Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My "Vision of School" Essay

smillwood — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:48:31 -0500

I think schools should encourage their students to think about and
study what interests them, but without pushing them to decide right
away what they want to do when they are older. I think school should
be a place where students learn about topics they care about, as well
as a place where they are introduced to new information and ideas.
While some people have a good idea of what they want to do from a young
age and would benefit from being allowed to learn, many have no idea
until they try out a few different things.

I think one of
the most important reasons that it's so difficult to determine the
purpose of school is education serves different purposes for different people.

That is why I think that the most important thing for a school to do is to

frequently reevaluate its teaching methods to make sure that it is meeting the

needs of its students.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Jerome's Essay

jmcleod — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:34:32 -0400

There is a certain frustration that is present when I study the research another before me, more specifically the products of minds like Newton and Galileo. This is normally when a teacher requires that you know information regarding these men by first accepting them as mere fact. While it is valuable to understand their research as fact, I feel that first accepting it for fact is a thwart that may prevent a broader understanding of the subject. A broader understanding being one that extends to the unproven extensions of the subject. This brings me to the purpose of my ideal school. School's primary value system should be built around the same value for inquiry that SLA is founded from, however, it will have stronger relations between inquiry and research. This only being a primary value of the school obviously elaborates into different aspects of the school.

School in my eyes should be about teaching to develop ideas about the world. Every person should learn a perspective on the world by the time they are an adult. This in effect would take the form of inquiry based research. The intentions of this is not to simply make them acutely aware of current knowledge, but to make them aware of the origins of what is known now. This I believe will make students more driven to innovate than to find part of simple productivity.

But it should not be something that will define a student for their-self. School should be an institution that provides a core basis for what a student should be their-self. Within that a student should be able to command enough knowledge to take themselves to a specific place. Whether that might be a career or a personal frame of mind.

I say this because school seems to have been more driven to produce competent beings that will help to maintain life as it has been. This I have seen has minimized a world where there is constant innovation. The trouble in this is that there is less innovation for the minds of the most diverse minds populating societies. If school should be anything it should be a place that supports creativity as much as they embrace academic achievement. Along with that it should make distinctions between creativity and academic inclinations, so that children can work to achieve both.

I believe that the people who create systems should be closer in relation to the system itself in order to be qualified to influence it. That is why more people should be driven to define how their surroundings work. I believe that if there are more of these people who strive to support creativity, society as a whole will be more productive.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My vision of school

lgirmay — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:23:17 -0400

Most schools miss the main purpose of schooling which is exiting kids to love Education and think for them self. Schooling is changed very little since it stated. Schooling were formed to revolving the farmers schedule. Still in America school uses the same schedule. Schools should change with technology.

The traditional way of learning requires memorizing and testing students on whatthey can memories on, which letter on could be forgotten by many. The traditional way schooling is basically brain washing students, which is a motivating for many. Motivating kids could be challenging because they are immature. As they say it takes a crook catch a crook. You got to think like kids to teach them. Kids have the lowest attention spam. Making things interesting to the kids by doing a lots of activities toengage the students and teach them to think for them selves would help much better then just telling them “stuff”. By making them reenact and engaging themin to the activity would serve them a lot. One they might grow an interest tothat filed two there is a much chance that they are going to remember it justbecause they engaged in it.

School should be a place where kids are free to express their ideas and opining and to experience things. School should be longer hours. From lots of research we know 75% of brain develops when they are below 5. Teach them things when they are blow that age such aslangheges instead of waiting until high school when you know they would not be interested on it hard for the students to understand or learn it. Scientist comes up with lots of study on what could be better for kids to learn but none of it is on practice at the moment that is just a waste. Some Canadian researcher(heard it on radio) he did a research on urban parents and middle in comefamilies on how they raise their kids. He actually find out that the urbanparent hit their kids and use inappropriate word around their child when the middle in come family try to reason with their 2 or 3 years old child. He foundout reasoning with the kinds and spending time with them even for half an hour will have a big different on the kids life. So kids should learn good ethic skill from home and school should be where they in enhance there knowledge and parntes should be as much involve in there child acandamic as much as theteachers.

You have done your job after you hook students to knowledge they would not going to let go. We would not going to have a problem who done there home work on not because students have a good working entice. School would be transform for the better.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

What Is Your Vision Of School?

tthompson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:11:05 -0400

While going throughout my life, the same question happens to pop up every single year “What is the point of school”. I myself have asked this question of what the point of school was. In my earlier years I’ve probably been asking the question to be stubborn towards the teacher, but as I got older I’ve wanted to know the answer. I went about discovering the answer most people avoid by asking teachers and my parents. But the one person who I really needed to ask was myself.

Throughout the semester my classmates and I have been reading about educators and their perspective on “What is the point of school is” or “What the point of school should be”. By reading the different types of perspectives varying from Deborah Meier’s vision of democratic education to President Obama’s speech on the first day of school, I’ve formulated my own vision of school. The purpose of my school would have a focus on the arts and the normal math, reading, and science following after it. In an agreement with Ken Robinson, I believe the arts would help students discover what they truly love and inspire to be when they get older. The arts include of drama, art (such as painting and drawling), and music. Not only will they help guide students in choosing their career choice, but also give them a little down time from the standard subjects. There would be a total of 6-8 classes total depending on how many classes the student wants to take 6 being the minimum and 8 being the highest. I am also a where that all students may not have an interest in the arts, which is why the standard teachings will be taught.

Students would have the option in choosing the classes that most interest them. The students will also have up to the first two weeks of school to change the art class they're in if they don't find interest in them. But the standard subjects would be taught the normal way depending on the grade the student's in.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My Idea of School

ksample — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:08:36 -0400

I believe that a school should be a place where children can feel free to express themselves andbe who they are. I also think that they should be able to discover themselvesand find what it is that they love to do. Whether that is by doing an art project or by having the opportunity to work with children in a classroom as ateacher aid. Because a child is spending most of there day in school then anywhere else it should be a place of guidance where they can have the help they need to find things that they are interested in. I think that the teachers are a major part in this process because they interact with the students the most out of anybody else in the school. By incorporating these things into ahigh school you are allowing the child to develop more as a person and more importantly preparing them for the next stages of their lives.

