What happens when we pull the dividers out from between the classes? Are the gifted and talented students going to fall asleep? Not if we take the attitude of leveling up, instead of watering down. Think about it, which students thrive with hands-on problem solving? They all do.
The other scary thought in these times of "score well or lose your job": if I don't teach to the test, will my students still learn the material? Yes, overwhelmingly so. Check out "The Benefits of Nongraded Schools" by Barbara Paven (1992). Educational Leadership 50 (2).
Do we need to privatize schools to prove what students can do when not held back by an antiquated curriculum? Or can we make progress within the system? It was very disheartening to hear Ed say that middle schools haven't made much progress as a whole.
I don't want to teach from the textbook- never have. Give me a field guide, a pair of binoculars, a field notebook, and a bug jar and net. Look at how much Bernd Heinrich learned as a boy from spending hours in the woods. That is what science is, once you leave college behind. Problem solving and exploration.
Speaking of exploration, I'm at camp. Time to swim.
Kathy- I think you bring an interesting perspective to the table. What type of activities have you been able to do with your own kids because of the freedom of homeschooling? Obviously there are regulations and standards that need to be met with homeschooling as well, but those dividers seemed to be already pulled for you. I do think it is interesting how many teachers have chosen to send their own kids to private schools rather than public schools. Maybe we need to consider the successes they are having and step in that direction? My uncle is a long time teacher but he pulled both his sons out of public school and put them in a private catholic elementary school. They are not only learning about other cultures and a foreign language they are becoming much more respectful and responsible. Why reinvent the wheel when there are places we can look to for help?
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