Inspirational videos
Over the years many videos/films have been made by our school and about our school. Often by students, sometimes also by staff members or documentary makers. In addition, there are hundreds of short films and documentaries about democratic schools worldwide. On this page we have collected a number of them, supplemented with topics related to democratic education. Be inspired by all the knowledge that has now been gathered!
Like to read? Visit our blog (in dutch).
Documentary 'Our life at De Ruimte' - English subtitles
Boy, Luuk, Ramon, Rick and Thomas have spent their entire school life at a Democratic school. They met here at our school, and here they shaped their own learning lives. At the age of 18 they all left and went their separate ways.
What is it like to learn in freedom for fourteen years? To decide for yourself what your school days looks like? Whether or not to take classes? To leave school with or without a diploma? What do their parents say about their choice for democratic education at the time and how do they look back on it now?
The film was made in collaboration with Bart van Straaten (script), Thomas Overbeeke (editing and camera), Boy Teulings (camera and editing), Rijk van Rossum, Janneke Bergmans and the PR circle of De Ruimte.
Thanks to Evelien Prins for the English subtitles.
On YouTube you can switch between Dutch and English subtitles.
De Ruimte wil i.s.m. studenten nieuwe projecten zoals deze opzetten in de nabije toekomst, waarmee we aandacht willen genereren voor democratisch onderwijs, landelijk en wereldwijd. We hebben met professionals samengewerkt voor het boek ‘Van verveling tot vervulling’ en deze documentaire. Zij hebben dat tot nu toe vrijwillig gedaan, maar in de toekomst willen we hen een passend financieel aanbod kunnen doen.
Donations are welcome!
Videos about our school De Ruimte
Video about De Ruimte by Boy Teulings, then a student at De Ruimte (2018). With music by Simon Bauke.
Video by Thomas Overbeeke and Tobie Brons, then students at De Ruimte (2013)
Student Lies and her parents can be seen in this broadcast of the EO (Dutch) about young people and burnout. They talk about the pressure Lies experienced at her previous schools, through tests, among other things, and how she became herself again at De Ruimte within a fairly short time. Lies loves animals, being outside and moving, that is clear. Wonderful that she now has plenty of opportunity for just that!
‘Between measuring and knowing’, by Alexander Oey and Jan Bor, who also came to film a day at De Ruimte for this documentary (NCRV, 2017 – in Dutch).
Knowing for yourself which lessons you do and when. This is possible at our democratic school of Merlijn (12) in Soest. But there is also a democratic school in Israel. Can Shai (12) also play games there? Video from Samsam Magazine, 2017.
Speedcartoon by Kim Bouwman (trainee from the HKU) in collaboration with students from De Ruimte (2016)
In this episode of Opium (AVROTROS), Erik van Muiswinkel talks about his performance ‘The Solution’ and his visit to De Ruimte, in the spring of 2017. He says: ‘I think that children and young people should have should have the opportunity for more freedom and responsibility.’
The part with Erik van Muiswinkel starts at 24:06.
Speelruimte
Salomé, Melvin and Ot work almost every day in the studio, with Fimo clay. They make miniatures of all kinds of objects: pool tables, sandwiches, tanks, airplanes, nothing is too crazy for them!
Golly, the newest band at the democratic school De Ruimte practices in the music cellar. With Luuk, Tom, Julian and Olivier.
Kik, one of the managers of the technology cellar for many years, says goodbye to De Ruimte. During his thesis he shows his latest projects that he made there. He had a blast with his friends!
Daniël, Helmer and Silver together form the band Spankfruit and play the roof off every school party! Luckily it was outside this time …
Ivo started two years ago and participates in national “speedcubing” tournaments. He is in 22nd place in the Netherlands, with the 3x3x3 cube: 11.78 seconds (his personal best is 8.96 seconds)! His goal is to get into the top 10. In this movie you can see all the other cubes, from 2x2x2 to 7x7x7. It will take him a little longer. Ruben, who made both videos, has therefore accelerated it a bit.
Cas started with card tricks a year ago. When he started playing poker a few years ago, he found he couldn’t shuffle the cards properly yet. He learned the basics and then discovered that it is a “trade in itself”: cardistry. He learns the tricks of YouTube but has also invented moves himself: discovered through accidents and then refined.
Ivo loves to solve the most difficult cubes, but without hands it takes a lot of patience … In the end he succeeded after half an hour! (Film: Ruben Peters).
Students help to clean up the school at the end of the day. Lau Pieter makes it a party!
Two of these students have ‘laundry’ as their school task, the others volunteer to help. Very cozy!
How do you actually make such a sandball?
Some enthusiastic students run outside as soon as a tropical shower has erupted above De Ruimte. Happiness is…. playing volleyball in the rain!
More democratic schools
Trailer of ‘School Circles’, documentary about sociocracy at four Dutch schools, including De Ruimte.
Film by students of De Vrije Ruimte, a democratic school in The Hague.
‘Summerhill’, an English TV series and film (2008) about the oldest democratic school in the world.
Trailer of the movie ‘Voices from the New American Schoolhouse’, in which the students talk about their school, the Fairhaven School in Maryland, USA.
A sneak peek in another democratic school: Sudbury Valley School (USA).
This speed cartoon gives a brief introduction to the origination of democratic education and the concept.
Trailer of documentary ‘Schools of Trust’, about different democratic schools (2015). You can order the documentary here: www.tologo.de
What if … there were a school without classrooms? Without homework? Without a director? A short and sweet video by students of the Hudson Valley Sudbury School.
More inspiration
Presentation by Jan Rotmans about educational change, at the ‘School Leaders for the Future’ meeting.
The problems of education in a nutshell.
Sir Ken Robinson on the paradigm shift in education.
Lecture by Peter Gray, psychologist, about the power of play.
Peter Gray – Self-Directed Learning Fundamentals
Still the most watched TED talk. Sir Ken Robinson, on the question ‘Do Schools kill Creativity?’
To the words of Ivan Illich ‘Deschooling Society’ Pinky has a nightmare.
Theo Maassen on ‘the purpose’ of education.
‘Van Moed naar Goed, vraagt Moed’, film for the Unicef Children’s Rights Film Festival, by students from De Vrije Ruimte, The Hague.
Jan Geurtz talks about his book “The end of education”. Interviewer is Harm Edens. Fragment from the program 10x better of March 5, 2014. Thanks to NTR.