If a child is able to say on any given day that their teacher / class inspired themsomehow in their lives then the purpose of the school is being fulfilled. Forto long school was just about teaching kids what they needed to know in order to get a high school diploma and if they chose to go to college then that wouldbe great but if not than that would be okay too. But I think that school needsto be that other support system for the student to know that they can do anything they put there mind to and have the resources to study anything they want.That’s why I believe that teachers who just teach because they love a subject shouldn’t be able to teach high school students. By just teaching because youlove the subject you forget that the other main focus of teaching is the lovefor kids and seeing them get something and know you helped them get to thatpoint. By having teachers who teach because they love that moment when a kid gets something gives a student the motivation to keep going and makes them morecomfortable to ask questions if they have them. That teacher could inspire themto do something more with their lives and inspire more people to do the same.It’s like a chain reaction of dominoes once one touches another they keep goingand going until they reach the end of their journey. Just like school should be; it could have an amazing effect on the whole world and could even changethe world for the better.

Unlike many other high schools in America I want a school to exist that is nothing like the others. A school where a student wants to go to and learn everyday, aschool where they are free to be themselves, and feel like they are learning not just about history or math but also about who they are as a person and whothey want to be when they grow up. It’s rare that a student can say that they are where they are today because of their teachers in high school. But maybe that’s really what kids are lacking, role models in school that can show themthat they can be different. And that is what I think will really change what we know today as the “traditional” school.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Vision of School

jthomas — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:05:49 -0400

Jasmine Thomas
Modern Educational Theory
10/6/09

I want and need to preface this “position paper” with a few thoughts.
Thought 1: The ideas and opinions that are found in these pages should lie within all classrooms.
Thought 2: The fact that I am a seventeen year old enrolled in a class called Modern Educational theory and have been asked to write about my vision of school should not be my reality.
My reality and the reality of my peers should lie in the realm of organic expression of the self. This idea of school that I have been asked to write about should not only welcome but also expect for young minds to express themselves in ways that are rational, irrational, traditional, and progressive.

I suppose as I write this paper I will convey ideas that seem ultra liberal and progressive but in reality they are ideas and ideals that support teaching the whole student. The idea of caring for a student as an individual first and student second allows for a student to feel as though they are valued not for their academic ability but their true existence in a community. In order for a community to cater to the individual being of both student and teacher both parties must understand that a relationship that embodies reciprocity in terms of trust, responsibility, collaboration, and encouragement is needed. The purpose of these ideals that I speak of allows for an individual to interact in a community and in a larger sense teaches a person how to communicate in the “world”.

As far as I can tell I have not mentioned how this school I speak of would look like. It has not been mentioned because when it truly comes down to it students don’t need to walk the halls of buildings. Students need to walk through these ideas and be able to empower themselves with them in order to understand that life and the real purpose of school should be to teach one that the individual is a student of life.
This idea of school that I speak about teaches to the student. This idea empowers and challenges the ideas of the individuals of a community. What purpose would such a school serve? This idea of school is not producing doctors, policemen, or nutritionist but something more. This idea of school, that I have really only scratched the surface of, serves to shape and enlighten individuals. Discovering a passion and parts of the self both are an essential aspects of “my vision”.

If these ideals and ideas that I so strongly believe found their way into the pedagogical practices of every educator then maybe, just maybe school would be regarded as a safe place to revel in the struggles and successes of life. Maybe, just maybe students would walk away feeling deeply connected and empowered by a community that viewed them as essential.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

What Is School (Position Paper)

jsweeny — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:01:29 -0400

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.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My Vision of School

htaleserhodes — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:16 -0400

Harrison Talese-Rhodes
Science Leadership Academy
Harrisons’ Choice High School

The modern high-school student can tell you how to multiply numbers, how to derive the meaning of a word based on its root, and how clouds are formed. Short of being useful information at a high school cocktail party, is any of this information relevant? I don't think so. I believe that students should be in school not to learn obscure facts in subjects that have existed for generations; rather they should be in school to learn how to learn. In short, my educational system would focus on quality rather than quantity. Students should be in school not to develop an over-stressed work ethic, one reinforced by mountains of homework and class work, rather, schools should teach students how to do the one thing it is assumed that they can already do: Think.

Due to the pressure it gives to students not to learn, but to get good grades, homework in my school would be virtually nonexistent. Homework exists for a debatable reason. The student in me sees homework as a means to an end; a necessary evil to overcome in order to achieve my goals. Mary Altamuro, a student at Science Leadership Academy argues that homework exists purely to cause excruciating pain, and maybe to give teachers something to grade. Chris Taylor, a student at The Shipley School, counters that homework is a way, "To complement your learning and to reinforce facts and concepts." In fact, most teachers would also speak from that direction. Jillian Gierke, a Foreign Language teacher at Science Leadership Academy says, "For a world language course, students are acquiring a skill (speaking another language) In order to acquire a skill, it must be practiced (often) similarly to learning a musical instrument. It makes the most sense to practice speaking in class and then continue with writing and reading practice at home when the students (most likely) do not have a Spanish-speaking partner with whom to practice with." All of these opinions are acceptable. But they all say the same thing. Homework exists not to teach, but to learn what the student knows. Therefore, homework in my education system would be rendered irrelevant and would be taken from the curriculum.

Next, the teachers. All teachers would give students at Harrisons’ Choice High School special attention. Teachers should be able to have a special relationship with their students. This is not to say that students and teachers should be the best of friends. What I propose is a close, almost mentor-mentee relationship. Teachers should be there not only to support the student academically, but also emotionally. The two go hand in hand. A close relationship with a teacher may allow a close relationship with the subject, which is a fantastic but rare occurrence with teachers and students.

Subjects. Students would not be taught the traditional subjects. Instead, there would be discussion classes, human psychology classes, world events classes, and debate classes. Students at Harrisons’ Choice High School would learn how to argue their point, be articulate, and how to understand each other, both theoretically and through direct exposure.

In the end, my vision of school is much different than the traditional view of school. It focuses on what I see to be the relevant subjects in the world, and promotes values that, again, I find relevant.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My Vision of School

sashby — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:57:39 -0400

Creating an environment that gives students a place to live, learn and create. The vision for Shannel Antoinette Academy is to develop a students education exposing students to a learning experiences that involves hands on logical and creative thinking, also presenting the students to real-life situations that would require them to make decisions thinking of the long term results. Including ways that will make learning easier and enjoyable for students.

Individual each student will interpret a lesson or real-life experience different. During their time in this institution the
student will gain logical skills of thinking long term, how their decisions effect others around them and which ever choice they make is it for pleasure or for their own good. One way to prepare students for what life after school is like it put them into the situation. You access how they incorporate what they learned in mathematics to be able to tell which cable deal may be worth paying for and is the cheapest.

