Saturday, December 27, 2014

Another Kind of High School Remodel

The final goal for my ELI originally had to do with something like “the sociological/psychological and cultural aspects of progressive schools,” a pretty vague topic that would probably have been difficult to research, especially by as big a procrastinator as I’ve been this semester. I created those initial goals with the facts in mind that 1) several people had suggested I apply my research on progressive education to designing my own method or classroom, and 2) I was way too intimidated to try to do that. But as I moved forward in my research, I started to realize that with everything I was finding (and not finding) about my topic, a description of my own idea of the ideal classroom would be the perfect way to finish off this project, although that doesn’t mean I’m any less intimidated now.

I’m a little behind in terms of actually starting to work on this design, but as preparation I’ve been thinking about the goals that have been set forth by different educators I’ve talked to, read, and researched this semester, and that would need to be included in any progressive classroom. They are, essentially:
-To respect each student as an individual
-To ensure that learning is lifelong and goes beyond the classroom
-To encourage original thinking and creativity
-To give equal focus to the arts and the sciences
-To maintain an equal relationship between teachers and students, and
-To give each person a voice in his or her own learning.

These goals are pretty much summed up in my personal definition of progressive education, which I have ready now, after keeping everyone in suspense for it with my last blog entry: “Progressive education is a movement that aims to determine the most effective way to educate an individual while maintaining individuality and creativity, and to ensure that learning is not confined to the classroom.”

So, hopefully sooner rather than later, I’ll be remodeling the school in a very different way from what we’ve all been putting up with this year. I won’t be using any hammers or saws, but I might end up taking my time on this. (One thing I already know for sure is that my ideal school will have bathrooms.)

~Clare

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