Laborschule Bielefeld

Bielefeld, close to the Teutoburger Wald (forest) in East Westphalia, does not attract many tourists. Yet, with the Laborschule, it has something which is recognized by educationalists all over the world.

Labor in German simply means 'lab', and Schule is 'school' so is the Laborshule a laboratory school? With students and teachers acting as guinea pigs? Not exactly, it is rather a case of someone actually putting the principles of education of the great philosopher, John Dewey (1859-1952), into practice. (See http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-dewey.htm for a short introduction to these principles.)

As a matter of fact, the Laborschule Bielefeld is first and foremost a school where young children and teenagers have been living and learning for nearly thirty years now. It is an integrated comprehensive school for children from five to sixteen years old. It operates as an all-day school, which is unusual within the German school system, where afternoon lessons are the exception.

Unlike many other 'alternative' schools, such as A.S. Neill’s famous school in Summerhill in England, it is not an independent school. Established as a cooperation between the Ministry of Education and a research centre at the University of Bielefeld, the school was set up to develop new forms of teaching, learning and living in school. Teachers and researchers together continue to develop new curricula and carefully evaluate and revise them in the light of practical experience.

The driving force behind the Laborschule, and for the first years also its leader, is Hartmut von Hentig, a charismatic and progressive educationalist inspired by John Dewey. The school’s alternative methods of learning and teaching have been developed out of the principle of learning by experience rather than by instruction. Translated into the daily life of teachers and students at the Laborschule, this places great importance on the need to be creative. All must have the courage to explore new ways rather than tread comfortably along tried and tested paths. Learning opportunities within the school are offered in a variety of spaces - the school zoo, the library, the adventure playground and the workshops. Project-oriented learning also takes the students out into the world - to museums, the theatre, to the employment office or to the market. This means that the strict 45-minute lessons of conventional schools are more or less abolished, as are classes arranged according to age. All members of the school aim to form a democratic community, which opens itself up to the outside world.

As everywhere, the practice of education has to be a blend between a long-range vision and the demands of day-to-day practicalities. There are, for example, no marks and grades for students up to year 9. Instead, reports are prepared which set out the contents and aims of lessons and which record students’ activities and achievements in carrying out projects and practical work; advice for future learning is then provided. For the last two years, students are marked in more traditional ways to facilitate their integration into the German system of further education. More than half of the school’s students continue their career at secondary school!

To get a visual impression of the Laborschule go to: 'Mit Fünf ab in die Schule - Erfahrungen aus der Bielefelder Laborschule' (in German only) http://www.3sat.de/3sat.php?http://www.3sat.de/nano/bstuecke/29452/.