Thursday, April 18, 2013
What does a good school look like?
There is a place where children and adults live and work together in harmony. It all begins with the family, all sorts of families. Big families. Small families. Two parent families. One parent families. Mommies and Daddies as parents. Mommies and Mommies as parents. Daddies and Daddies as parents. Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles and all sorts of caring adults as parents. Children are desired and valued and cared for from birth. There are opportunities for learning and growing surrounding the child every minute of every day. It all begins with the home.
At home, children are held, listened to, gazed at and read to. While there are outside programs to bridge gaps and fill holes, the majority of learning takes place in the home with loving adults. Reading and literacy skills are modeled every day. Children are read to every day. Reading surrounds the child and the family. A good school looks like a happy, healthy home with caring parents.
Early childhood education encompasses a three year period of time including ages 3 to 6 employing a half day schedule of Kindergarten-like activities based on play, exploration and individuality. The emphasis is on creating opportunities for learning but not in a structured, timed or forced manner. The curriculum is flexible, yet consistent. Mathematical concepts and math “manipulatives” are introduced. Writing and drawing are regular activities. Just as in the home, reading and literacy activities flow in and around all activities. Children grow and learn at their own rate and in their own time through a mastery learning type of approach. A good early childhood education school looks like a vibrant and expanded Kindergarten.
Primary school encompasses ages 6 to 10 for about four years and includes a combination of structured core competency courses such as English and Math interspersed and interwoven into a rich web of expanding learning opportunities into the arts, hard sciences, social sciences, languages, etc. A mastery learning approach continues with the goal of all students achieving basic minimum standards in English and Math while also receiving maximum exposure to other subjects and fields. A good primary school looks like a ying and yang of core subjects balanced with specialty subjects.
Middle school extends for about 4 years from ages 10 to 14 and marks the beginning of choice and specialty matched to each child. While the core competency courses continue, it is to a lesser degree, while areas of specialization begin to take hold and dominate. Exploratory sessions are planned to open children up to their potential and possibilities. Is it languages? Is it music? Is it teaching and helping? Is it planning and strategizing? Is it innovation and creation? Is it caring and healing? A good middle school looks like a collection of labs and exploratory experiences designed to motivate and inspire children to find themselves, be themselves and develop themselves.
Secondary school represents clear choices for students depending on their personality, talents, interest and goals for ages 14 to 18 for about four years. No area of interest or skill set is better than another. No area of interest or skill set is off limits or discouraged. Clusters or tracks might include:
• Entrepreneurship and small business economic development with an emphasis on innovation supported by entrepreneur coaches
• Supporting and Assisting including computer and organizational skills necessary to serve others and facilitate success
• Technology and Innovation including computer engineering, design and security
• Classic Apprenticeship in fields such as carpentry, electrician, mechanic, hair stylist, massage therapist, computer technician
• Blended Apprenticeship and Education in such fields as teaching, nursing, accounting and most professional modern fields
• Extensive Education and Credentialing in such fields as medicine and law
A good secondary school looks like an active, dynamic part-time school combined with a network of organized work and apprenticeship experiences.
In my indulgence in writing, I find this to be my school utopia fantasy. It all begins in the home, and it is sustained in the home. The next monumental question is how a culture or society can somehow encourage or shift to a culture where children are desired and cared for especially including educational issues. I don’t know that any amount of money or social program can replace a loving home life full of learning opportunities such as being read to on a daily basis from infancy forward. Studies seem to have shown that such pervasive and popular programs as Head Start is not making a difference even though we have spent over $100 billion dollars over 40 years on this noble experiment. We are wrong as a culture and society to opt out, turn away from our children and let a social program try its best to replace loving, interested parents. If we can somehow learn to collectively love and care for our children, a renaissance in learning could take place. This is an immense social problem, not an education problem.
As a college educator, I see the faces and meet the individuals behind the statistics showing that about 80% of students arriving at community colleges are not prepared for college work, meaning that these students do not have basic reading, writing and math skills. By basic, I mean middle school level skills such as writing in complete sentences and being able to work a simple algebraic formula with an unknown x factor. From time to time, I wonder about these students…what happened between middle school and adulthood? Either they never learned these basic concepts in the first place and/or their learning stopped and receded at some point. These are also students who are lost in the world with no idea of who they are or what they might be able to do to take care of themselves financially. By forcing students into a “one size fits all” K12 system, we do a great disservice to our children. Something more individual and meaningful to students would be much better.