Their learning will include different scenarios that are most common throughout America. After their months learning the
project would be for them to handle each situation the best they can. One student might have just hit the lottery, have to choice between accepting the money all at once or overtime. Then how will they invest that money, and so that each student can't take the easy way out there will be a list of choices that they are given. Another student might be a single parent with two kids who is on a tight budget. The children might be smart enough to get scholarships to a great school: that’s for high school (private) or a college. Its a life learning lesson that they experience just like any American might be going
through at that moment. The lesson is also an expansion from the well-known baby lesson you go through in health class. This life lesson is their 'fake crying baby' and the student will have to take care of it and make the right decisions needed to survive and keep the 'fake baby' happy.

The school values its way of twisting the learning system. In this school will still have students attend classes of the
norm such as algebra, English, and history But with our Life-Learning we will have that algebra class not consist of Xs but of income dollars, English will be more 'dramatic' in ways, why read and write when you can act and analyze? Being able to understand what has caused the future to be what it is would have students learning the past. When students look at why Obama, Mike Myers, and the Democrat Party is pressing the current Health Care Issue. Where the health care system has taken a turn for the worse and if it isn't changed how will it affect our futures? This institution values the students’ core interpretation of what they are learning, how they will take that with them along the way, and if they still have a basis of the 'traditional' education of what is needed to survive in and after college.

Compared to "traditional" school the structure of Shannel Antoinette Academy will be a life related as possible. Our main Life-Learning Program will prepare students at early ages how demanding and stressful their lives can get after school. Its will prepare students mentally for their future's which is their decision to make. This school will prepare them in the living aspect for college and years in to adulthood. Hopefully it will go beyond that and the lessons would just teach them to
appreciate the learning that they have access to. Help the students to strive for the betterment of them, encourage them to find their passionate calling that makes them happy and keeps them motivated through all their hardships. In 'traditional' schools they emphasize on how society looks at their scores and numbers. In this academy we teach them how they as an individual can be more then what society wants them to be, when they believe they are more than a test score, more then a number society has no CHOCIE but to accept them and work to fit them not the other way around. Proving that society is always changing and there's always time for them to shine and strive to make it happen.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My vision of school

jderry — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:55:56 -0400

When students hear the word school many of the same thoughts come to mind. Students stay up until well into the wee hours of the morning doing homework, and wake up around 7, to get to classes at 8:15. Students are forced study and take strenuous test. Those test are suppose to judge the knowledge of what kind of smarts a student has. But there isn’t one test to see what kind of smarts a student has. The system is flawed, and could be better.

School should be a bridge to a students dreams and goals in life. School should help to create an environment where students can learn to be a critical thinker.

School should not be known as a place a fear, but a safe haven. One of the worries of a student shouldn’t be, they can’t come to school because of a bully. Or they can’t come to school because of an unfinished project or didn’t study for a
test. The only true worry of a student should be how could they add their own unique skills to the learning community.

By school being a bridge, students will be given the tools to succeed in their journey of life. They will have teachers who keep them on the right path. Teachers will push them by setting obstacles to challenge students to grow as a
person. Such as writing a 2fer every other week, add opinions to class discussion, and pushing to understand and analyze new ideas. As a student reaches the end of each challenge, they will learn something about themselves. They will learn
what is the best way for them to show their skills. Whether it’s drawing a picture, answering a math question, or just expressing their opinions in poems.

Once a student can find what their skills are they can start to find a subject or field that best suits their personalities. It will be the schools job to give the students the necessary classes to give them a basic level of knowledge. Such as math, reading, and the history of the world. These way students will have an idea of what they are good at, and the same time the knowledge to gain access to the dreams they want to achieve.

School will help the society greatly. The students making choices on what they want to be when they grow up. The same students that fail a math test or are called a failure could be the next mayor, governor, secretary of state, president, or even the next teachers of young minds. Those students will hold the fate of the world in the palm of their hands. Since, the school system will be focused on creating the best environment for students to become their own person. Students will be given the chance to learn how to take responsibility of their actions, by being given a lot of freedom and seeing how they can handle it. The system prepares students for the world. Students will be taught how to tell right from wrong. So, when they go out into the world, there will be a lease likely chance of them becoming corrupted by greed or self-pity. They focused on the main task at hand making the world a better place.

This vision of school will not need test that judge students knowledge on a subjects such as math and vocabulary. Instead their knowledge and character will judge them. They will be judged by the choices and decisions they make. If they make mistakes they will be judged by what they learn from them. By these test the students will learn life long skills. This way student will have book and street smarts. Students will have the tools to go out in the world and be trusted with the fate of world, and its well being.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My School's Vision

arollins — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:55:06 -0400

Previously, in M.E.T. the topic of conversation has been about schools and education in society today. By reading a variety of resources provided by Mr. Lehmann, my entire perspective of the educational world is somewhat different than before. The ideas proposed in each of these readings have been backed up with actual numbers and sufficient amounts of evidence. Some of the articles stood out in a sense that we as products of education in our society have to sort of come together when it deals with matters of the school system.

Take Diana Ravitch’s article for example; what she stated was “For the past century, our schools of education have obsessed over critical-thinking skills, projects, cooperative learning, experiential learning, and so on. But they have paid precious little attention to the disciplinary knowledge that young people need to make sense of the world.” I totally agree with this statement and I believe that it is so true. Most schools nowadays are so set on getting students to understanding certain answers to some problems, but that isn’t important. In the midst of all this, what’s important is the thought process in which the students need to think about in order to GET to the answer. In modern society today, some schools lose sight of this “way of education” when it should be a top priority. Here at SLA, we value collaboration and the thought process behind finding the answer to a math problem or the answer to a formula in Physics. It weighs more heavily on the actual steps and reasoning to how you arrived at the answer you have. Based on all of this, my vision of school would be an institution where students will know how to think things through and arrive at a reasonable conclusion based on thinking alone. I believe that it is just as important and crucial to know the steps in a math problem than just knowing the answer because it’s the steps that get you to the endpoint. It will include teachers who eat, sleep and breathe teaching children the concepts and well as the thought process that is involved. My school values knowledge and thinking over anything else. At the end of the day an average student will be able to fully explain a problem and give you a solution as well. This type of school would definitely be great for society because I feel that it brings traditional values back while also incorporating new and different ones too. The overall purpose of my school would be to teach children the knowledge that they need to succeed in life and the importance of that specific knowledge. Compared to a “traditional” school, my students will understand the answer more clearly and have the skills to actually explain it at the end of the day.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Freda's Paper

fanderson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:54:53 -0400

Too often in our public schools we barrage our kids minds with useless, impersonal facts, dates, names, and events that
they have or at least don’t feel that they have, any connection with whatsoever. The idea behind this being that if the child is drilled with the information enough times that eventually they’ll remember it well enough to spit back at the next test. The problem with this philosophy is that while yes, maybe the student will remember the information long enough for the test next week, they’re going to forget it by the end of the month. Now you have a school full of students who all claim they hate American History cause they’ve taken if 5 times, yet if you ask them what year the civil war happened they’ll shrug and say “I dunno, whatever.” Now, in that class of students that took American History 5 times and hates history, you could have a child who has an extreme passion for history, only that kid is never going to know it.

