Creating a strong community in these schools is a quality foundation for graduates. Another positive aspect is the creation of so-called real-life situations in which students learn to deal with the problems of everyday life as well as future life outside school. These situations are artificially created by the so-called educational context, where problems and questions arise for both teachers and students, and these questions must be resolved and addressed. This is because they are part of our daily life and we need to constantly deepen and improve our knowledge of them.
The third heading, “God,” is somewhat problematic from my point of view, and one might argue about the need to include it in the thematic plan. In my opinion, it is important in the sense that students who are believers within will welcome this teaching, as it will make their life journey easier as they grow in faith. However, if the students are not believers and do not have an intrinsic connection to their faith in God, they will be forced into something they themselves do not believe in, which could negatively impact their overall future education at this institution. Another negative aspect of this school is that one teacher may have a classroom of about 50 students. From my own experience, I cannot imagine that it would be possible to give quality attention to so many students, especially those who need individualized instruction. Not only is it a huge workload for a teacher to have so many students in terms of helping them individually, but it must be very difficult to work with such a class. If discipline is so loose and so many students are “chatting,” it is hard to imagine asking for so much attention from so many people.
Finally, however, I will mention a few small “tricks” that I particularly like about the Jena Plan. For example, the fact that the students themselves make up and have to follow the school rules in the classroom, and the fact that there are no grade reports, are, in my opinion, completely unnecessary and stressful for the children, and only lead them to pursue better grades instead of quality knowledge.
And the last point I want to “emphasize” in this program is the division of learning into conversation, play, work, and celebration. What I want to emphasize most here is the aforementioned celebration, which is rare compared to traditional schools. In my opinion, through these activities, children develop friendships with each other, which must naturally lead to a more relaxed learning experience.
