Almost 51 million students attend public schools in the U.S. Another 5.7 million are educated at private schools.

However, traditional academic curriculums that the great majority of these schools offer are not for everyone.

There are other non-traditional, often called progressive schools including self-directed, democratic schools. The Circle School in Harrisburg is one of them.

A democratic school is a school where students are trusted to take responsibility for their own lives and learning, and for the school community. At such a school, students choose their own activities and associate with whom they please. If courses are offered, students are always free to take them or not. Most such schools accept students across a wide range of ages and do not segregate students by age, so that students can learn from interacting with others who are older and younger than themselves.

Jim Rietmulder, founder of the Circle School is on Thursday's Smart Talk to discuss democratic schools.

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