For that student to realize their passion, they’re going to need to know a lot more than the date Abraham Lincoln was shot, or the name of the assassin. For a student to really remember anything about Lincoln's assassination, let alone understand it, you have to offer real world connections, relationships to the world that that child interacts with and lives through every day. If schools don’t to this, not only aren’t they going to inspire students to be interested in history, they’re going to extinguish any interest in history a student may have had before coming to the class, completely defeating the purpose of school altogether.

If subjects were taught, along with connections that students could identify with, you would instantly start to see more involved in depth conversations in classrooms, better more insightful papers and projects, and yes, you would even see better test scores because kids would better remember the information given to them. Students, now with classes that felt more relevant to their lives, would be able to identify what subjects or topics they really feel strongly about, or that they feel really inspired by, or that they really get pumped about. This would help that individual decide what types of things their interested in, and, inadvertently, what career they’ll like to pursue.

A big problem in this country is that it’s so filled with people who don’t like the line of work they’re in, and would rather be doing something else. When you have people doing something as a job that they don’t like, it’s only natural they’re not going to be as enthusiastic or good at their job as someone who loves what they’re doing, therefore the job isn’t done as good as it potentially could be. If schools were to do a better job of helping students figure out what their passions are, then you’d have more people in lines of work that they actually enjoy and therefore have better qualified people doing those jobs making for a better overall country. Not to mention the depression rates of the country would be cut in half, cause we all know, the number one thing American’s are stressed about; work.

Overall I think if schools spent more time having class discussions about how things relate to their own lives, the individuals as well as the country as a whole would be a lot better off.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Education

ksample — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:54:13 -0400

I believe that a school should be a place where children can feel free to express themselves and be who they are. I also think that they should be able to discover themselves and find what it is that they love to do. Whether that is by doing an art project or by having the opportunity to work with children in a classroom as a teacher aid. Because a child is spending most of there day in school then anywhere else it should be a place of guidance where they can have the help they need to find things that they are interested in. I think that the teachers are a major part in this process because they interact with the students the most out of anybody else in the school. By incorporating these things into a high school you are allowing the child to develop more as a person and moreimportantly preparing them for the next stages of their lives.

If a child is able to say on any given day that their teacher/ class inspired them somehow in their lives then the purpose of the school is being fulfilled. For to long school was just about teaching kids what they needed to know in order to get a high school diploma and if they chose to go to college then that would be great but if not than that would be okay too. But I think that school needs to be that other support system for the student to know that they can do anything they put their mind to and have the resources to study anything they want.That’s why I believe that teachers who just teach because they love a subject shouldn’t be able to teach high school students. By just teaching because you love the subject you forget that the other main focus of teaching is the lovefor kids and seeing them get something and know you helped them get to that point. By having teachers who teach because they love that moment when a kid gets something gives a student the motivation to keep going and makes them morecomfortable to ask questions if they have them. That teacher could inspire themto do something more with their lives and inspire more people to do the same.It’s like a chain reaction of dominoes once one touches another they keep going and going until they reach the end of their journey. Just like school should be; it could have an amazing effect on the whole world and could even change the world for the better.

Unlike many other high schools in America I want a school to exist that is nothing like the others. A school where a student wants to go to and learn everyday, a school where they are free to be themselves, and feel like they are learning not just about history or math but also about who they are as a person and who they want to be when they grow up. It’s rare that a student can say that they are where they are today because of their teachers in high school. But maybe that’s really what kids are lacking, role models in school that can show them that they can be different. And that is what I think will really change what we know today as the “traditional” school.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My Vision of School

jcauvin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:03:15 -0400

While having the chance to read about education and seeing the different views of education from different lenses, I came to my own conclusion of what I think school should be. My vision of school is, school should have a universal theme where change can be allowed for individual progress while at the same time having a common structure/ foundation to allow progress to be measured.

My purpose of school is to maximum a child’s gift. I hear lots of people say, “ he or she has the potential to be this and that in life.” My school vision will not revolve around that common saying but my universal motto of school would be “ experience over potential.” I believe experience over potential is good for an individual for many reasons. One, it allows an individual to discover their place in life. Two, it allows an individual to be more confidante in their gift. Three, it allows an individual to accept new ideas.

Now days we have traditional schools where a formula is formulated to work for all. It’s sad but that’s the way it is, due to many factors like the size of the school and the one thing we can’t control and that thing is time. Time is very important in a child’s development and sometimes development is overlooked due to size of schools,which in returns limits the individual one-on- one time that the child needs for growth. In traditional schools everything is structured to the point where there is no waggle room for any kind of change on an approach that doesn’t work like structured learning, which deprives individual self-discovery. My school would do the opposite. My school would cater to every individual’s needs and also have a tailored curriculum based around the child’s capacity. This would be a good approach because not every child has the same capabilities, so this would allow the child to start off at a level that would be manageable in from there, progress will be able to begin. Like the saying “ before a baby learn show to walk it has to first crawl.” Same concept will be embedded in my school code of learning.

My school would have the three basics: reading, writing, and math. Just for the purpose of basic living, but it will not revolve around the three basics, but my school would revolve more around the child’s interest. For example, if the child shows an interest in music then music would be the main focus around the child’s education or if the child’s interest is in math then the main focus around that child’s education would math. The goal is to focus in on a child’s interest and from that interest evolve that interest into their expertise.

