EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY - FIRST COLLEGE

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Our Education Philosophy

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OUR EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY

PROGRESS THROUGH PRAISE Positive reinforcement backed by discipline.

A HALFWAY HOUSE School structure with Home Education practicality and flexibility.

A LEARNING COMMUNITY Human sized, communicating groups of people.

STUDENT AS INDIVIDUAL Many sizes for many persons.

PARENT TEACHER PARTNERSHIP However well we do our bit we really do need your help.

SOFTWARE AS SERVANT Clever stuff this. But people come first.

Bunch of roses symbolising success working together.

PROGRESS THROUGH PRAISE

Many a parent has painful memories of teachers who damaged confidence, which cut off learning as well as causing unhappiness. Many families come to us because their child has been hurt and discouraged by unkindness.
Our education philosophy is founded on “positive reinforcement.”
It has long been known that if we treat a student as stupid they will rapidly become so. Conversely treat a student as intelligent and they become intelligent. Students respond to what a teacher shows them they are.

Positive reinforcement means that wherever we can we find ways to encourage with kindness and respect, pushing by praise. Young people are wired to work harder for the reward of approval. So not only does it make a kinder atmosphere, praise pushes harder!
smiley

We take this so seriously that we have actually discontinued a teacher for not showing respect for a student. Being boring is also disapproved in a teacher as a lack of the respect to the student.

But of course it does not work to just be fluffy and sweet. Young people are strong, determined people. Very often their idea of what they want to do today does not match what an adult knows is necessary for them for their future. Together with parents, it is our job to insist a student accepts the goals of learning we have all agreed, toweards skills and qualifications which will shape their future.

So practical discipline backs up our first principle of patience and kindness. If this needs to go beyond moderate issues discipline is carefully discussed and agreed with parent/s. Of course online learning is highly ‘transparent’ because the family can see our classes as they happen, check the record opf one, and see the constantly updating record of the individual student’s work progress.

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A HALFWAY HOUSE

First College is a combination of the best of school and home education.

SCHOOL gives us an efficient timetable where student and teacher meet to work together at set times. The student knows the shape of their day and week, what the goals are.
School gives us the teacher -student relationship where teachers provide information, resources, and expertise on how to study, how to handle exams. Teachers lead by inspiration, particularly giving a young person the foundation of confidence to succeed.
Finally school gives us working to a deadline to get things done. This is not something anyone loves but it is vital to getting or keeping a job, getting qualifications, or running a household and parenting. Getting homework done on time is therefore a major training for the responsibilities of life later on.

But there is much that is not so desirable about school which brings families to want ‘something different.’
This can differ from one family to another. For some it is important that we are small, human sized, and personal. For others the complete lack of fuss about issues outside education matters so much. We are not concerned with hairstyle or socks. That comes under parental authority We are about brains and good manners.
Nor do we need to impose a long working week, or long dragging terms. Being small, working around levels of ability, insisting on good manners and getting work done efficiently – all this means we get a great more done in a short time. Time with the family, time to learn from the world around us, really matters.

Shan's own small villlage school as a child,
which she remembers as efficient and kindly.
HOME EDUCATION is built on this learning about the world, not being closed away from it. Rather than home education it is really “home based” education, using home and family as the basis for learning about your local community and the rest of the world. Of course the international network of our students, and the resources of the internet, constantly opens up a wider world for our students.
Home education taught us that learning takes place all the time for a child in all waking hours. So that is one of several reasons why we respect “free time“ by making our timetable contracted but efficient.
Home education is flexible and pragmatic. It looks at what works with a real, individual child, not what pompous policy documents set out in tickboxes. Child need does not fit into boxes! Talking closely with the family we can agree with you particular practical aims that suit your child.
That might mean a special reduced or enhanced learning plan. It can mean an important day out with the family (akthough homework must still be done). Or our lessons can be built a great deal around the actual interests of the child. Their suggestions are always welcomed. (But please note on the Exam Programme we have very little choice like this.)

Home education trains us to go at the pace the child needs. Some might stay on the same level for a long time patiently rebuilding skills danaged by previous experiences. Others go zooming ahead. Both are rewarding to a teacher in different ways, plus the steady ground of the middles.
Most of all home education’s wisdom is that children respond to personal interaction. No child flourishes in isolation, whether left alone with nothing but papers, or feeling alone in the midst of a crowded school. Our small, friendly community ensures the young people can feel noticed, and valued.

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A LEARNING COMMUNITY

There is a strong emphasis on the school as a learning community, not just a bundle of tutored subjects.
A learning community requires students to learn to work together with each other, respecting each other, as well as their teachers. It also means teachers treating students with genuine respect.

