Page Six THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, September 7, 1972 open learning at age five By KAREN TINKLENBERG ganized so that children can because they "don't want their What would makle a parent move from one station to an- children to be bullied into spend wo a semester a send a other - singing around a piano, learning. They don't think five year old child to nursery making collages and candles at young children should have to school the art table or playing num- learn the same thing every day; G 1 e n Rosenthal, whose bers games at the math table. in the same place, and by the daughter attends C1 o n 1 a r a Children are never forced to same teaching method." School, is pleased because "She learn anything which doesn't Ann Andrew, whose seven- doesn't think of her teachers as interest them. Those who are,. year-old daughter attends Clon- ogres." Other parents offer a not motivated to read or learn lara, says it's "worth it" to send variety of reasons for sending numbers, for example, are al- a child to a school that costs their children to what its teach- lowed to learn those basics more than many state colleges. ers call "Ann Arbor's only open- when they are ready to. "It is at least as valuable to education nursery and elemen- A free learning system 'not make an investment during the tary school." only allows a slow child more formative years as when the Children at Clonlara range in time to learn; it sets no limits child reaches college age," she age from three to nine and are on how far a fast learner can says. divided into three buildings ac- be taught, explains Wallace. An important reason to many cording to age. "One second-grader, for exam- parents for sending their pre- o is ple, can already work fractions school age children to Clonlara The emphasis at Clonlarai and decimals that even I can't has to do with the social atti- to teach schildren to think for understand.'' tudes they learn. ,themselves, to reach their own conclusions and to accept the With access to film-strips and Rosenthal calls Clonlara "an consequences of those conclu- movies, two second - graders . excellent way for a child to de- sions, according to Office Man- learned how to run a projector velop the social ability to co- ager Kitty Wallace. and rewind it - a task many operate with other children and Children are allowed to pur- adults never learn to perform. the freedom to learn at the sue whatever interests them at Wallace believes that parents same time." a given time. The school is or- send their children to Clonlara Children from lower-income families are often excluded from ........................... the Clonlara experience. Sever- al children have attended the I Zt A4school on scholarships provided by private individuals but most Fast free delivery NO 3-3379 of the scholarships ran out long ago, and only three non-paying n hot electric ovens NO 3-5902 children still attend the school. ALSO SERVING Nine teachers "guide" the LUNCHES, DINNERS, GREEK PASTRIES children in their learning ven- tures, aided by volunteers from the University and from East- ern Michigan University's edu- c2 E. WILLIAM - 10 a.m,-2 a.m. (Fri. & Sat. until 3) ymensy. I Occasionally parents offer a sisgilg#22miisisiim emgm gssssse 99 their services. One parent, for Conlin Travel Bureau, Inc. One of Michigan's most modern agencies 1329 South University INVITES ALL STUDENTS AND FACULTY TO UTILIZE THEIR SERVICES air tickets sold at official airline prices DOMESTIC NO 5-9151 INTERNATIONAL NO 2-5587 example, comes in twice a week to teach math games to anyone who's interested. Initially the novelty attracted only one or two children; but according to Wallace, the game problems were so "challenging" that eventually a large group had gathered to learn. "Teachers have to be on their toes more here than in a struc- tured school," Wallace says, be- cause they often have many dif- ferent learning groups to super- vise. Children may take field trips to rock quarries, University sites or the botanical gardens. There are no grades for chil- dren at Clonlara, but Wallace believes that not all children thrive in a free atmosphere. "Some children are better offj where they are disciplined." she says. Wallace explains that a child's home environment must be free if he or she is to be comfortable in a free school setting. Children who must be told what to do and what decisions to make will feel lost at Clon- lara, she says. S oistis: a n impromptu school By KAREN TINKLENBERG At Solstis School, students de- cide what, when, where and how they want to learn. Presently unaccredited, t h i s 'impromptu