“A good school for anyone is a little like kindergarten and a little like a good post-graduate program – the two ends of the educational spectrum, at which we understand that we cannot treat any two human beings identically, but must take into account their special interests and styles even as we hold all to high and rigorous standards.” (Deborah Meier, The Power of Their Ideas, 2002, pp 48-49)
Deborah Meier is right. We need something more personal. As it is now, many, many students check out with some leaving and dropping out of school but many more staying in school with nothing going on in their minds. These students move through the public school system like zombies, marking time and doing only what they must do. This is because school sucks as Louis CK points out in his FX show. Why are we continuing to push forward a public school model that isn’t working? For many students, school is not interesting or useful. It is merely a mandatory social obligation. These students do not see the other side that I see as a community college educator. What will these students *do* to work and make a life for themselves? These students do not know who they are, where they could go or what they could be good at doing.
Another travesty are the current modern ideas of No Child Left Behind and the more recent Michigan Merit high school graduation requirements. It is not a level playing field, and all students do not all have the same goals.
“Many will fail in schools because they are forced to do work they hate and deprived of work they might love.” (Noddings, The Aims of Education, 2009, pg 429)
Why are we compelling all students to take 4 years of high school math? If all students are going to go to college to become dentists and accountants, then perhaps this ruling is appropriate. What about all of the students who are not going to pursue a professional field requiring college math courses? Why are we forcing students to take classes they hate, classes that have nothing to do with who the student is, their strengths and their goals. Is it any wonder that so many students check out?
“Today, with recent changes in social thought and massive changes in technology, it is more important than ever to consider why we are promoting certain goals in schooling and why we continue to neglect education for personal life and for happiness in our occupations.” (Noddings, The Aims of Education, 2009, 437)
It’s not just that school should connect children all the way from birth or “Cradle to Career” or college; it’s that school should provide a way for each individual to connect with who they are as a person and where in life they want to go. It is not up to the state to determine that each person is going to get a college degree no matter what. It is up to the individual to set that goal, if desired. And, it is up to the individual to achieve that goal. The truth is that not everyone should go to college. Yep, I said it. It is also true that not every profession should be turned into a college program. A loving home life, strong core competency courses, self-awareness and choice combined with appropriate curriculum and apprenticeship are the keys to what a good school looks like.
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Hello, Suzanne!
ReplyDeleteI’m Jihyeon Kim from South Korea. I’d like to tell you that I really liked the clear voice in your post raising awareness of problems we are facing in the educational arena. Your post sounds so right in every word. I found two major points which I too agree with: 1) the importance of education at home, 2) concern over one-size-fits-all education lacking diversity and individuality. I think schools today take too much burden or responsibility. Especially in Korea, students are spending huge amount of time in school with no time to communicate with their should-be-life-time mentors at home. Schools are under obligation to provide students with diverse courses and programs that will meet their needs and interests. But with too many students in a school and not enough teachers, it is very hard to provide diverse programs let alone individualized ones. I think school education can’t compete with education at home. Schools can play only a supporting role that complements what cannot be done at home.
I too agree with what Noddings says in The Aim of Education. Students are forced to do work not knowing why they have to do it and what benefits they could have. They are even deprived of an opportunity of fair explanation. When they ask teachers or parents about that, they usually get answers like “Do it like everybody else does.” Or they are given a goal of getting a better job with a better wage. Sometimes I feel sorry for my students. Currently I’m teaching 12th grade students who are vigorously studying for a college entrance exam. I found that although school work is hard and tough, students are willing to enjoy what they are doing when they can find reasons and meanings in what they do. I’m trying to approach every student possible I meet with meaningful messages. Oh, I should say this is hidden curriculum. “Schools are not the place to teach you something. It is the place where you should learn how to teach yourself. That is real learning.” “It’s not about learning English words, grammar and so on. It is about learning ways of English speakers say and think.” And I truly believe so. Even when we learn mere facts, we can learn hidden meanings in them such as the process of discovery, efforts, and spirit of those who were involved.
A school is a mysterious place to me. It doesn’t seem so attractive but there is something we miss so much in a school. What comes to your mind when looking back on the schools you went? I think most of us would think two things apparently: teachers and friends. I believe a good school is a school with good teachers. We may have a good memory about our schools because of the people with whom we shared our dreams and hopes. Oh, I’m beginning to feel so much (self-imposed) responsibility. Suzanne, thank you very much for your insightful post, I’d like you to know that I’m learning and growing through this wonderful opportunity. Hope all is well with you!
