Julia Sweeney

Modern Educational Theory- “What is School” Position Paper

            School. A words some kids dread to hear. A word that can mean “prison” to some and “sanctuary” to others. A word commonly referred to in reference to systems and institutions. Analyzing and understanding the complex and different visions ofwhat school can be has helped me decide my vision of school and what it shouldbe.

            School should not feel forced. It should be a place where students feel comfortable to be themselves and can express what they are learning in multiple ways. Itshould be a place where teachers and learners work together to take on bothroles. Its purpose is to inspire and to be an outlet of discovery. It can be aplace where students figure out what their talents and skills are. It is aplace of social, emotional and intellectual growth.

            This school is a place that values respect. Values discovery. Values learning andvalues the learner. It values the teacher as a teacher and as a learner. This school does not base itself on one method or follow any one set of rules. It isa place of understanding and is full of understanding people. It gives equalopportunities to all of the students involved.

            Thisschool benefits society in more ways than one. It manages to teach students the skills they need in the everyday world, the basics that all schools teach, and manages to teach different things that interest different students. They help students become individuals and find their talent, their skill. This school embraces working in and with the community, teaching how different studentswith different skills can help and can create change. These students leave this school and know how they can use their knowledge, their power and their talentsto help themselves and others. These learners know how they learn and what that learning differently than everyone else isn’t a bad thing. This school helps to inspire kids to help and to learn from others.

            This school is good for the individual by supporting the individual. The school as a community helps inspire the individual so they can discover themselves as an individual. It creates a group of individuals who understand how they as an individual relate to others as well as themselves. It supports the individual and encourages the individual to be an individual.

            Overall, this school differs from a “traditional” school, mostly in its strong support system and encouragement for the individual. It values things that a “traditional” school may regard as unimportant or unnecessary. It inspires more than a “traditional” school. It doesn’t have just one idea or one rule. It thrives on many and not on ONE. 

It is hard to define what an ideal school is, but one of the most important parts in developing a strong curriculum is to distance one self from the customary “one size fits all theory”. My ideal school would do a good job of incorporating all types of learning into that curriculum. A successful school must realize that all kids learn differently, and must take steps into assuring that no kid is confused during a classroom lecture because he is a visual learner, and must see the
information that is being orally presented in order to fully grasp the information.

Creative projects would be the cornerstone of the curriculum. Classes would be limited to fifteen students, a size small enough to allow individual attention but large enough to furnish the feeling of belonging to a group. No grades or
competition would exist. Rather, the motivation to work would come from a desire to earn the respect of teachers and fellow students and establish a positive self-identity.

There are certain things that one is expected to get out of school, and one that is probably stressed the most: To score high on government tests. This is probably the most important because of the stress that it causes high school juniors around the country when it comes time to take the SAT’s, and for seniors in approximately half the states that have adopted exit exams, which dictate that one must pass these exams in order to graduate high school.

An educated person is defined as one who scores high on math and reading tests. One benefit of receiving a good education is you get the ability to make wise decisions, which is extremely beneficial, especially for one’s country during political elections. Preparing for these tests are also attempting to develop a more competitive work force. These tests also allow the government to compare the education of today’s youth is receiving to those in other developed countries.

In this age of education, the amount of information that is taught in schools is being heavily restricted. An ideal school would be communication-based, blending aspects of social work, conflict resolution, team building, and traditional learning. We would leave behind the focus on math and reading, and the blind faith that teachers can incorporate some of those life lessons in to their classes. The problem with teaching in a way that solely prepares students for standardized testing is that by instilling the need to be right into kids, we are limiting their imagination.  In fact, we place so much focus onto giving the right answer that it discourages kids from thinking outside of the box.

In an ideal school, we would not forget the importance of incorporating creative activities such as a music or art class. In class we would focus our learning around creative projects instead of tests to avoid the cramming the night before aspect that is often associated with test taking. And perhaps the most important differential from a traditional school; Teachers will teach their students valuable life lessons first, and their subject second every time. However, the kids would be so self motivated that they would not lose valuable information in their main subjects.