Understanding One Another
Visiting Agoura
EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
School director Sjef Drummen calls his approach ‘Education-0.0’ — a deliberate return to how hunter-gatherer societies actually taught their children: mixed ages, mixed abilities, learning by doing rather than by lecture. Presenting Rutger Bregman’s Humankind: A Hopeful History, Doug tours Agora and comes away with his certainties shaken, describing the school as Homo ludens, humankind at play, made real.
A Note on the Original Text
Doug’s writings are presented as originally written. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical irregularities have been retained to preserve his words and the integrity of the original record.
ORIGINAL WRITING
Visiting Agoura has made me see that there is a ray of hope. Later, when Sjef Drummen drops me off back at the station, he gives me another grin. ‘I think I talked your ear off today.’ True, but I have to hand it to him: walk around his school for any length of time and you’ll find quite a few certainties start to crumble.
But now I understand: this is a journey back to the beginning. Agoura has the same teaching philosophy as hunter-gatherer societies. Children learn best when left to their own devices, in a community bringing together all ages and abilities supported by coaches and play leaders. Drummen calls it ‘Education-0.0’— a return to Homo ludens