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” –William Arthur Wards
Hi Jihyeon,
ReplyDeleteI just found your Cycle 5 blog and am enjoying our intellectual exchange this weekend. So, it would seem that in one end of the world, you are seeing that your students are pushed too hard and helping them to find balance; and here in another end of the world, I am seeing that my boys and my students are not challenged nearly enough and also helping them to extend and find balance. I love the quote, thanks so much!!
Suzanne
I thoroughly enjoyed your approach to this week’s post and the emphasis you placed on the importance of family and learning experiences that begin in the home. I think it’s important for parents to remember that modeling and building literacy skills does go beyond reading to children. Although it is important and little in life is as satisfying as having a toddler back into your lap and plop down carrying a favorite book, there is so much more parent can do to begin building a love of literacy in their children. The important thing is to immerse them in a world of language. Doing this can start with the simple acts like singing songs together, searching for words and letters in the car and at the grocery store, finding opposites, sorting words into categories, drawing pictures and telling their stories…the list goes on and on. As you suggest, the importance of family in helping students goes beyond the learning experiences that they can provide. You made reference to the children being, “desired, valued, and cared for from birth”. Speaking as an elementary classroom teacher, I can tell you that my students whose parents are involved are almost always higher performing and/or have a greater level of interest in their learning. Surely this is not only because their parents made sure to raise them in a literate home. I do believe the caring, support, and love these children feel are also crucial to their overall development. They can be confident in school and other places outside the home because they know they have the backing of a family that believes in them. However, this is not the case for every child and certainly there are schools where classrooms are filled with students for whom this type of home life is the exception and not the norm. For these students, interest in their education may not be the top priority or they may not trust the adults in their life because of what their own life experiences have taught them. Therefore, in my opinion, a good school would also be a place where teachers and other school staff are as dedicated to making sure students feel supported and cared for as they are to developing and instructing quality curriculum. In terms of your descriptions for each of the levels of schooling, there was also a good deal there with which I agreed. I do believe that education should tap into the talents and aptitudes of our students rather than working, at times, in direct opposition of them. However, I am a bit torn here. While I do think that schools can do more to engage students by offering various paths, I also think that students also need to be exposed to and learn about things which may extend outside of their comforts/interests. How can they develop new interests or discover new talents if they are only exposed to those things with which they are already familiar? I also worry a bit about students beginning their career tracks while still in high school. Are students at that age all really equipped to make that kind of decision? I think back to my own experiences here. While still in high school, I earned my FCC license to be a radio D.J. I had taken several broadcasting courses, had my own school radio show, and was certain I had found my calling in telecommunications. I forged ahead on that path in my first few years at MSU and found that, well, I hated it!! I still loved aspects, but the broader picture of that degree had absolutely no interest for me. However, because my degree also required a broader spectrum of classes than just those connected to business and broadcasting, I found myself in a social studies course which required volunteer work at a local elementary school. That’s where I discovered my love of teaching and that was defining experience in my life…one that I wouldn’t have had if my course spectrum had been narrowed. Of course my experience is just that, my experience, but I can’t help but wonder if there are more students like me out there.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!-Maria Broz
Thank you so much for your encouraging and helpful comment! It means a lot to me.I feel so connected with this course and the members though physically apart. Thank you Suzanne, and take care! Jihyeon
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your work here. You obviously put a ton of thought and effort into this post. And we share a very similar vision here. With good teachers, I am never afraid of tracks and choices and the following of interest. If we truly believe the world is an interconnected place, then we can learn about religion in a shop class, and math in our nursing apprenticeship. Your model of both middle and high school are amazing here. I think high school students spend far too much time in the school, sitting in seats. What an unnatural thing for an 18 year old to do every day!! They could be doing so much more, and so much more that contributes to their own development and the social good.
I see two tensions in your post I'd like you to think about.
First, you acknowledge that you work with a population that has been profoundly miseducated, in many cases. Yet some might interpret your proposal as contributing to a lack of solid reading, writing and (especially) math skills. Should we just not worry about the student who can fix a car blindfolded but struggles with dense expository text?
A second thing I wanted to raise was the notion that our collective abuse of children and childhood is a social problem, not an educational one. I will just point out that is possibly a false dichotomy--the educational and the social. Certainly, schools could be doing more to make the situation of children (children living in poverty) more of a social issue. Indeed, the very politicians who let this happen went through our public schools. So there is at least something to consider here. I'm not saying that the schools should take this on as yet another thing to do, but rather, that our problems are both social and educational, and they are hard to unwind.
Such an excellent post, thank you so much! I hope you don't mind me raising these two points for further consideration.
Take care,
Kyle