School Circles is an independent documentary that explores the practice of six democratic schools in the Netherlands. The film shows students, teachers and staff members coming together to dialogue, discuss proposals, mediate conflicts and make decisions about their school life.
These schools not only challenge the mainstream education, but also democracy as we know it. They put into practice Sociocracy, a method for collective organisation based on a systems perspective, in which the decisions are made by hearing all the voices and getting everyone’s consent.
School Circles connects the theory of sociocracy to its practice within schools, taking us to new possibilities of organising ourselves and our communities.
WHY DID WE MAKE THIS FILM?
Our motivation to make this film came from our wish to build a humanizing and emancipatory school and society. We believe that sociocracy as a way of organising ourselves and making collective decisions has a great potential to distribute power, encourage open dialogue, co-creation and collaboration, equity and fairness, shared responsibility, sense of belonging, individual and collective fulfilment. We believe that these are essential values to our development as human beings and that sociocracy can play an important role in the development of a liberating education and learning communities.
+ INTERVIEWS
Creator of the Sociocratic Circle Organization Method (SKM) & Founder of the Sociocratisch Centrum Nederland
A CROWDFUNDED DOCUMENTARY
MEET THE DIRECTORS
Charlie Shread
Producer-director
Marianne Osório
Producer-director