high school gives 12- 18 year olds an opportunity to teach themselves and to enjoy learning - an opportunity not often found in local accredited schools where most Solstis stu- dents also attend classes. Within the brightly painted frame house on 706 Oakland, one can find classes on mysticism, sexism, chamber music, and human sexuality. Grades are nonexistent at Sol. stis, where teachers neither make assignments nor give tests. In some cases, classes even meet without a teacher and learn through discussion or reading. When students have an idea for a new course, they post it on the "information room" bul- letin board. Anyone knowledge- able in the requested subject becomes the teacher, and a class is formed. Since learning depends en- tirely on student interest, Sol- stis classessometimes become less informative and more soc- ially oriented. A University student explains that his Chinese culture class takes hiking trips and visits mo- dern dance programs. W h i1 e admiting that both activities are unrelated to the subject, he ex- plains that one of the main pur- poses of his course is "to get to- gether with people." A junior high student describ- ing one class said "last v--ek we went on a picnic." Speaking up, his friend replied, "the week be- fore it was a birthday party. You don't learn very much, do you?" But most Solstis members think they do. In the Chinese c'ass, students discuss anything relat- ing to Chinese culture from con- versational Chinese to chop- sticks, according to a teacher. 'The only thing we haven't learn- ed about is Chinese cooking." Solstis School occupies a -arge old house complete with shock- ing-yellow porch. Decorated by the students, bright patches of color throughout the house make an otherwise drab building ;nok somewhat inviting. The Solstis house is rented from the University for $100 per month. Much of this rent comes from a group called "Friends of Solstis" - mostly parents of Solstis students. Also, Solstis members are ask- ed to contribute $5 a month to help pay rent, electricity bills, three salaries d4900 per year), and purchase some supplies. And in 1970, the Simmons Foundation and the University's Project Community provided grants to get the program "on its feet." With no such supoprt on an ongoing basis, however, Solstis is in debt. One solution to their problems would be to obtain state accredi- tation, which would require the school to move to a one-story building, hire at least one cer- tified teacher, and raise "a solid source of money." Solstis has no certified teachers, b a r el y eniough money to meet its pay- ments, and a three-story building with one floor condemned. Solstis hopes to eventually re- ceive acreditation as an "exper- imental project" of the Ann Ar- bor public school system, but so far, the Board of Education has refused to consider the matter. L - w- FOOD MART INC. 103 N. FOREST Package Liquor Store Chilled Beer and Wine Unique Food Store Serving the Hospital-Campus Area FOOD & DRUG MART Packard and Stadium PROMPT, COURTEOUS PRESCRIPTION SERVICE Your good health is our most important concern Your REXALL Pharmacy FOOD MART INC. Church and S. University Chilled Beer and Wine A Unique Food Store Serving the Campus Area Pioneer II: an accredited option MONDAY-SATURDAY, 8 A.M.-10 P.M., SUNDAY, 10 A.M.-7 P.M. i A0 H^ u o naeI1 0 jhI ...... ..... ................. . ............. ............... .. ..... .. ..... .... . ............. ;x M:. ......................... .......... ... ................... ..tiyi:;}i~~i::i:""" "-};:.? }}ii .. . . .. . .. .. ma . ;$ ............ AAIN AT WASHINGTON-DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR Phone 668-6967 0Q M I;14. . .the jeweler you'll learn to trust, welcomes you to Ann Arbor and invites you to browse and shop. We're confident that when you think of jewelry, it'll be Daniel's. The few extra blocks you'll walk are not only good for your health; but easier on your pocketbook. The finer brand names you've known and seen are found at Daniel's, such as . By KAREN TINKLENBERG A sign at Pioneer II H i g h School reads:. "Observation is a rip-off! Our policy is participate - contri- bute - be part of the action. Fix a lunch, join activities, lead a discussion, clean the johns." Unlike Solstis, Pioneer II is an accredited alternative to tra- ditional high school education. A student need only be registered at Ann Arbor's Pioneer H i g h School to receive credit. Opened last fall as an -ex- perimental project" of Ann Ar- bor schools, Pioneer II runs on a full-time basis with two full- time and two part-time certified teachers. Classes at Pioneer II