Research project: Freinet Prometeo

One of the first assisgnments the teacher left us was to go to a school that encourages active learning and its curriculum was based on constructivism, observe a class and interview the teacher.

We decide to choose Prometeo’s school for this project and unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to observe a proper class but my classmates, Mireya Morales and Daniel Bolaños, were able to interview the school’s principal.

Celestin Freinet (1896-1966) was a French educator and creator of new teaching methods and techniques based on the creative work of students. He based his research on pedagogical style and methods that are grounded in personality theory and individual initiative, and on his experience of teaching in the public schools in France.

Freinet believed that children only play because they can’t work or that play is always a reflection of the real world and as such the ideal learning environment is one where children are co-creators and producers and get to work alongside teachers and adults. He believed that it was vital for children to learn in and about the real world. He also said that school should provide opportunities for all kinds of artistic action which can bring balance to the child's development and enrichment of personality because artistic endeavor can be therapeutic, and can bring satisfaction, challenge, and the feeling of accomplishment.

They work with the natural method that says that authentic learning is created by using real experiences. The activities are chosen based on children’s interests because they need to be motivated to learn on their own.

Another characteristic of this method is the fact that we the students are responsible for cleaning the areas where they work.

Something that got my attention was the fact that children are involved in serious decisions about the school. Decisions that go from where to go on school excursions to new teachers or upcoming events.

In conclusion, the main goal of education, according to Freinet, is to arouse in students an interest in learning and to develop positive attitudes toward it.  It would have been nice to see Freinet’s theory applied in a real class but the school’s principal provided my classmates with useful information to understand a bit more about the theory. I think the way they work is really interesting and different to what we are used to see. 

The presentation was created by:

Mireya Morales

Daniel Bolaños