The November/December issue of Teacher Magazine highlights alternative education, with stories on an aquaculture-focused high school, a “self-directed learning center” for homeschoolers, and school district workshops for parents, plus a Q & A with the director of a school with no compulsory classes. What links all these efforts, says Teachers’ Executive Editor Scott J. Cech, is that they pursue student improvement “from different angles and different dimensions.”
What does alternative education mean to you? What is its role in today’s often increasingly regimented education environment? What can traditional schools learn from alt ed programs—and vice versa?