Alpha_Alternative_School_1972–2012-Yumpu

Jennifer Ferrari
“The democratic nature of ALPHA
influenced me one hundred percent.
It makes a huge difference to people
to feel included and have a sense
of ownership.”
jennifer ferrari
ALPHA 1973 to 1984, ages
4–14. Stud ied at Trent Uni versity.
Works as an Auto mo tive
Technician.
What was the most impor tant part of ALPHA for me? As a young per son,
being treated with respect by the teach ers. The way the school was set up
to have all stu dents, teach ers, and par ents take part in the run ning of the
school. Being included in hir ing teach ers, mak ing and chang ing the school
rules, all being respon si ble for clean ing and car ing for our school. That
no mat ter how young a stu dent was, we all deserved equal respect and say
in how the school oper ated. I learned to care about every phys i cal envi ronment
I am in, even if it is not my home; I still need to care for where I am.
I learned to care about all the peo ple I am with, no mat ter what age, no
mat ter what differ ences we have. Grow ing up with a sense of self respect
and inclu sion. And com ing out of school with less hope less ness than the
stu dents I met who went to reg u lar schools. We were encour aged to try
things, cre ate things. We were intro duced to chal leng ing projects above
our “grade lev els.” We were treated like we were smart.
I went to alter na tive high schools, then Trent Uni ver sity, where I completed
a three-year bachelor’s degree. I worked in a ware house for a bunch
of years and then went back to school to study auto mechan ics. I completed
four years of appren tice ship and achieved my offi cial cer ti fi ca tion
as an Auto mo tive Tech ni cian. I have also helped to get more women
included in the auto mo tive trade. We have three women work ing at my
garage, more than any auto mo tive garage that I know of anywhere.
The demo c ra tic nature of ALPHA influ enced me one hun dred per cent.
It makes a huge differ ence to peo ple to feel included and have a sense of
ownership.
Hav ing a com mu nity is the most impor tant thing in life. As the world gets
harder and harder and faster and faster, hav ing a com mu nity of peo ple to
rely on will be what saves us. Not hav ing stuff or a lot of money. I also really
care about what hap pens to our nat ural envi ron ment. I care about social
jus tice and the treat ment of young people.
I know that because of going to ALPHA, some of my hard skills, like math,
spelling, and essay writ ing are not as strong as other stu dents who went to
reg u lar school. But I would never trade the human skills I learned at ALPHA
and have car ried with me ever since. These are the skills that it is harder to
learn later, whereas the hard skills are way eas ier to acquire any time.
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