WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH MUCH INSPIRATION IN YOUR WORK AND HOPE TO SEE YOU DURING THE NEXT INTERNATIONAL DALTON CONFERENCE
ON 3d OF MAY IN BRNO CZECH REPUBLIC

Many new activities and initiatives will take place in 2007. The development of Dalton education in Hungary is still growing and next to the third Dalton Conference for Hungary in Györszemere on March 28, another conference is organized in Szentes. This conference will take place on 20^th of February.

The 11^th Conference of Dalton International is on May 3. in Brno.

See for the detailed programme our website, the programme is expected in March.

Dalton International works on a project ‘ Early Second Language Education’ in order to start with the English language in Kindergarten groups.

If your school want to join this project please let us know on  :               info@daltoninternational.org

“Ladies and gentlemen , I feel it as a great honour to be asked to open this conference dealing with the Dalton Plan. The Dalton Plan is an incident in a movement of very great, worldwide importance”.

With these words Professor T.Percy Nunn opened on 24 April 1923 the first international Dalton Conference in London. This first conference was focussed on secondary education, but one year later, 8 – 9 March 1924 the next conference was for  primary education. In one of his speeches A.J.Lynch, later a very active author of articles and brochures about Dalton education, summarized the most important arguments to implement Dalton :

o         the great need, felt by all teachers, for increased interest to be shown by children in their work

o         the lack of co-operation between teachers and children

o         the great waste of time when brighter children are waiting for the duller ones to keep up

o         no ability shown at the end of school life in carrying on their studies

And he mentioned as the good points in Dalton :

o         its freedom

o         its power for individual effort

o         the “family life”  = “house” in The Dalton School NY

o         development of children’s organizing powers

o         personal relation between teacher and scholar

It is interesting that our own background was described during that first conference in London.  Dalton International is proud to be able continuing this historical perspective.

Roel Röhner