit into the framework guidelines of the Hessian Ministry of Culture.
School as a free space
Playing and learning are not separate at the FSF. The school day is not structured by hours and breaks , but by appointments. The children decide together with the teachers about their time and contribute their ideas and fantasies. Learning offers last until the children have finished with the topic. On Fridays, a weekly plan is drawn up together and posted for orientation for the coming week.
groups
Live together
Every child in the FSF belongs to a group with their own group rooms and fixed reference persons. The children decide for themselves whether they want to belong to the youngest, middle or large group and when they want to switch to the next group. They are based on their age and their perceived maturity. The relationships with the other children and the teachers form the framework in which the children orientate themselves, try out and dare to take new steps. This also includes arguments and conflicts that the children can carry out in the FSF. The educators offer their help and support every child in making themselves heard. A house assembly ( school assembly ) can be called for topics that concern everyone . It is the forum in which the rules of living together are discussed and decided upon.
Own assessment
The children at the FSF learn in relation to themselves how to set goals and how to achieve them (“learning to learn”). Instead of performance assessments and grades, there is a lively exchange and feedback between the children and the educators in the FSF. They write an annual development report that relates to the individual life and learning history of the child. The transition to regular school and the choice of school are prepared intensively with the children by observing at different schools and getting advice from the older children.
Memberships
Freie Schule Frankfurt is a member of the Federal Association of Independent Alternative Schools and the European Democratic Education Community .
literature
- Marei Hartlaub: Concept of the Free School Frankfurt. FSF publication series, Volume 2, 2004, ISBN 978-3833417009
- Renate Stubenrauch: What is the Free School Frankfurt? FSF publication series, Volume 1, 2001, ISBN 978-3831116997
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ About us. In: www.frei-schule-frankfurt.de. Retrieved September 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Experienced stories: The mother of the free school - Renate Stubenrauch, pedagogue. In: www.wdr5.de. February 12, 2012, archived from the original on February 14, 2012 ; accessed on April 1, 2020 .
- ↑ Free School Frankfurt. In: www.martinwilke.de. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009 ; accessed on April 1, 2020 .
- ↑ Everyday school life. In: www.frei-schule-frankfurt.de. Retrieved September 29, 2019 .
- ↑ School address list. (Pdf) In: www.frei-alternativschulen.de. May 2019, p. 35 , accessed on September 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Free School Frankfurt. In: eudec.org. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 '52.3 " N , 8 ° 39' 59.1" E