LIVING VALUES
WHY "LIVING VALUES" EDUCATION?
At De Vrije Ruimte, we are utterly convinced of the significant added importance of Living Values Education.
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This added value applies to the daily school routine but also and especially to the development of our students.
With Living Values Education, the DVR students gain self-knowledge and confidence, learn to reflect and develop empathy, obtain intellectual depth and practice independent, critical thinking.
Working with the Living Values enables them to take up their unique place in society while guided by their personal balance and sense of self-worth.
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Taking the perspective of its own identity - a Sociocratic school for primary and secondary education - De Vrije Ruimte has chosen to use Living Values Education as a fundamental principle across the school.
Coaches, parents, teachers, and students, have all participated in workshops to learn about the Living Values.
The school works with a 2.5-year program, focusing on each value for 7 or 8 weeks.
THE TWELVE LIVING VALUES
International research shows, without doubt, the added significance of Living Values Education.
There is a global network of schools supported by UNICEF and UNESCO and promoted by ALIVE (Association for Living Values Education International), all applying Living Values Education.
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The positive experiences at De Vrije Ruimte are no exception.
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IS LIVING VALUES EDUCATION OUT OF DATE?
Living Values Education is now more relevant than ever. From radicalization and large-scale migration to the emancipation of transgender people, these all touch on the values discussion.
The Netherlands is a heterogeneous society and will become even more so, thanks to increasing individualization and globalization.
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The new generation of children has roots in various cultures and religions. Living Values Education can bridge these differences because they are not exclusively related to specific cultures, traditions, or religions; instead, they are universal. Students, teachers, and parents all learn to speak the same language with Living Values.
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LIVING VALUES EDUCATION: GENERALLY APPLICABLE?
If there is one subject that applies to every school, anywhere in the world, it is Living Values Education.
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Living Values does not have to be a new, separate subject that increases, even more, the pressure on the schedule.
It is highly suitable for integration into existing issues and topics.
It can be used any moment, in group discussions and at the day or week opening, but also within subjects such as social studies, philosophy, history, geography, profile projects, when organizing a camp, a trip abroad, or an international exchange, and of course during school celebrations.
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School leaders can take Living Values as a basis for general school policy concerning, for example, the food offered in the canteen, rules of conduct in the schoolyard, and the school’s anti-bullying protocol.
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FAIR TRADE
Respect and responsibility are two of the twelve Living Values.
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During meals at school (as well as at home) one also practices the Living Values, by being responsible and showing respect for our planet, the environment, the animals, the plants, and the farmers who grow our food.
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The food in our school's canteen is 100% organic, fair trade and environmentally friendly (as local as possible).
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De Vrije Ruimte is the first Fair Trade school in The Hague.
On 24 June 2015, the plaque was presented by the Hague alderman Joris Wijsmuller (Sustainability).
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LIVING VALUES AND PARENTAL PARTICIPATION
Als er één onderwerp is dat raakt aan de thuissituatie, dan is het wel Living Values Onderwijs.
Thuis kan men stoppen met rekenen en Frans, maar de waarden zijn er altijd.
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Living Values Onderwijs draagt dan ook goed bij aan het concretiseren van de educatieve samenwerking tussen ouders en school, waarbij de leerling consequent in aanraking wordt gebracht met Living Values.
Living Values Onderwijs is dus een uitstekend instrument om ouderbetrokkenheid te intensiveren.
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Uit onderzoek is gebleken dat Living Values Onderwijs de sfeer en de kwaliteit van onderlinge relaties verbetert en leidt tot aanzienlijk betere leerresultaten.
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Zie bijvoorbeeld “Waardeneducatie en kwaliteitsonderwijs: de dubbele helix”, door Terry Lovat & Ron Toomey, Australië.
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