Schools would all be run similar to a combination of the Takaharu Tezuka school and a continuation school.
I had the (what I anticipated being a displeasure which actually was more like deep) pleasure of attending a continuation school*
I not only enjoyed it; I thrived. It was just the right environment for my learning style.
I could work at my own pace and if I was stuck I had a teacher/aid to ask for advice
Get diagrams
Troubleshoot
Work precisely on the exact area I was stuck in
Until I truly understood it
And then move back on at my own pace
I completed workbooks in mere days and not semesters. It was easy and very rewarding.
I was also given the space to thrive outside academics
Since few of the other students were self motivated or pushed to excel
There was space to grow without having to fight for it
I was easily editor of the school paper
I was asked to participate in essay contests I never even knew existed
I was approached by teachers who cared that I truly cared about knowledge and wanted to engage me and grow my mind
That was a rarity at the high school I went to
With its heavy population and short class duration what is a teacher to do really? They had homework and tests to grade. They had the stresses of administrators down their throats.
Of which my teachers had none. The tests they did grade they had ample time to do so during school. There were few expectations put on them as continuation school was seen as more of a babysitting institution than true academia.
But
If I could create a school
That truly engaged children
And let them learn in their own style
Of which there are at least 3 major differences in learning aptitudes (probably more)
Then children would thrive.
Creativity would sore
Learning would and could be a byproduct
Not the main goal
Not tests to teach towards
Not agendas to fill
Not reading to stuff down students throats
Not endless problems to correct and show work for
That would all be pointless
Because once a child truly understands a concept they can move on. Period
Not wait for an ever growing class size to catch up and all be at the same point
Children need to be taught to genuinely love reading. Making them read when they hate reading generally only reinforces hating it.
Making children do over 100 problems they already completely understand backwards and forwards just makes them overly impatient and grow to dislike math. Even if they originally truly enjoyed it.
How this doesn't make sense even to the most dense of the politicians making decisions for a field they obviously know way too little about is beyond me?
I don't know everything. I'm not saying that. There are obviously true geniuses in the field of education. Like that maverick at Portland State University. I'll have to get her name for clarification.
My point is that things could be so much better. We could be raising our own world class geniuses here. They are around. I've seen them. They simply aren't fostered. So really. I truly believe we are dropping the ball. All I have to say is that the people running the "education" show now have their head way up their ass'. For sure!
*long story I may one day tell
