Have you seen the 1958 movie Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell? (Or seen the play or read the book?)
The highly eccentric Mame suddenly finds herself, out of the blue, the guardian of her young nephew Patrick. She takes on parenting in her usual unorthodox style.
Mr. Babcock, who manages Patrick's inheritance, makes a surprise visit to the progressive school where Mame has enrolled Patrick. Babcock finds the children and teachers doing constructive play as fish in an alarming and inappropriate fashion.
Patrick lets Mame know they do this play right after "yogurt time." It's a humorous take on the absurdity of an alternative school in the bohemian culture of mid-20th century New York City.
But for some people, something as ridiculous as the fictional school Mame sends Patrick to is still what comes to mind with the word alternative in the context of education. To break this down, let's look at the possibilities for alternatives as they move through various categories.
Alternative Rock went mainstream in the 90s. I now hear those "alternative rock" songs in an elevator or walking through Publix. You can't get much more mainstream than that, not to mention the influence those bands had on the next generation of musicians.
Posh grocery stores selling organic food at one time were alternative stores, usually only in big cities. Now, most cities host a Whole Foods or a store like it. The trend has also pulled other traditional grocery stores in the organic direction.
An instant death alternative? New Coke. It was the alternative no one was looking for.
As far as schools, I'd argue that the vast majority schools already sport many "alternative" characteristics. The traditional school model in the United States is the industrial model. How many schools in the US follow that model with fidelity? Every continuing education workshop, class or book I engage with, which is being read/attended by public and private schools across the nation, shows a desire to move to a more personalized, student-centered approach. Things that were once thought of as alternatives in education are already firmly in the mainstream.
Interestingly enough, in Auntie Mame, two items from the section of the movie on Patrick's education that were far enough afield to add to the humor did go mainstream: yogurt and Dr. Spock.
So then, what would be considered an alternative school? By whom? Why? This is the start of a blog post series looking at those questions in general and how they apply to Aspire Savannah. Because I'm not sure we are an alternative school. Did anyone with proper knowledge of yogurt ever see it as alternative?
But for some people, something as ridiculous as the fictional school Mame sends Patrick to is still what comes to mind with the word alternative in the context of education. To break this down, let's look at the possibilities for alternatives as they move through various categories.
- An alternative can be forever to the side as an alternative to an almost constant through-the-ages norm.
- Something alternative can die out completely.
- An alternative can also slowly move into the norm and become mainstream, or quickly move into the norm and become mainstream.
Alternative Rock went mainstream in the 90s. I now hear those "alternative rock" songs in an elevator or walking through Publix. You can't get much more mainstream than that, not to mention the influence those bands had on the next generation of musicians.
Posh grocery stores selling organic food at one time were alternative stores, usually only in big cities. Now, most cities host a Whole Foods or a store like it. The trend has also pulled other traditional grocery stores in the organic direction.
An instant death alternative? New Coke. It was the alternative no one was looking for.
As far as schools, I'd argue that the vast majority schools already sport many "alternative" characteristics. The traditional school model in the United States is the industrial model. How many schools in the US follow that model with fidelity? Every continuing education workshop, class or book I engage with, which is being read/attended by public and private schools across the nation, shows a desire to move to a more personalized, student-centered approach. Things that were once thought of as alternatives in education are already firmly in the mainstream.
Interestingly enough, in Auntie Mame, two items from the section of the movie on Patrick's education that were far enough afield to add to the humor did go mainstream: yogurt and Dr. Spock.
So then, what would be considered an alternative school? By whom? Why? This is the start of a blog post series looking at those questions in general and how they apply to Aspire Savannah. Because I'm not sure we are an alternative school. Did anyone with proper knowledge of yogurt ever see it as alternative?
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