No School Manifesto is a book that serves as a key reference and inspiration for people working in (creative) education, ranging from teachers and school leaders at informal, secondary and vocational education and academies to museum educators, artists (in the broadest sense of the word), policy makers, and everyone who supports education and has an interest in developing new perspectives through creativity.
No School is a movement that wants to open up the meaning of learning and fundamentally questions traditional education, through creativity. Curiosity, experimentation, unrestricted thinking, making and developing—by yourself and in collaboration with others—are basic elements of all forms of learning and living together. In the current educational system these values are regularly overshadowed by rules, legislation, bureaucracy, a unitary approach, and little attention to the intrinsic inquisitiveness of both the student and the teacher.
No School is a growing movement that together with the creative field wants to provide space for experiment, flexibility, cooperation, 'wild' thinking, looking ahead; experimenting off the beaten track with different forms of learning, in which creativity is the key concept.
No School Manifesto opens up possibilities for thinking how to go about this, and to start experimenting. It is not an exhaustive analysis of the approach – this would not be possible, as No School is not static, but constantly evolving and continually reassessing its place vis-à-vis standardized educational frameworks. Key concepts, values and attitudes such as ‘Curiosity’, ‘Magnetism’ and ‘Zigzag’ are explored through an A-Z Lexicon, and are complemented by illuminating examples of students’ work. An explanation of the urgency of No School, and an essay on the fundamental value of creativity provide introductory context to the book. The overarching Manifesto summarizes what the No School movement and the book stand for.
