Alternative Schools in British Columbia, 1960-1975: A Social and Cultural History
Harley Rothstein
FriesenPress
(660pp)
978-1-03-913557-4
Review #1
Alternative Schools in British Columbia, 1960–1975 is a comprehensive and cogent history of a movement that prompted progressive changes in Canadian education.
Harley Rothstein reviews the birth, decline, and legacy of the alternative school movement in his historical study Alternative Schools in British Columbia, 1960–1975.
By the early 1960s, progressive educators and parents in British Columbia and throughout Canada had grown disenchanted with the rigid, rote, even abusive style of teaching used in the public school system, Rothstein notes. Through the creation of alternative schools, they provided students of varying ages and abilities with a unique opportunity to learn at their own pace and focus on topics of interest to them. Though some of their schools lasted only a few years and all of them experienced financial and ideological struggles throughout their existence, the book argues that their collective impact was considerable, paving the way for more creative and inclusive teaching methods in all schools.
The book is accessible as it relates the stories of ten alternative schools, each with its own methodology. The ten are bound by their founders’ dislike and distrust of public schools. At least one chapter is devoted to each school, and all follow the same basic pattern of reviewing the school’s origins, curriculum, management, and relationship to the larger community. The chapters end with an autopsy of each school’s decline. In the process, they reveal several common factors: the idealism of the schools’ founders often outweighed practical considerations, making them vulnerable to internal disagreements over how much academic and personal freedom to provide students and resulting in financial strain. Further, by the mid-1970s, the public school system had adopted more progressive teaching methods itself.
Despite the book’s clear admiration for the goals of alternative schools, it remains fair and even critical at times, highlighting the movement’s shortcomings and supporting its arguments with ample evidence. Extensive interviews with those who participated in alternative schools reveal the positive and negatives of both individual schools and of the educational philosophies that governed them, including progressive, romantic, and therapeutic philosophies. A vast array of primary and secondary documentary sources is present to support the book’s arguments, demonstrating the schools’ inner workings while also contextualizing them in terms of contemporary cultural shifts.
The book’s arguments are organized in a logical order that illuminates the movement’s evolution from disparate countercultural endeavors to an accepted part of the British Columbia public school system. The study illustrates through both prose and photographs the ways in which alternative school programs and experiences were ahead of their time, both meeting and creating demand for the educational approach they offered. It is a comprehensive and cogent examination of a movement that, despite serious flaws, was so successful it engendered its own demise.
Alternative Schools in British Columbia, 1960–1975 is an academic text about the history of alternative schooling and how it changed the face of education in Canada.
– EILEEN GONZALEZ (July 31, 2024)
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Review #2
Canadian writer, educator, and musician Rothstein presents a book based on a doctoral dissertation that sheds light on the Canadian alternative-school movement of the 1960s and ’70s.
In the opening chapter, the author relates the sense of innovation and excitement that led to the creation of more than 20 schools in British Columbia between 1960 and 1975. They were “alternative” in that they were more humanistic and child-centered than traditional public schools, and often functioned more like collectives. Rothstein categorizes them into three general types: Progressive schools, which followed the “learning by doing” model; “Romantic” or “free” schools, where students were allowed to explore their own curiosity and instincts; and “Therapeutic”schools, which focused on “rehabilitating” disaffected young people by combining social reform with personal growth. Rothstein delves into 10 specific schools, dedicating one chapter to each. He uses extensive historical evidence drawn from primary sources and oral testimonies of more than 350 former students, parents, and teachers. Most chapters follow a similar structure, detailing the founding of each school, the student experience, staff, and curriculum; some go into more granular detail, such as noting the teachers’ salaries and even the color of the classrooms’ paint. Particularly intriguing are the unique attributes of each school; in one Quaker-run institution, students stayed in homes with host families and did chores, such as chopping wood and milking cows. The book vividly brings to life the environments of these alternative schools, aided by numerous photos of students. Not all accounts are rosy, as most of the institutions faced crises of various kinds; for instance, at one place, “the elders genuinely wanted students to share in running the school, [but] their strong world view and high moral standards made it difficult for them to accept student decisions with which they did not agree.” Rothstein handles these accounts with an even hand, never taking sides or overtly assigning blame. Some of the more detailed sections may be skimmed if reading for pleasure, but overall, this book is an invaluable and insightful document on diverse approaches to child-centered learning.
A deeply researched and definitive alternative-school history.
– Kirkus Reviews