In 2009, a group of families, educators and volunteers who were looking for alternative approaches to education in Turkey came together in Istanbul and set out with the slogan “Another School is Possible”.

As a first step, in 2010, Another School Is Possible Association was established in Istanbul. With the volunteers of the BBOM Association, studies have been started to develop an education model that is enriched with common sense and effort. So;

Not separating learning from life,
Based on the individual characteristics of the child,
Governed by democratic participation,
Respectful to ecological balance,
Non-commercial, parent-initiated,

After the studies carried out in order to realize a school model, the BBOM Education Model was created.

WHAT ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE BBOM EDUCATION MODEL?

FREEDOM IN EDUCATION!

We believe that every child has the right to shape the educational process that is a part of their life. The BBOM education program is aware that each child has a unique learning method. The child makes decisions for each element of the program (objectives, content, method, evaluation) by using the right to speak and choose. In peaceful classrooms without rewards and punishments, where classroom and school agreements are made with children, where they listen to their feelings and needs, and who care about child participation, teachers are not an authority but a companion and supporter.

EQUALITY IN MANAGEMENT!

The BBOM model accepts a democratic structure based on communication, in which children, families, school employees (all staff, including teachers and administrative) and the environment produce ideas and create solutions together, as a priority principle. The BBOM model democratic governance structure is based on direct participation, equal voice of all components, especially children, multi-faceted communication based on empathy and understanding, transparency and reconciliation.

SOLIDARITY WITH NATURE!

The BBOM model constructs its educational philosophy centered on ecology with the idea that the ecological balance of the world has deteriorated and we are on the verge of a serious environmental and social crisis. It is a new value system that reconstructs the human-nature relationship, which is necessary for the ecological crisis to be truly overcome, and puts the ecological perspective at the center. In its schools, it has an ecological stance that respects nature and is friendly to nature, from nutrition to cleaning, from consumables to educational materials.

BROTHERHOOD IN FINANCE!

The BBOM model proposes a unique financing structure. According to this structure, BBOM Schools are established and operated on a non-profit basis through cooperatives established by families and volunteers. An increased value from the operation of the school is again used for educational activities. With help and support, it is aimed to ensure equal opportunity in education by increasing the rate of children with full scholarships in BBOM Schools to 25% every year.

ABOUT BBOM ANTALYA EDUCATION COOPERATIVE

As a result of the sprouting of our efforts to introduce the “Another School is Possible” model, which was seeded in Antalya in 2014, to the local people of Antalya and to raise awareness in 2018-2019, we became a cooperative in August 2019 and added Antalya to the BBOM Universe. In solidarity with both the association and other BBOM stakeholders, we made an effort to open a school in Antalya with the BBOM model. Finally, in October 2020, we rented our school building and set our goal of opening our school for 2021. We achieved our goal by obtaining a kindergarten license in June 2021 and a primary school license in August 2021 from the Ministry of National Education, and we brought Antalya Children’s Village Schools together with the children of Antalya.

In our non-profit school, which was opened with the initiative of parents, the BBOM Education Model is implemented and we are on the way to creating “Participatory and Peaceful Learning Communities”.

In order to create an alternative and participatory platform to the traditional management approach, it  is carried out with the SOCIOCRACY governance tool.

In our cooperatives and schools, it is carried out with a mechanism where everyone has the right to speak, those who do not agree with the decision are listened to and their concerns are tried to be addressed by using INCLUSIVE DECISION-MAKING methods.

Cooperative members and school stakeholders  communicate on the basis of observation, emotion, need and request by participating in trainings and practicing on NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION (Language of Compassion). With the practices of listening and understanding each other wholeheartedly, both the feedback mechanism is strengthened and we work in a more peaceful environment.

We resolve the conflict that naturally occurs between the members of the cooperative and in the schools peacefully with the practices of RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. 

ABOUT ANTALYA CHILDREN’S VILLAGE SCHOOLS

The school, which was opened by parents by saying “Another School is Possible” based on the saying “There is No Compensation for Lost Childhood” for children, has an education approach that focuses on the child and children’s rights, cares about child participation, is peaceful, nature-friendly, and takes the child’s desire to “learn naturally by doing and living” as a guide.  The presence of kindergarten and primary school with the same education model will ensure that the foundation laid in kindergarten in early childhood continues throughout primary school education and that the gains of responsibility, self-confidence and communication are strengthened.

Antalya Children’s Village Kindergarten and Primary School is the first non-profit, democratic school in Antalya, which was opened with the initiative of parents.

Our gain as cooperative member parents is that we have grown up individuals who are self-confident, responsible, have a love for nature, and can take part in the decision-making mechanism.

Antalya Children’s Village Kindergarten and Primary School is built on 5 acres of land in Döşemealtı district, intertwined with nature, suitable for children to receive education in a free and safe area. The school building is a two-storey building with a closed area of approximately 700 square meters. There are 2 classrooms for kindergarten and 4 classrooms for primary school, a sports field, a garden, a playground, a library and an art workshop. Non-industrial, healthy and clean foods are used in the school kitchen. There is no canteen in the school, no food is sold, but in certain places there are healthy snacks that children can access whenever they want. In our kindergarten, summer school service is also provided with well-equipped companions, and there is an uninterrupted education opportunity for children all year round.

In our foundation year, when the number of students is low, we need your support to make our BBOM dream sustainable, which a small number of families have come together and realized in partnership with a cooperative solidarity from construction to kitchen needs.

Your support will be a light on the path of our children, who will be the architects of our future.