The AGORA Schools case
A half-way copy-paste of OPEDUCA

Having broken away from the alliance of schools jointly developing and testing the OPEDUCA concept, AGORA also after 8 years of practice is found to be no more than a halfway copy-paste of OPEDUCA, apparently more driven by a strive for fame and fortune than prioritizing students' education.  

The AGORA schools (departments in various primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands) started as a spin-off from the OPEDUCA Project, merging the creative vision underlying Niekée School in Roermond (created by Sjef Drummen) and the OPEDUCA concept (created by Jos Eussen and further developed by an alliance of 55 schools). Intended to be an OPEDUCA-based school next to the Connect College (also in the Roermond region, managed by Jan Fasen), the name 'AGORA' would stand for the town-square where people could come together to learn and educate. Then out of a sudden AGORA was presented and promoted as an 'original' concept itself.
 
Managers and Teachers from both Niekée and Connect College had taken OPEDUCA MasterClasses with the intention to have them, in the words of Jan Fasen, "feel the leading OPEDUCA principals in the deepest vessels of their body and make them hold on to, think and act through OPEDUCA”. Until today such a level of understanding and practice has not been achieved by AGORA and it is most unlikely it ever will, moreover since its positioning and practice appear to be marked by a strive for name and fame rather than student development.
 
After AGORA, with less than 20 students, started out in a separate room in the modern-styled Niekée college (yet presented as a 'school' in its own right), drawing from the school's already existing creative learning environment, the OPEDUCA Project took a distance. Teachers, students and partners perceived AGORA as a 'mile wide and an inch deep' version of OPEDUCA. Instruments such as 'Flight for Knowledge' and 'BusinessClass' didn't find support from OPEDUCA-partners in the AGORA setting, nor could the local-to-global learning sphere be realized. Thematic learning on future defining themes was exchanged for a full focus on students' present wishes and individually chosen topics while the link with industry remained beyond reach from early on. Since AGORA consequently also let go of the continuous link with the curriculum and examination demands, it can presently only be observed at a considerable distance from OPEDUCA and at its best as a 'light-version' of the original.

"We merely leave students in the delusion they have freedom of choice.
We, the wise gentlemen and ladies, observe how they handle that freedom"

Rob Houben - AGORA (2022)

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Although AGORA sought to profile itself on its own behalf, early on an attempt was made to have the first group of students work with the basics of 'OPEDUCA - Flight for Knowledge' on the theme 'Construction' (autumn 2014). Already then, amongst others the extensive use of I-pads and educational software diverted from the OPEDUCA concept. Moreover, from an OPEDUCA perspective, it became clear that the relevance and applicability of building solely on what students thought they should learn would lead to a perhaps popular yet inch-deep learning.

Teachers at Connect College (originally intended to host an OPEDUCA based school named 'AGORA') organized information sessions for (new) students and their parents at school, presenting the concept and working of various OPEDUCA instruments.
In order to give a lively impression, interactive lesson sessions were organized to show what it would be like to learn in an 'Open Educational Area'.

"We played around for 2 years, then entered a rather harsh examination training in order to see it through."

former AGORA-students

AGORA - for small pockets of 'special' students risking incomplete education

Today (mid-2022) we see only small numbers of AGORA students finishing (lower) secondary education, schools proudly mentioning 'all 4' of their AGORA students graduating. It is highly doubtful, especially given the up close and personal attention required by 'coaches', if AGORA can ever handle the magnificent challenge of regular schools' daily practice, those 'old fashioned' schools doomed so easily by AGORA supporters, the ones with hundreds of students in need of a decent education.

Former students now indicate the school should pay more attention to main subjects, such as Math, an aspect the Dutch Inspectorate brought to attention earlier. Furthermore, only 14 out of 22 students having finished AGORA in 2020 now state to have made the right choice for their further education. Out of 18 students only 50% remained on schedule a year later, 4 quitting university.

Although AGORA promoters hold on to the illusion of 'vision and innovation' and the freedom of choice for students is still a sales argument, it has been exchanged for a more rigid approach during the first years. Today the students are guided regarding what to study while the role of teachers over students' unbridled choices is re-established. AGORA management now gives in to the fact the teachers' influence should be felt and that a guiding hand is required to steer students in the right direction. As Rob Houben, presently promoting AGORA education, states: "We merely leave the students in the delusion they have freedom of choice. We, the wise gentlemen and ladies, observe how they handle that freedom".

Overall, AGORA is still far away from the systematic integration of subject knowledge and competence development in real life and experiential learning according to the OPEDUCA concept, providing meager results even when working with small pockets of students that receive above-average attention. Although after 8 years AGORA now seeks more solid ground by returning to various principles of the OPEDUCA concept (guided by the University of Leiden), the whole should be observed most critically; parents, as well as students, are well-advised to see through AGORA's PR and think twice before buying into a 'leading innovation in education' that is none.

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For academic reference and publications: Eussen, J. F. G. (2022). ESD-based education - https://doi.org/10.26481/dis.20220201je - ISBN 9789464235906