How I Would Redesign Schools to Awaken Passion in All People
I had a dream last night, inspired by my reading of Deschooling Our Lives (ed Matt Hern) and my attending a Town Hall meeting last night at which education came up a lot, where I told someone (a school board member? middle school principle?) how I would redesign our schools.
Schools would meet for four hours a day (a flexible four hours? just mornings? afternoons?). Then instead of putting more money into schools, we invest in libraries, rec centers, museums, and professional partnerships like local attorneys, food pantries, hospitals, and municipal centers. Kids - say grades 4 through 12 - would choose what service projects or other interests they would pursue for the rest of the day. This could be anything from a sport to serving at a food pantry to studying Russian literature at a local library. It would be totally up to the student. Guidance counselors, teachers, and parents would help provide resources and direction based on the student's interests and goals.
This would require two things: community partnerships and trust in a young person's inner guidance. In our current society we do not trust young people at all, and barely trust adults. This is partly because people who know themselves are dangerous. They start questioning things like capitalism and consumerism. We would have to develop faith in human curiosity, innovation, and soul. As any grown unschooler will attest, when we trust in these traits, beauty and magic ensues.
There are schools like this, such as the Free Schools and the Sudbury schools. I think public education needs this. It would awaken young people's fires and passion and reawaken their natural love of learning. It would transform the way we think about young people. It would transform our society.
Schools would meet for four hours a day (a flexible four hours? just mornings? afternoons?). Then instead of putting more money into schools, we invest in libraries, rec centers, museums, and professional partnerships like local attorneys, food pantries, hospitals, and municipal centers. Kids - say grades 4 through 12 - would choose what service projects or other interests they would pursue for the rest of the day. This could be anything from a sport to serving at a food pantry to studying Russian literature at a local library. It would be totally up to the student. Guidance counselors, teachers, and parents would help provide resources and direction based on the student's interests and goals.
This would require two things: community partnerships and trust in a young person's inner guidance. In our current society we do not trust young people at all, and barely trust adults. This is partly because people who know themselves are dangerous. They start questioning things like capitalism and consumerism. We would have to develop faith in human curiosity, innovation, and soul. As any grown unschooler will attest, when we trust in these traits, beauty and magic ensues.
There are schools like this, such as the Free Schools and the Sudbury schools. I think public education needs this. It would awaken young people's fires and passion and reawaken their natural love of learning. It would transform the way we think about young people. It would transform our society.
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