A Structure That Supports Freedom of Thought

One of the absolute fundamental benefits of choice based art programs is the support, space and time that teachers provide children to realize and exercise their freedom of thought. Within this structure exists the realm of free inquiry, freedom of expression and free creation.

A 2nd grade student explores her ideas about color, line, composition and rhythm in a tempera painting.

Sounds easy but implementing a structure for freedom within institutions that seek to control inputs,  outputs and children's actions is a bit of a paradox. Do children co-construct the curriculum in other subject areas within American K-12 education? Unless children attend a private independent school, in today's high stakes standardized test mandated K-12 education climate that answer for the most part is no.

A hallmark of any educational institution or democratic society is how it provides learners with opportunities to develop their innate talents, gifts and passions as free human beings. Authorities should be challenged to this point. How does the World's most important democracy recognize humans as unique individuals and how do we educate them to operate within a free and open society?

Providing children with opportunities to co-construct learning experience provides them with opportunities to exercise free will in the context as a natural learner free from coercion and maximizes the potential of such experiences to provide new pathways to realize unique and innate human characteristics.