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If anyone's interested in Obama's agenda for education, check out this site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/education/
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sense of community: Let the students decorate
I know my ideas have many kinks that need to be worked out, but I feel I am taking a step in the right direction by brainstorming. My last post was about students eating lunch in classrooms rather than a cafeteria, which probably can't possibly happen for a long time for a vast variety of reasons. I am still going to work on making the idea more realistic and I still firmly believe that all hallway traffic needs to be synchronized, meaning that there is never a time during the day when some students are changing locations while others are sitting in a classroom, involved in an academic period.
Another idea I came up with, which is much easier to integrate into the school system as we know it today, has to do with the decoration of the actual classroom. In my experience, I have always observed that each classroom is decorated according to the lead teacher's preferences. This sets the stage right away that the room belongs to the teacher and it allows the students to separate themselves and be alienated from their surroundings.
Here is what I propose:
Each classroom should have a homeroom. At the beginning of the year, that homeroom should be given the task to come up with a plan on how to aesthetically decorate the room. The teacher will have to mediate to make sure that all students are allowed to be involved in decisions and that the decisions made are school-appropriate. This will allow the students to practice teamwork, which is a job-skill/life-skill that they definitely will need to utilize in their future. This will also make them feel more connected to the classroom.
I think one of the main problems with school is that there is a disconnect. If the students are made more a part of things, they will come to take more pride in the school and will come to think that their contributions are valuable. I know the teachers are there to help students grow and intervene when necessary, but I don't think they need to 100% run the show. I know teachers find it refreshing to paste up those finely-crated posters, but give it a break and let the student's come up with something that reflects their own originality.
Another idea I came up with, which is much easier to integrate into the school system as we know it today, has to do with the decoration of the actual classroom. In my experience, I have always observed that each classroom is decorated according to the lead teacher's preferences. This sets the stage right away that the room belongs to the teacher and it allows the students to separate themselves and be alienated from their surroundings.
Here is what I propose:
Each classroom should have a homeroom. At the beginning of the year, that homeroom should be given the task to come up with a plan on how to aesthetically decorate the room. The teacher will have to mediate to make sure that all students are allowed to be involved in decisions and that the decisions made are school-appropriate. This will allow the students to practice teamwork, which is a job-skill/life-skill that they definitely will need to utilize in their future. This will also make them feel more connected to the classroom.
I think one of the main problems with school is that there is a disconnect. If the students are made more a part of things, they will come to take more pride in the school and will come to think that their contributions are valuable. I know the teachers are there to help students grow and intervene when necessary, but I don't think they need to 100% run the show. I know teachers find it refreshing to paste up those finely-crated posters, but give it a break and let the student's come up with something that reflects their own originality.
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