These kids have a chance to be experts in their passion however; it allows them to be more confidantes in their gift. For example, if a child is talking about something they must know what they’re talking about right? Unlike in traditional schools, which don’t give that child, the assurance of knowledgibility (made the word up) my school would offer that assurance. With this assurance the child is going to maximum their gift instead of that so-called “potential” that they had but never reach it because they just didn’t apply themselves. My school is going to produce leaders of society and not followers of society.

Being experts is great in a society because it shows that you know what you’re talking about when it comes to a particular topic or field of study.This also shows that individuals would be more opened to new ideas, which enable them to grow intellectually in society and not stunt the progress of future development. For example, my school wouldn’t produced one main focus for one individual but each individual that has the same interest will have that common main focus but the only thing is that each individual would not start off at the same level of that main focus. This is a good approach because all the individuals are starting from different levels of that one main focus which will allow them to collaborate with one another and even possibly teach one another about a possible wrong approach to a method.

The structure of school when compared to a “traditional” school would be everything that a traditional school isn’t. The structure of school should invest in their students and not more on a curriculum. The purpose of school would be more about helping students reach their proper place in life/society. School should be a place of opportunity that deals with the internal aspect of life to help improve ones-self and that is what my school would offer to every individual.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My vision of school

obillbrough — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:49:33 -0400

The school I would like to create is a school that puts more of a focus on the student’s future then just on the present. The system would be to have the teachers and students keep a log of what they are good at and what they like to do from the beginning. They need to save everything and once a week meet with a counselor to talk about what they like to do and what theymight like to do. This school would also have a wide variety of classes andcourses. There would be the regular classes like English and math but afterfreshman year you would get to choose what type of that class you would like.That way you can get to know what you like earlier. If you are a student who is better in the arts then youwould belong in the arts department of the school. Your math might be algebraand geometry but with more of a focus on buildings as the examples and focalpoint. You might also be moreinterested in Theatre or film. Then you might have a Shakespeare class or book to film class as your English class to understand not only the text, but also the transfer to film. This way you won’t have a class that you feel you haven’t a need for.

This is good for the individual because it not only helps them to discover what they might like to do in their future but they also get to experience new things and have the opportunity todo so. In this schools system they will have a record of everything they have done from the beginning and someone to help them figure out what is best for them if they have a hard time a makingdecisions. They will also have exposure to many different things so that they will be able to make that decision.

This particular school would also be very good for society becauseit would help kids become completely aware of what they want to peruse (or at least closer then they might be otherwise) in college and what not. This is also good because it keeps kids interested in their education and would meanless dropouts and less teen illegalities.

My vision of school prioritizes helping students find what they like and what they are good at and turning that into a life. It values thestudents opinion and their feelings and lets them take charge of their studentcareer as well as giving them good advice and guidance in the right direction.It focuses on the arts, maths, English, engineering and anything else that might be important to students. It does follow some of the requirements ofother schools in terms of what is needed but it bends it to fits its students needs.

The differences that I would see in the structure of my school and a “traditional” school would probably be how students spend their day or do homework. They may not always be in the building depending on what they do and their class times may vary. But I think in other aspects as of discipline and things like announcements and suchw ould be the same. There should always be some structure whether it is a specialty school or traditionally school because it helps students stay focused.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

A Vision of School

nwalker — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:49:22 -0400

My vision of school kind of collides with many, but at the same time differs from others. My vision is quite simple. School should be a place that exposes students to many different things, so that they may be well rounded when entering into the world beyond that building. It should be a place of options and opportunity, but have basic concepts that everyone should know. A school should be able to take the interest of an individual and help them to explore it and if that happens not to be the career path they wish to pursue, then they should have other options to turn to. When a school to has plenty of options and be very helpful towards a student, it helps them. It assures them of a lot and it opens many doors for\ their future.

An open school is good for an individual because in a society where everyone has to compete for everything, the best thing to have under their belt is something that can separate them from the rest. A society and a school within that society should be like partners. The school would educate the youth, thus giving the society educated and skillful workers. The society in return would give back to the school by being part of funding, activities and things of the sort.

My vision of school main priorities are personality, creativity, and the understanding that not everyone learns the same way. The school would value the importants of ones opinion, social interaction as well as a student having a chance at
finding their element. The way my vision of school differs from the traditional school is that it welcomes creativity and individuality with open arms. The school that I have in mind will interact with the students on a professional level as well as a personal one. It will help kids to do better then just make it into the world; it would equip them with the knowledge to succeed and conquer anything that comes their way. My school would have the option of tests for that parent who wants it, but it would not require it. My school’s version of a test would be a project that reflects what the students understood, what they obtained over the course of months.

The way that I picture a school should be is free thinking and that the students should question and challenge everything that they possibly can, it’s more of a free spirited environment but gets what they have to get done.

How is "do you know" a call for change and what change is it advocating ?

- it is calling for a positive change in education.

What is, therefore, the implied vision/purpose of school?

- it is supposed to prepare students for the change in the near future, the world, and the competitive society.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Vision of School

sbollers — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:23:33 -0400

High school should be the place that people go so that they can find, or get more passion for their element. Schools should have an individualized plan of study so that the students who know what they want to study can directly do so. Kids should not be forced to take “standard” classes if they are willing to commit to a specific study. In every curriculum there should be a “shopping period” of classes, so that students can test out the structure and context of the class before they commit.

High school is often seen as the level of schooling where students discover themselves, and what they want to study. However students should be given the responsibility of making this decision earlier. A student should have an idea of a field that interests them when in middle school. Discovering what you like, and what you’re curious about is an essential part of development that should be advocated through one’s entire school life. By the time a student gets to high school the focus should switch from discovery to experiments.

High school should consist of real life experiences incorporated in the curriculum. Kids should not be asked to simply learn the theory, but they should be able to practice the theory. After high school a student should have enough information about a specific topic, so that they can begin to teach, and apply it by the time they are 16. If the process of discovery starts earlier, then students would be prepared to experiment about topics they are curious about at a younger age, and gain more expertise in it at a younger age. If the process of helping kids discovers their element is done correctly pre high school then students would be able to start high school earlier. High school would be able to start in the 7th grade. Every student should have the ability to identify what interests him or her by the time they are 12, and be prepared to indulge in these interests in high school. If students were focusing on a specific topic then they wouldn’t need 12 years of schooling to test the waters of everything. The length of high school for everyone would change, because different careers require different lengths of study. A kid studying theatre might spend more time acting, rather than learning what it means to act, so they would go off to an acting institution earlier than someone who is studying to become a brain surgeon. A person, who doesn’t know what they want to study, can take classes in the field or fields that interests them the most.

