We are all moving towards paperless schools and workplaces but 11 schools in the Netherlands are taking this concept to another level. In August these so called ‘Steve Jobs Schools’ will begin operation, and educational materials as well as lessons will be delivered using mainly the iPad. This will mean very little load in the form of books to be carried by over 1000 school children between the ages of 4 and 12 .

Students at these schools will have a copious amount of freedom and will have a major say in the material being taught to them. Probably the most stringent requirement of these schools is that students must be present for the main period which is from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm. The opening hours of these 11 schools are 7:30 am to 6:30 pm during the working week and will close doors only for Christmas holidays as well as New Year’s.

All though traditional education has come under fire in recent times and accused of being too rigid and in some cases being irrelevant, this situation does make one wonder how much freedom is too much. Don’t misunderstand me, giving these students creative freedom could never be a bad thing but a balance must be found between freedom and the direction that a young mind requires don’t you think?

[via Iclarified]