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What role should schools play in education?
If we think of school as a providing a service, both to the individual and to society as a whole, the question arises: what are the unique functions that school can serve better than other institutions or individuals?
One big part of education, including choice of school, is universally considered to be the responsibility of a child's parents or legal guardians. With the continuing improvement of self-study resources, from books through video tutorials to interactive online courses, much of what today's school teach can also be acquired independently by learners -- and in many cases, more effectively so.
What, then, is the unique selling proposition of schools as institutions in this day and age? We propose two main functions that schools can and should fulfil:
One big part of education, including choice of school, is universally considered to be the responsibility of a child's parents or legal guardians. With the continuing improvement of self-study resources, from books through video tutorials to interactive online courses, much of what today's school teach can also be acquired independently by learners -- and in many cases, more effectively so.
What, then, is the unique selling proposition of schools as institutions in this day and age? We propose two main functions that schools can and should fulfil:
1) Broaden students' horizons
The space and variety of human interests, talents and endeavors is extraordinarily large. Naturally, most young people are familiar only with those activities and careers they know from their parents, from entertainment media, and from their teachers -- which is, in contrast, a very limited set. (Hence, when asking middle schoolers about their career plans, the most common responses include "teacher"; "gun-for-hire" or "supermodel" depending on gender; and "[whatever their parents do]".)
This is where school comes in. Or should come in -- because as it is, most of the teaching is done by full-time teachers, only few of whom also have a different professional background. And while some school subjects do have practical applications that are obvious even to teenagers (think "marine biologist"), the range of careers covered by these is still much smaller than it could be, covering mostly academic (and a very few engineering) subjects.
Our challenge, then, is to look at the full variety of what people actually do and strive for -- and to provide at least a taste of this to the young people looking for their own calling. In order to broaden our own horizons before we attempt to broaden others', we are working on a list of 'attractors', i.e. areas of interest into which we could provisionally cluster individual endeavors; for this in particular, we are thankful for any input or constructive criticism.
This is where school comes in. Or should come in -- because as it is, most of the teaching is done by full-time teachers, only few of whom also have a different professional background. And while some school subjects do have practical applications that are obvious even to teenagers (think "marine biologist"), the range of careers covered by these is still much smaller than it could be, covering mostly academic (and a very few engineering) subjects.
Our challenge, then, is to look at the full variety of what people actually do and strive for -- and to provide at least a taste of this to the young people looking for their own calling. In order to broaden our own horizons before we attempt to broaden others', we are working on a list of 'attractors', i.e. areas of interest into which we could provisionally cluster individual endeavors; for this in particular, we are thankful for any input or constructive criticism.
What does that mean for our school?
- The main function of the orientation phase (i.e. the first two years) will be to expose students to as many different fields of interest as possible.
- Rather than trying to teach a limited range of "subjects", each for a few lessons per week over the whole year, we will offer a wide variety of workshops (ranging in length from one day to approximately two weeks), from each of our different attractors. At the end of every workshop, students should have a tangible result (this can be anything from physical products or presentations to tests or certificates). Every workshop will also be evaluated immediately after concluding, to be improved or replaced in the next round.
- Most of these workshops should be taught by professionals working in a given field (from farmers to architects to computer programmers), with pedagogical and didactical assistance from our school coaches. This allows us to 'outsource the expertise' and provide competent and relevant input from many more fields of knowledge than could be covered by any team of full-time teachers.
- Wherever possible, there should be an emphasis on practice over theory: "What is it like to do this?" rather than "Is this interesting?" Students can look up anything they want to know about architecture on the internet; but the experience of building a house cannot be conveyed digitally.
2) Provide a safe environment for practice and experimentation
In addition to orientation (which implies sending students "out into the world") schools can serve as a protected space that offers resources and opportunities for experimentation and practice without the high stakes of a professional context. In this regard, one benefit of school over more private spaces (such as students' homes) may be their ability to offer more in terms of infrastructure (labs, workshops, digital equipment, art supplies, ...). Another would be the continued support through school coaches, who may have more time and more familiarity with the wide range of equipment than students' own parents might. Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, schools may facilitate collaboration among peers of similar ages and interests. Here, the challenge would be to make school into a place that actually encourages this sort of collaboration, a place of potential and opportunity, and a place that is both safe and challenging at the same time.
What does this mean for our school?
Providing the necessary infrastructure will have to be a continuous work in progress. For the first phase, we will have to make sure that both our rooms and as much as possible of our equipment are as versatile as possible. "In-house services" we want to offer include:
Providing the necessary infrastructure will have to be a continuous work in progress. For the first phase, we will have to make sure that both our rooms and as much as possible of our equipment are as versatile as possible. "In-house services" we want to offer include:
- A variety of rooms, both open-plan and closed off, some dedicated to particular purposes, but most of them flexible and modular
- Tools for researching, creating, and collaborating (e.g. tablets, printers, digital infrastructure, arts & craft supplies, recording equipment, ...)
- Full-time creative and technical support
- Active support for school publications, radio programmes, webcasts, in-house training companies, etc.
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