It is important for students to understand that failing is an option, if one is willing to try again. When I speak of failure I mean it in the sense that students are comfortable trying something else if their initial interest lost its appeal. Students must understand that careers are different in theory than in practice. One might love being a doctor – a person who helps another, but one might not enjoy studying the chemistry, and biology that is mandated. If a student were given the necessary exposure in a specific field then their horizons would expand. Him or her would see that there are many careers where one’s main job is to help someone become better. It’s the jobs of teachers, counselors, and coaches to administer help. When given real life experiences to explore their area of interest, students would see the common themes in careers.

When you’re young you’re likely to be adventurous, and study the thing that makes you happy, rather than the thing that makes you more money. Youths possess a degree of recklessness that if molded correctly can help them become adults who are passionate about their careers. A person under 18 is more likely to keep searching for a career that interests them than a person who is 25. When you’re a young adult most of the things you engage in is for your own self-satisfaction. If we allow students explore careers as young adults instead of when they are adults thinking about the career that will help them pay off their students loans, then we will have more passionate people in our work fields. Passionate people are the ones who educate people. Society needs more passionate educators. Also if students failed to like something while they are still in high school where it is free to have an education, then they will not be reluctant about switching their interests and trying something
entirely new.

If I were educated in the type of school described above then I would expect to be given the responsibility of choice. I would’ve chosen the courses that I wanted since 9th grade and not until 12th. I would’ve been able to sufficiently explain physics beyond the basics to someone, because I would’ve taken it for four years instead of one. Schools that have to follow a traditional standard assume that students do not have the ability to make good choices. A school with a traditional curriculum undermines their student’s ability, and creates cloned students with the same academic background. In a school that I mentioned above the curriculum is designed to show a student’s interest. A transcript would become something that
told you a student’s academic interest, instead of piece of paper with grades on it. Classes would be more interactive, because it would be a room full of people with common interest and common curiosity.

Students should
get something that they think is useful out of school. We choose the things
that we find useful. So the only way for a student to believe school is purposeful
is for them to choose what they want to study.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My vision of school

drainone — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:06:18 -0400

Every vision of school we have studied and reflected upon is established on the premise that schools’ policies and philosophies cannot be restricted. In other words, no law can regulate the founding basis of the school, whether these basis are religious, financial or cultural, unless perhaps they are racial (in this case, the institution would diffuse ideals of segregation and racism among people, which would have even greater influence especially on the fertile minds of young children.) For the purpose of this paper, the schools are independent from political theories and ruling governments, meaning the latter are ignorable. The purpose of school should be to impartially instill a fixed knowledge in the minds of children and impel them to discover their interaction with the world.

In order for students to understand their responsibilities and/or inclinations toward society, firstly they must comprehend the world around them. They must objectively study the history of different nations, without being unconsciously influenced by the governing system above them. That said, every history of every major country should be taught with the same regard and effort. Science and mathematics are fundamental subjects in the formation of a student’s development of logic and should be mandatory every year, from primary to second grade secondary school. Mathematical logic is necessary, or at least extremely helpful, to create deductive skills that will enable the individual to ratiocinate.

In order for students to learn and inquire serenely, free from any frustration, rancor or prejudice, their social statuses should be theoretically inexistent within the learning environment. Education should be a right, not a privilege of a few, inasmuch everyone has the right to explore the world and identify him/herself. Private schools let wealthy individuals obtain an adequate education, while they constantly pull these burghers away from the reality of the lower middle classes found in public schools. Any form of daily, constructive interaction
between the two classes is prevented from the very private institutions. If the purpose of school is to impel children to examine the world, how is the school supporting that if it deliberately conceals certain problems and realities to a selected group? All schools should be public, depending on the budget set by the local district. Yet, to enhance the quality of education for the school community and sustain the higher number of students per school, those considered wealthy should be driven to economically support the institution.

No ideal “size” for a school can be established to secure a suitable learning environment for everyone. At this point, it is the responsibility of the leaner to know which school, either small or large, would drive him to find his/her role in the society.

In a productive society, its members select an occupation that is not only gratifying to assure an overall serenity in the community, but one that also challenges them to work at their highest potentials. From the internal discovery of oneself derives an epiphany revealing purpose to someone’s existence, which is what compels men to succeed.

In the close observation of the world and individual systems, without any credo unconsciously impressed in the mind, one would inevitably come to the recognition of a society’s needs to advance and prosper. In return, the individual would benefit from the revived efficiency and order of the community.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My Visions Of School

mkim — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:03:29 -0400

My vision of school is to offer a curriculum that helps kids find their passions and goals. (Ken Robinson’s concept is “to find your element”.) Now how this school might differ from any other school is what it has to offer. Recently schools have been very focused on things such as math, reading, sciences, and history. Which are indeed very important but avery narrow way of teaching and learning. These subjects are just one aspect of intelligence. Intelligence is a very broad thing and how we learn is just asbroad. Some students learn be moving, seeing, hearing, feeling, etc.

One thing that is very similar about education from country to country is what is valued in the today’s curriculum. Such as the subjects listed above. Is this bad? No that’s not what I’m inferring but whatschools should focus on more is the arts. Why I say this is because there is aquote by Picaso “All children are born artists, the problem is to remain and artist.” Why this is so important is that school is essentially killing creativity. It is showing the kids very clearly from what’s wrong and right.And if you’re wrong you don’t get disciplined, you get a lower grade. Now what’s interesting is a quote Ken Robinson says is that “If one never leaves room for error then you leave room for creativity.” An example of this is not just by Ken Robinson but also all over the world. Another great example could be Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan talks about how throughout his career he has failed so many times. And that is the secret to his success.

What a school should offer a student are very specialized things that students would be very interested in. Such as architector dancing culinary arts. The arts basically, I can see these schools being oneof two things. A very small specialized school and a very large school thatoffers a very wide variety of different things. The large school would have a very diverse workload since it offers many different things. I believe one ofthe most important things, as a kid is to try as many different things as youpossibly can. So that it allows the child to grow and at the same time increasethe chances that he or she will find their passion or what their good at. A very good example of this could be a new school that opened up called Science Leadership Academy. The school allows students to do internships for 3-4 hoursa week minimum. The internships are programs that the school offers that thestudents might be interested in. The programs range from college courses, unions, computer science courses, to hair salons. It literally offers up to anything that students might be interested in. This offers a lot of opportunities forthe students to explore. This serves a lot of different purposes but most offopens doors to students that they might never have known.

