The Curriculum Project

Andreas Salcher interviewed some of the leading scientists, including Howard Gardner from Harvard University, Peter Senge and Otto Scharmer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), happiness researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Nobel Prize winner Gunter Blobel from Rockefeller University. He has studied elite schools such as the Dalton School in New York, the Nueva School in San Francisco, the Raffles Institution and the Nanyang School in Singapore, the Sir Karl Popper School in Vienna and the Sächsische Landesgymnasium Sankt Afra zu Meißen, as well as schools in socially deprived areas such as Manchester Bidwell in Pittsburgh (USA) and the Epiphany School in Boston (USA).

In doing so, he came across certain principles that can be found in good schools all over the world:

• Pupils are systematically assessed in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and continue to develop. The definition of talent encompasses cognitive, athletic, artistic, emotional and social talents on an equal footing.
• There is a clear code of conduct for pupils and teachers, which is implemented consistently. There are trained specialists for difficult cases.
• The school's time structure and rooms are geared towards the needs of the pupils. Break bells and rigid timetables have been abolished.
• Teachers do not prepare "their" lessons alone, but work in teams to develop the learning experiences for their pupils. Teachers spend the whole day at school and manage their time independently. They have modern workstations and rooms for their team meetings.
• An excellent director who can lead and inspire people. This director has a significant influence on the selection of his teachers and can also part with the completely unsuitable ones.
• The lessons go beyond traditional subjects such as mathematics, languages and science and include learning in projects, art, sport and social experiences.
• Parents are integrated into the school network right from the start, no matter how difficult this may be for some.
• And the most important thing: everyone - the principal, the pupils, the teachers and the parents - see themselves as learners. Learners who are allowed to make mistakes without having to fear sanctions; learners who learn to overcome resistance within themselves and from others; learners who do not count failures and failed attempts, but successes and progress.

With his lectures and in his journalistic work, Andreas Salcher mobilizes pupils, parents and teachers as well as social decision-makers in the struggle for better schools for every child. The aim of the "CURRICULUM PROJECT" is to create an international network for all those interested in education who are prepared to make a personal commitment.