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THE GREENEST SCHOOL ON EARTH`

JOHN HARDY

John Hardy has the courage to break down the walls in schools

written by Cassie Lim, edited by Michael Laidlaw

- green school -

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advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new. His imagination is ‘schooled’ to accept service in place of value. Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work. Health, learning, dignity, independence, and creative endeavour are defined as little more than the performance of the institutions which claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is made to depend on allocating more resources to the management of hospitals, schools, and other agencies in question.”Ivan Illich Deschooling society (1971)

The founders, John and Cynthia Hardy, have been residents in Bali for more than 30 years and recognise a unique opportunity to create something truly inspiring and outside of the structural, conceptual and physical limitations of many traditional schools. There was no formal blueprint for the construction of Green School, rather it was built from an organic structure, using toothpicks to simulate the end results. The outcome is mind-blowing, with coconut trees growing atop the rooftops of buildings, massive sloping roofs and tall structures without walls, all constructed from bamboo. Within six years, the founders

The attention to detail is amazing, from bamboo table and chairs, to a playground made with bamboo swings, see-saws and even a three-storey high pirate ship. Children of different nationalities were laughing and running around the pirate ship, playing captains and sailors in make-believe. Seeing their carefree faces, with free-flowing creativity in nature, somehow calls to mind the contrast of modern day schooling in concrete buildings with children learning in front of a screen.

“They give you less books, but your children learn more”, according to one of the mothers, Sofia Herfindal, who has three children studying at Green School. Instead of enrolling her children in the schools in Singapore, where she came from, she chose to enrol them in Green School as she felt that “kids need to be kids”. Her children love going to the natural surroundings in Green School so much that they make sure to wake up in time to go to school every day.

“Many students, especially those who are poor, intuitively know what the schools do for them. They school them to confuse process and substance. Once these become blurred, a new logic is assumed: the more treatment there is, the better are the results; or, escalation leads to success. The pupil is thereby ‘schooled’ to confuse teaching with learning, grade

COmiNG iNTO GREEN SCHOOL iN BALi iS LikE GOiNG BACk TO NATuRE, ESpECiALLy wHEN ARRiviNG fROm THE ENTRANCE Of THE impRESSivE BRidGE, mAdE ENTiRELy Of BAmBOO. iN fACT, NOT juST THE BRidGE, BuT THE wHOLE Of GREEN SCHOOL iS BuiLT ENTiRELy fROm BAmBOO. NESTLEd iN THE HEART Of BALi, SuRROuNdEd By LuSH GREEN TROpiCAL juNGLE ANd BAmBOO GROvES, GREEN SCHOOL pROvES dESERviNG Of iTS ACCOLAdE Of BEiNG THE “GREENEST SCHOOL ON EARTH”, AS AwARdEd By THE CENTRE fOR GREEN SCHOOLS AT THE u.S. GREEN BuiLdiNG COuNCiL ON ApRiL 20TH, 2012.

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and their team have managed to raise a bamboo wonderland from nothing.

The guiding philosophies of Green School are based on “Three Springs”, authored by Alan Wagstaff, who is currently serving as the Learning Manager of Green School. “Three Springs” is essentially where the learning neighbourhood is conceived of Lessons, on a daily basis. Each frame has a distinct and vital educational purpose. Together the three frames form a comprehensive and viable whole, capable of satisfying the aspirations of the most mindful parents and the most rigorous entrepreneurs.

Green School has had its fair share of challenges, accolades and criticisms. Over the past six years, a lot of children have come and gone as most of the makeup of the student body is expat children. In fact, 90% of the students are expat and only 10% are local Balinese children on scholarship programmes. It has been said that Green School could do more for the local Balinese children and share the international experiences of its faculty. However, no one can discount the fact that Green School has made significant and important contributions in the green and sustainability front. Also, for a relatively young school, it needs to find its footing first and be given an opportunity to incorporate more programmes for the local Balinese community.

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“I personally belIeve and I belIeve It wIll be shown at Green school that envIronment Is Important. I often say that many people are learnInG Green and they’re learnInG Green all over the world, but I belIeve there’s a fundamental dIfference

between learnInG Green and lIvInG Green.

the kIds at Green school are learnInG Green In a bamboo buIldInG wIth natural breezes. they experIence the clImate.  the veGetables are GrowInG outsIde the door. the whole experIence Is not just veGetables and wInd. It’s also beInG In an

InspIred or InspIrInG buIldInG. 

I don’t need to speak about the buIldInGs we’re usually learnInG In, everyone knows about that, but beInG In an InspIrInG buIldInG, that brInGs a sense of awe and beauty, I belIeve opens up some channels that are not necessarIly open In normal (let

me say) box lIvInG. 

so In one sense everythInG Is happenInG Internally, and In another sense to deny the effect of our external envIronment and our experIence of clImate Is not a really Good dIrectIon. InsulatIon Is Important If you’re lIvInG In the canadIan arctIc, but InsulatInG ourselves In thIs part of the world from the clImate leads to a lack of understandInG of what our lIfestyle

Is doInG to effect just that clImate.

Green school has attracted people from all over the world, some of them even decIdInG to make balI theIr home. we’re really lookInG for parents who want to GIve theIr chIldren the opportunIty to lIve Green and of course to develop all the conventIonal educatIon requIred skIlls, but also to keep theIr entrepreneurIal selves alIve, to experIence the maGIc of entrepreneurshIp and creatIvIty and InnovatIon, whIch Is somethInG I belIeve wIll be much needed In the decades to come.”

– john hardy, founder of Green school