All of these things would not typically be in a typical high school. But I do know that because of schools like Science Leadership Academy it fundamentally changes the way that we all look at schools. What we need is more schools that offer these sorts of programs. The school should be shaped to work around the students and not the other way. What the moral of this paper is that we need to change the way we teach kids. Whatwe need to do is teach kids a different way of learning and engaging in school.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

DYK - "Journal?"

vtartaglia — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:00:16 -0400

1. How is did you know a call for change and what change is it advocating?
The change is that a lot has changed over time and over thirty seconds, but there is not a specific way that anyone suggests to actually change something.

2. What is, therefore, the implied vision/purpose of school?
The implied vision of school is to continue to grow and have more opportunities and ways of learning.

This video has me thinking about where he had gotten all of this information, how he decided to put it all together, how it resembles the video he got it from, and how it reminded me of that first video.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Vision of School

vtartaglia — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:58:59 -0400

Vienna Tartaglia
MET- Vision of School
10/01/09

•   Clearly define your vision of school:
o   What is its purpose?
o   Why is it good for the individual?
o   Why is it good for society?
o   What does your vision of school value? Prioritize?
•   Given this vision of school -- what differences would you see in the structure of school when compared to a "traditional" school?

The main purpose of school is many things, but sometimes it doesn’t seem to do just the trick.
-To learn new things
-To figure out what you are interested in/career or job
-To create goals for yourself
-To help you gain the skills in order to achieve such goals

In such a system that we all live in, its not shocking to see that most schools are very similar in they way that they are controlled. Many schools in the district are all run with the same rules and have all students learning that same things in the same ways. A student that knows that they want to be a doctor since they are five, may not be totally set upon this decision, and will then have to be forced into learning other things that does not apply to being a doctor in the least bit.

The way schools seem to be set up, or should seem to be set up, are they help the many children who don’t know what they want to be when they grow up, what they want to do, what kind of job they want to work or how they want to live their life, school should be what is helping them figure it out.

Right now schools are set up to teach students that they need to know the basics of math, English, history, sciences, and parts of other languages. It also creates opportunities for you to maybe even find your creative sides with special arts and humanities. With only learning to these restrictions, and only getting a little bit of knowledge about such topics, it is hard for someone to actually decide what they want to be or do when they are not given all the details and are expected to decide on something by the end of their high school career.

The purpose of school, in my opinion is to help you decide how you would like to spend the remainder of your life and to help you to achieve such goals. You will need to do such and such to get here, and this and that to get there. Schools are usually stocked with helpful mentors and teachers that can lean you into becoming the great person you want to be, or to shine up the person you already are.

Not only does the way school is run help students, but it helps the people around students. By having students come up with ideas and other things, they are there to help other people with ideas and jobs.

My idea of school makes sure that every student is learning that they want to be learning, and to help students find what they want to learn would be easy in a way. Making schools either big enough to have a wide variety of subjects that students can trial and see if they like the for their selves, and once they have decided which they would like to do, they can go to a smaller school, that specializes in the subject of their choice and help them become the best they can be in their specified subject.

Given this specific structure of schooling, it makes sense that students will be getting the attention they need and the special time in order to achieve the goals that they had made for themselves in order to achieve such goals.

Each student would be given their own choice as to what they want to be when the grow up, and by learning at a younger age, they will have more of an understanding and it will become more natural to them to had being done this for such a long time. As younger students, they would have had more experience before they even start a job and thus becoming very qualified and having more people with jobs in the world.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

The Purpose Of School

aserrano — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:04:05 -0400

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.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

My Vision For School

Moriah T — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:40:35 -0400

The current system that high schools operate under teaches four years of major subjects and fewer years of "less important" subjects. According to Sir Ken Robinson, a respected speaker and author, the subjects that are more likely to be neglected are the arts, with math, science, and history taking priority. Besides the heinous neglect of the arts, there is also a flaw in the system. By trying to give kids a well-rounded education, we are actually hurting them. After around eighth or
ninth grade students have, ideally and hopefully, learned the skills and content necessary to begin a more specialized education.

When students enter high school, they may not have firm goals and aspirations. In my ideal school, freshman year would be used to cover a variety of core subjects and do thorough career exploration so that students would have an idea of what they want to do with their lives. Once they know what they want to do, they can stop taking difficult classes that are unrelated. For instance, if one desires to be a history teacher, an advanced knowledge of physics and math are not necessary. Note the word advanced. By the end of freshman year, students should have finished all necessary courses. If students were able pick what subjects they were to study, they would have their own hierarchy of subjects according to their needs. If students needed help in any of the basics, they should receive it before they begin more specialized courses.

This may seem more like a college approach, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Students will be more engaged if they found the subjects more interesting; and they would be more involved in school. I know that having to study physics made
my entire school experience much less pleasant because I found the subject entirely painful. Students studying subjects that they enjoy would try harder, learn more, and experience greater success. This way kids would also be more prepared to begin studying their chosen majors in college. The biggest problem with this general plan is that it may affect standardized test scores. I am not implying that school should be completely freeform; there should be assessments and grades.

In the work place people will never have to prove their competence by taking standardized tests. It is more likely that workers would have to produce results, and the school equivalent of that would be projects. It is hardly necessary to make
sure that students are able to memorize large quantities of information. It is more beneficial to make sure the students know how to process and use the information. Students could do projects that would measure the same things that a test would, but in a more useful manner.

There is a current hierarchy of subjects in high school, and it is unfair to those who do not enjoy the subjects that are valued by society. Students would be more involved and happier in school if, once they had learned the basics, they only had to study the subjects relevant to their lives. They would be evaluated on their learning through projects, which test their skills.
If this content design were combined with a comfortable setting and high quality teachers, it would form an amazing school that would to inspire students to be the best they can be.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

A-Rob - Vision if School Essay

arobinson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:53:29 -0400

I’m a product of someone else’s vision. I am the outcome of a system that is destined to fail. The current education system, as it is in place, is set up so that a mass number of students get through it in a set amount of years. This to me is a vision of failure. Learning and teaching is not a “one size fits all” kind of program, and therefore needs to be altered. The vision of school should be to teach to people who want to learn. I feel like you learn your basic knowledge in K-8, and think that should be the maximum required time in school. While I feel that high school should still be free, only those that want to be there should be there. Why should knowledge be wasted on those who don’t care for it?

