Teacher Koen van der Hagen was fired last week at a school where he had only worked for one day. Now he wants to set up his own school in Den Bosch where he wants to shape education in a different way. Lindsey (14) is already at a school where they do not provide regular education. At the Agora school in Gemert, where she goes, the motivation of students is central and children do not have to take a test every week. “Now I’m going to school again with pleasure.”
Lindsey is working in her biology book. The 14-year-old is in the fourth of VMBO-T and takes an exam this year. She could not find her way in a regular high school. A teacher advised her to take a look at Agora education. Here the motivation of students is central and do not have to sit still on a chair for hours. “Here I feel much nicer. Education is looser and that works better for me.”
The Agora school is located in the Commanderij College in Gemert. There the students have their own way with classrooms, specially equipped for Agora education.
Own interests as a guideline
Lindsey wants to become a psychologist later and regularly delves into topics that match. “I have done research into social fear and am concerned with psychology. I am interested in the person and society. But I also like acting, that’s why I tried last year to write my own musical.”
At the Agora school, students are given the space to explore their interests through challenges: projects that are worked out step by step. “First they present their idea to coaches, who assess whether there is enough depth in it. Only when they have given approval can they get started,” explains Annelies Otten, coordinator and coach at the Agora school.
Day in the Efteling
The topics range from writing a book to building a motorcycle “they approach experts for that and they go to investigate. A cover is part of a cover and the facts must also be correct. For this the student even spent a day in the Efteling, to check whether the characters in the story would run the right route.”
At the end, each project is assessed, but just like with a test, you do not always achieve the desired result. “That does not mean that you have failed, but that a challenge was not completely unpacked. The student will discuss that with the coaches and there is often a learning moment.”
Not just everything is allowed
According to Otten, it is not that the students can do what they want. “But they can decide for themselves what they want to learn. Their own interests and motivation are central to us.” And they just take final exams, just like children who follow regular education. Only the route to the exam is different. “We do work with levels and students also have to follow courses such as Dutch, English and mathematics. But they don’t do that by listening to a subject teacher for an hour.”
Coach Thijs Verhagen is in the corner of the classroom. He is cheerful and talks to a clear voice. A real teacher, you would say. “Before this I stood in front of the class as a social studies teacher. And there it already started to wring. Giving a figure for a society. Isn’t that a bit crooked?”
Also here also been a student
That’s how he finally ended up at the Agora school. “And I myself was still at school here, at regular education. Then they found me bored and someone with 1001 hobbies. Then I think I had fitted much better in such a class.”
Agora education
Bee Agora ‘The student is central as a director of his or her own learning adventure’. They develop together with other students. The individuality and choices of the student are the starting point of his development process and are dominated by the question: “How can my individuality and personal development of added value are for the other?”
A student chooses the topics that he wants to investigate and also determines his goals. “This ensures that the student is intrinsically motivated and learns in depth. Playing and discovering learning is the turbo stand of this motivation, making learning even more fun and effective.”
The teacher has a key role. They support and guide the students with gaining experiences and discovering talents.