In order to study efficiently students need to learn -
~ how to work in groups;
~ how to mix with others from different backgrounds;
~ how to get help from teachers, and
~ how to both get help from and give it to other students.

We train in a practical philosophy we call "Shared Space" which students find easy to grasp. "Shared Space" explains how we all have to accept certain limits on what we do when we are using the "Shared Space" of the school (or any shared work project).
Both software and caring but firm teachers enable us to nip any bullying blips in the bud before they grow to be troublesome. We do not fuss with elaborate meetings or reports. We get on it fast to sort it out.

The teen years can be a very lonely time which makes having a supportive learning community that much more important. So we encourage friendships to develop through private communication both in and out of school. We teach clear effective ways to handle awkwardness or disagreements constructively so that social skills can mature.
However, being a teenager is a time when privacy and independence is also very important. Some are 'loners' by preference, and some very much need quieter periods for personal reflection when going through difficulties. The option to connect is always there, gently encouraged, but not in any hearty or forced way.

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STUDENT AS INDIVIDUAL

We know that herding animals into large groups makes them aggressive; especially young vigorous animals. So why do so many human institutions do this to our young?
We deliberately restrict First College numbers. The school is small: maximum 35 students.
Classes are small: usually 8 -10, maximum 15, although a student has easy access to others in the whole school for socialising.
Small size means we stay human and personal.

Anyone reading this knows that one size does not fit all. So we try as much as possible to fit what we provide to different needs. We work with ability, not age, so a student works at a level that suits them in terms of what they can manage, instead of being lumped together with an artificial year group.

Some students need a smaller workload, others need a bigger challenge than the standard. We can adapt to that.
A student who needs something smaller gets reduced homework, which can gradually increase. Each step is agreed with family and student. A student who needs more can move up fast. Or if that is not right, they stay where their personality fits, but we encourage them to handle their work in a more in-depth way. We’ll discuss with student and family how many subjects are suitable.

But all that is still pretty basic. What really matters is the teaching skill of knowing our students. A good teacher knows whether to push, rebuke, praise, gently encourage, or stand back. Nor is this static; a student’s needs can change a lot within days or weeks. Again because we’re small we really know our students’ needs. In particular the Heads are not hidden away but right there teaching our students through the school day.
Last but not least we really want to learn from the family. We generally know best about study skills, and types of student. But it’s the family that knows THIS student best. So the parent as partner is essential to our work.

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PARENT TEACHER PARTNERSHIP

This is so important there’s a whole page on it so just quick notes on this page.

Essentially NO student succeeds without a good parent supporting them.
They are too young to manage time and work management – getting work done on time. They desperately need the immense power of a parent’s smile – your approval. They rely heavily on your understanding of their habits, strong and weak both.
We can do our job brilliantly but we do not know your child as you do. You have been there from the start. Quite simply, we need your help.

More on this crucial area here.

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SOFTWARE AS SERVANT

The software we use to communicate with your child is clever stuff. It lets us teach a class where a student joins in the discussion from China or Spain or Manchester. Software means we can be there for your child way outside school hours, just a click away, afternoon or evening to answer “I don’t understand.”
There are software advantages like private chats with a student actually while a class is going on: very helpful for strengthening confidence or mild discipline. Then there are automatic records of a class. Not least there is our powerful personal Report so mother, father, often grandmother too, can see exactly what is going on day by day, hour by hour.

But the first priority of what we do is people, not software. So we do not blind you with jargon. Nor do we ask you to do weird and unfamilar things with your computer.
We keep the software as simple as possible. Apart from being easier for us all, it makes it more reliable. You do not need anything elaborate or expensive.
More about our computer stuff.

Many students are quick and happy with software. Some are not. The same goes for parents. If you are ‘net savvy’ that is welcomed and respected. But if you are not confident you’ll find we take you through what you need to know, step by step. We certainly do not throw the book at you all at once.
Just like with the actual studying people adjust and progress with software at their own pace. We’re here to help every weekday in term until 7pm (UK) and we are still here in the so-called ‘holidays.’
girl with laptop

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The site is being newly designed (May 2011).
This side menu will soon have links to lots of updated pages with details on each subject we teach.

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LIST OF SUBJECTS
* IGCSE subjects

* ENGLISH
* MATHS
* Geography
* History
* Literature
Storytelling
Philosophy

Sciences
* Biology
* Physics
* Chemistry

* French
* Spanish

EXTRAS
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First College UK is a family business. It was created to educate our son, who gained his exams, then went on to become a teacher in the school. As well as the family there are four other teachers making a team of seven in all. See ABOUT OUR TEACHERS.