The ability to become a teacher should be a little more rigorous. Each teacher should be dedicated to teaching students and not teaching subjects. Teachers should have at least 3 methods of teaching a subject, so that they can vary between the different learning styles of the students. The classroom should be a learning environment for everyone, teacher and student alike. There should be almost a benevolent dictatorship in each classroom, where everyone’s voice will be heard and everyone’s thoughts count.

This new vision of school would be good for the individual because no one would have to feel inferior to anyone else. Everyone would be able to learn and the atmosphere of the school would be more peaceful. There would be fewer interruptions in classes from the kids that were only there because they had to be. Everyone would be responsible for his or her own learning. This would be good for society because the taxpayers would no longer be paying money to support schools, where the students didn’t appreciate the materials.

I feel as though if the vision of school was changed, and only those that wanted an education would get it, then more people would want to learn. If there were teachers that cared about the students that they were teaching, and everyone was learning together than fewer students would lose interest in class. For example, in elementary school, some kids learned faster than others, and the teacher we had was having a hard time balancing teaching new material with making sure everyone knew the old material. The students who were falling behind couldn’t come afterschool for help because they were having family problems and teacher didn’t really try to make an effort to teach them the material at another time, so the students who fell behind stopped caring about school. They felt like everyone else was smarter than them just because they got a certain topic faster and that student became a disruption to the class because they were so far behind that all they did was joke around. I think that with the new vision of school, equipped with teachers that care about each student, would not allow this to happen. I think that everyone would learn the same material and no student would have to feel like they couldn’t learn. I think that with the new vision, if there were a similar situation as the one above, the teacher would have put forth an effort to get that student up to speed. If the student couldn’t come afterschool, then maybe they could come before, or even at their lunchtime twice a week. I think that there is always a way to make sure someone can learn.

The difference between this school and traditional school would be that these schools would be full of teachers who care and students who want to learn. There would no longer be a need for schools like Masterman and Central because every school would be like Masterman or Central, in the sense that the goal of the building is to prepare students to further their education through higher institutions (college), and not just to get them through the system, in the quickest, most structured way possible. School would not be a prison. Students would be a product of their own vision.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Reese_A_MET_X2_School_Proposal

areese — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:52:09 -0400

After everything we have read in class over the last few weeks, I find that I can most agree with the fundamental ideals of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) but not necessarily the flawed execution of those ideals in American public schools. I can agree with the system of having a core curriculum and standardized testing to ensure that students have a certain skill set by the end of each grade; however, the process by which this system was executed was both hasty and ineffective. It doesn’t challenge students to think; it has put education down to a low-level thinking standard that values the power of memorization over the power of problem solving and in-depth, analytical thinking. If put into the right hands, NCLB, standardized tests, and core curriculums may well have been a powerful guide to teaching in American public schools.

I firmly believe that there are certain facts, figures, and skills that students need to know by the end of each year they spend in public school. By the end of 1^st grade, students should know their ABC’s and how to independently read and write simple sentences. By the end of 2^nd grade, students should know their simple times tables and be able to perform basic math problems, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with fluency. And the list continues on. But NCLB is hasty, leaving little time for teachers to instruct students to a mastery level of skill sets before having to move on to a new skill set. Students are pushed from one task to the next, with no time to understand why each skill set is being taught and why they are important to everyday life. This speedy process only deepens the belief that you need to know one skill long enough to pass a test on it and then you won’t ever need to use it again. NCLB fails to put an emphasis on mastery and retention of skill sets; instead, it places value on the ability to take a test, do well on it, and move on to
the next task.

NCLB means well; by following NCLB, we are saying that we want American students to know enough so that they can be educated, functioning members of the American populous. However, our priorities are misplaced. We have fallen into a one-size-fits-all education system, where everyone needs to be able to learn the skill, ace the test, and move on to the next skill. We have fallen into a belief that success means passing tests so that we graduate high school so we can go to college so we can pass more tests so we can graduate college and get a job where we learn new skills that school never taught us to perform so we can make enough money to have a family and send them to public schools to do the exact same thing. This never-ending cycle of basic learning and mediocre success will never be broken until we fix the flawed execution of NCLB,
standardized tests, and the core curriculum.

In my vision of school, there are small classes of about 16 students (as opposed to the 33 that is the maximum for Philadelphia public schools) so that teachers can focus on each individual students needs, skills, and learning abilities. In
a class of this size, it is much easier to distinguish each student’s strengths and weakness and address both in an effective and appropriate fashion. In a class of this size, teachers are able to have differentiated instruction, where all students are working on the same concept (such as simple addition) but at different skill levels (2 + 2 versus 10^9 + 7^3). Starting this process at an early stage in the student’s education would be effective in identifying students with learning disabilities and helping them on an even more personal level.

In addition to smaller and more manageable class sizes, students will be able to learn new skill sets at a speed that is appropriate to their learning ability and style. Instead of rushing students quickly from one task to the next, students will be taught at a slower pace, being given time to retain the information they are learning as opposed to forgetting it as they move onto newer subjects. Instead of following the current curriculum, which has students in a never-ending spiral of basic concepts and skills, students will dig deep into what, in example, it means to multiply as opposed to how to multiply. Instead of circling around and following a pattern of “same stuff, just a bit harder every year”, students will build knowledge off of a concrete foundation of analytical and critical thinking as opposed to being able to circle in the correct bubble on tests such as the SATs.

Despite my utter distaste for tests like the SATs, I do believe that there is some merit to what they can accomplish when implemented in a meaningful matter. I believe that the Benchmark tests which are given in Philadelphia K-8 schools every six weeks, should be used but in a more effective manner. Instead of looking at the tests as a school collective and deciding that if 94% of the school is on point that it’s a good school, Benchmarks should be given and assessed by teachers for their classrooms and their students. When conducted in this manner, it is much easier to assess each student individually and identify which students need more individual attention.

One of the reasons that America has a free public education is because our founding fathers knew that the American public needed to be educated in order to knowledgeably elect a President to lead the country. But with NCLB as it is, we are not producing knowledgeable adults that can think for themselves; instead we train people to accept that they are “cogs in the machine”. With the changes I have proposed to NCLB, standardized tests, and the core curriculum, we can educate students so that they are able to learn beyond the classrooms without teacher instruction, are able to understand why things are and be able to understand how to change things instead of accepting them at face value. With my vision of school, the American public school can raise education standards to a higher level.

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

Modern Educational Theory - X2 - Lehmann (2010)

clehmann — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:52:19 -0400