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Birds of Paradise

Academy for Sociocratic Education

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Academy for Sociocratic Education

The infinite group has a team of professionals at its disposal who have the knowledge and skills to provide the right advice, support, and training in all areas of the establishment of an Educational Institution with pioneering Sociocratic foundation; the education of the future!

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Sociocracy is a principle and a way of organizing that is based on two pillars:

 

  • Dynamic Governance 
    The
    Principal guarantees and provides the school with a professional and legal framework and is responsible for the multi-year school plan, the budget and other policy documents. All students and team members are equal in day-to-day management. They have an equal say in creating new school rules, devising activities or the admission of new students. This ensures that students learn to be tolerant, open-minded and responsible and to express their opinion and listen to the opinion of others
     

  • Consent Voting
    The decision-making takes place according to the consent method. The consent method means that a decision is accepted if the members do not have a substantive and substantiated objection to the decision to be taken, in other words, all members consent to the decision to be taken.

BOP

Our Service

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At The Infinite Group we developed Birds of Paradise (BOP) Academy. With BOP Academy we offer a challenging learning environment with a sociocratic foundation, where children and youth can discover the world around them and their own needs and motivations and grow personally and intellectually.

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At BOP Academy, we extend learning from intrinsic motivation, in contact with one's inner nature, to learning in and from external nature, through nature- based education.

 

In BOP Academy we combine:
 

  • An internationally recognised curriculum with

  • Nature-basedLearning,

  • Student-driven education and

  • DynamicGovernance (Sociocracy)

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Our Input

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Nature-based learning

Nature is the starting point and the connecting factor between all aspects of life and, by extension, the different development areas of children. At BOP children are taken on a journey of discovery in nature and these outdoor experiences are linked to classical school subjects and core attainment targets.

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Dynamic Governance

Within BOP the sociocratic approach is used in organizing daily management. Team members and students have an equal vote and voice. In a daily meeting, current affairs are discussed, and joint decisions are made regarding the practical details of the day-to-day affairs.

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Student-driven education

Optimal learning is reached when the student is intrinsically motivated and is given space to decide what and how to learn. If the student is responsible for the own learning process and learns how to work in a Sociocratic way, then important life skills are developed:

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  • Standup for your own thoughts

  • Actively contribute to issues that are of personal or communal importance

  • Solve problems as a group

  • Respect the opinions of others

  • Contribute to a successful community

Within a Framework

In order to achieve optimal learning output from student-driven education, it is important to provide students with a solid framework, consisting of:

Teacher and Student

Coaching and Guidance

Each student chooses a coach from the team members. The coach is the mentor and point of contact for the student at school year.

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Challenging Teaching Methods

Our program follows the course of the seasons. The learning objectives are governed by the different moments in the year and the specific contexts and experiences that underlie them.

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Core Attainment Targets

We have developed a document in which all internationally recognized attainment targets that a student must have mastered at the end of primary and secondary school. Based on this file, we have insight into the development process of each student and accordingly the learning line and curriculum can be adjusted.

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As an Overlay

BOP’s Sociocratic education, based on Student- driven Education and Dynamic Governance, is a flexible concept and can thus be incorporated into any academic system as an overlay.

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With the standardized academic system and the fixed exam moments as a framework, there is su!cient room to design individual learning paths and thus achieve optimal learning.

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Students follow the legally required curriculum and exam structure, and the school career is then concluded with a standardized and internationally recognized diploma.

In Practice

Are we admitting the new student? Can an intern stay? How do we keep the school clean?”

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At Consent! Acadamy for Sociocratic Education in Netherlands (est. in 2012), these are not only questions for adults, the students also participate in the decision-making process.

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"There are a few fixed rules, we discuss the rest together.”

 

And every opinion counts. This sociocratic basis is also expressed in the organisaton of the school.

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