“A school is not just a building! It is an event of going through a new experience” – the pupil of the tenth form Alena came to such conclusion after her first session in the Liberal Education School of Alexander Popov.
What is the Liberal Education School in reality? It is really the School. But not in the sense of customary exterior attribute: daily kaleidoscope of school subjects, lessons, bells, homework, curriculums and scales of progress in studies, all that we passed through. The LES is the specially constructed modern educational space where the life of a young man, the participant of the program, with all his desires, goals, abilities and prospects is the most important subject requiring attention and action for the authors, supervisors and the participants of the educational programs. Recalling my first feelings after experiencing such technology, I can say the following: I have never experienced myself such a powerful educational effect. After this program my inner experience helped me to realize that at least three years passed within those three days.
All of us are living in the certain historical period; all of us belong to the certain culture, and are bound up with certain social relationships. But unfortunately, even a diligent pupil who devotes to studies about 14-16 hours within 24 hours has no an integrated idea of the modern world image. The moment of taking your own decisions concerning your own Future, comes at the age of 14-17. And then problems appear. A child and the whole family are at a loss. Where can we take that knowledge and abilities, which will help us not only at the blackboard but also in the solution of different life situations? In spite of the fact that the process of self-determination becomes most relevant for this age, questions connected with the personal intentions either are not discussed at all or discussed in a way: what institution of higher education to choose.
In this view the Liberal Education School is the project specially created for young people. Today it is the net of open educational areas functioning in different cities in Russia, the programs of which are created on the basis of the exclusive methods and approaches. It is the school, which is unique not only in its content but also in its anthropological effects.
The period of studying in the Liberal Education School is two years. The annual cycle consists of three or four sessions – the moving intensive schools. Here the pupils take part not only in the suggested educational programs (they listen to significant lectures, work in groups, make their own reports, present the ideas, work out the projects and many other things), but also personally communicate with leading experts, professionals and tutors of the country. The main thing is that they solve various life problems themselves even if in the model form so far. The participants have to look at themselves and the situation they are positioned on from the outside while solving the suggested tasks. Having been through with such thinking process in the regime of studying, they can transfer this ability into the real life, they begin to think over: “What is going on around me? What special features do I have? What profession should I chose? What should I do?” This ability – the reflection allows you to regard your life consciously and take part in making of your own fate.
The subject-matter of the educational programs allows receiving real ideas of economical, political and cultural processes, taking place in the country and in the whole world. For instance, the children guided by the leading experts make not only the analysis but also prognosis of economical development, describe the markets of the modern professions and work out their own business ideas at the first session “Geo-economics and markets of modern professions”. Thus, the children get the complete range of ideas in their minds – about economy, the tendencies of its development and the competences that the man of today must posses in order to live and accomplish his activity in this space. The concept of geo-policy and geo-culture is formed at the following stages. In the form of a game they make a try of strength, refering themselves to a certain sphere of activity in the future, also a try to define the role, which they want to play in life. Every moving school-session is devoted to the definite subject. Crossing of these three constituents, three sections of the modern society – economics, politics and culture, allows us to form a clear complete idea of the space we live in and in which a young man will have to find, to confirm and position himself.
The session “Worlds of Management Strategies” where the modern management practices are mastered in the form of a game finishes the annual educational cycle.
Second-year students begin to work over their diplomas besides their participation in sessions. The LES diploma is the project of one’s own professional future and sometimes it is even the conception for the future business-plan. Guided by a tutor a young man makes quite serious work during which it is important for him to find out what kind of occupation he wants to devote his life to, to count on available experience and competences. It is necessary to describe the chosen professional sphere: the history of establishment and development, its structure and the modern forms of institualization, already mastered practices and technologies, problematic zones and the prospects of development. Having defined the interested problems they have to propose the versions of their solution. They will have to work also with experts’ editions; to spend some time in professional but not in the “get-together” chats listening and penetrating into the discussed subject-matter, to communicate with leading professionals and to organize the practice for themselves. The development tendencies of the modern economy, politics and culture become especially relevant during this work. And the understanding of the fact that all the world processes influence directly the organization of your own life comes here. Our graduate comes across with the necessity to answer himself the question concerning his own destination already at this stage.
The comparison of one’s own competencies with the demands made to the professional of the Future is an important stage. The availability of the integrated notion of world, the project of one’s Future and realization of one’s own shortages give the possibility to work over oneself. The individual educational program which is directed not only at getting of subject knowledge appears. It is necessary to form the entire complex of events concerning the self-improvement and to realize them.
A man lives within the strict frames set by the government, social institutions, fears of elder generation and his own illusions from the very beginning. His fate is already defined and decided in many aspects. A teenager has no space for his own motion and that is why he begins either to rebel senselessly (all of us know forms of youth revolt) or falls into apathy, when he is interested in nothing. In the LES a man gets such a humanitarian “fitting out” that he begins to re-interpret those frames in his new world picture. He begins setting life aims and forming the image of the future space himself.
Thus, the field for the independent determination of the professional and not only professional life is assigned. As the self-determination is not a choice from the things you have; it is a disposition of yourself in the space of the Future. This space has not existed yet but it is already determined, from the one hand, by civilization processes and, from the other hand, by the personal intentions of each of us. The forming of your own image of the Future and its disposition in the market of the Future is what we call an education.
The question that alarms the majority of parents is the following: “What should we do if a child is interested in nothing and does not think about his future?” So it is possible to put him up in the educational environment, which is created artificially, for instance, as in the LES where a man being in the situation of life choice solves it in the form of trial training. It is also possible that life itself will create educational problems-situations; everything will be only more dangerous and risky in life. We underestimate our children often. Just ordinary girls and boys after a couple of sessions are already notable for their witty eyes and deliberate attitude to life. They begin to possess desires, strength, and volition for their own motion.
It is difficult to explain what the LES really is to a man who hasn’t been in its sessions. But that man who has been there once becomes quickly convinced of the subject-matter relevance discussed at the sessions and effectiveness of educational technologies worked out by the author and the leader Alexander Popov. Our pupils have interpreted the name of the school in the following way: the School is the place of meeting, Liberal is human and Education is the image. So it is the place of meeting and forming of the human image. And really it is a formation of your own human image.
