Humans also didn’t evolve to learn by direct instruction or to sit in a classroom. Humans evolved to learn through play, observation and imitation. That is, children for two million years were given complete freedom to play, and through observing and imitating the adults around them, they learned all the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive – and let’s not make any assumptions about hunter-gatherers – for two million years children had a great deal to learn. That is why humans lived sustainably for two million years. Not because they sat in a classroom.
However, this freedom has never meant freedom to do anything. This is where the Deep Green Bush-School differs from some well-known libertarian schools such as Summerhill and the Sudbury Valley Schools. Any sustainable culture that has ever existed relied on elder wisdom and knowledge to set the boundaries of what was healthy and what was not, in order to ensure the health of the community. This is the great flaw in libertarian schools – for without that elder wisdom and guidance, it is the dominant culture which teaches youth – i.e., Western culture based on capitalism, consumerism, greed, competition, unending violence, the exploitation of others, patriarchy, slavery, the destruction of the natural world and the belief in human superiority. The libertarian approach only works when the dominant culture is healthy – and for two million years, cultures were healthy. But when the culture is not healthy, as in our case, these schools are simply a very gentle way of perpetuating a pathological culture.
We promote the learning of practical life skills and knowing how to live a simpler, more self-sufficient and sustainable way of living. We tell stories that teach healthy and sustainable ways of living and thinking. We are explicit about what is healthy and what is not.
Taking into account this reality, what youth really need is a balance. They need freedom, but they also need guidance and limits. For example, at the Deep Green Bush-School, students are given a great deal of freedom, but responsibility is required – responsibility to others, to the natural world, and to future generations. This demonstration of responsibility takes many forms. It may take the form of planting trees and healing the land. Our school processes encourage conflict resolution, democratic decision-making, and thoughtful discussion. We encourage participating in the community, such as through volunteering, and sharing our knowledge with others, such as through the school newsletter.
In terms of establishing a healthy culture, our library is comprised of books which reflect the social and ecological values necessary for a healthy world. We also restrict all modern technology, as modern gadgets require the killing of millions of people and the destruction of the natural world just to produce. Their use simply poisons us, dumb us down and are used overall by governments to watch, control and destroy. Modern technology has no place in a healthy society and its time someone points that out.
We promote the learning of practical life skills and knowing how to live a simpler, more self-sufficient and sustainable way of living. We tell stories that teach healthy and sustainable ways of living and thinking. We are explicit about what is healthy and what is not.
Finally, once youth recognise what is healthy and what is not, they start to understand how pathological our culture is and the immensity of what must be changed. Through their freedom to question and their self-reliance and non-consumerism and increasing ability to live a natural life, they will have the courage to question the industrial mindset which currently enslaves everyone, and they will be able to envision a healthier world and how to get there. They will have the courage to do what must be done. This is the true essence of what a natural education means for us today. For what good is a natural education – or any education – if we don’t do what must be done to bring about a healthier world?
Joey is the co-founder and head teacher of The Deep Green Bush-School in Clevedon, NZ – a democratic nature-immersion school for Years 1-13. Inspired by the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, United States, and based on thousands of years of indigenous wisdom and on how humans actually evolved to learn – in freedom. Our highest priority is the health and happiness of our children and future generations, and we will nurture a new generation of young visionaries who will rise to the challenge and help heal our world. The Deep Green Bush-School is a registered private school with the Ministry of Education.
