In Chieri, in the province of Turin, there is a lower secondary school, or rather the old middle school, which has many similarities with homeschooling, even though it is a private and state-funded school.
This is Holden Middle School, an institution that, together with Daisy Elementary School and Pascal High School, designs a high-quality educational program based on a completely revamped teaching method, based on the principles of Finnish teaching. Holden Middle School’s teaching has always centered on classroom well-being, student happiness, and the belief that school should not be a place of competition for grades, but rather a happy learning environment.
Student education is based on a biocentric approach, which promotes harmony by strengthening biological impulses connecting with life and aims to develop the potential of each individual student through a targeted curriculum, with distinctive ways and times for growth and learning.
Outdoor education is part of the daily routine for Holden Middle School students: teachers organize open-air lessons in the charming Consolata Park or at Chieri’s most significant artistic sites. Holden Middle School is located within the pedestrian area, among countless baroque churches, medieval buildings, and 19th-century extensions—places for freehand drawing, photography, and small theatrical performances. The outdoors becomes the central hub for hands-on learning, for breaking away from traditional norms and approaching the curriculum from different perspectives, for engaging in creative workshops, using new materials, recycling, imagining, and putting into practice.
A weekly philosophy class allows students to develop their own critical thinking, learn to think, communicate with respect for others, and speak in public, improving communication and interpersonal relationships through discussion and dialogue.
During the three years of middle school, students learn respect, mutual help, kindness, autonomy, and time management. A sofa and a bookshelf in the hallway are available for students to use during their free time; role-playing games and board games are scattered across the colorful tables. A game of checkers or Risk is much better than a TikTok video!
