Tags for "School Culture"
Reverse Pressure: The Pressure to Fail
Meeting the status quo. That's what it's all about. Don't do too well, don't stand out. Kids use the term “rebel” fairly often in my school. In dictionary terms, this means someone or a group of people who rise up against the government. In my school, it's someone who fails. Someone who steals. Someone who is not in a good place... The Homeschooling Disclaimer
Each time I criticize the American public school paradigm or talk about homeschooling, I always feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer about how much I support teachers, public schools that work, etc. But this little disclaimer feels so hollow; I've encountered just as many awful teachers as I've encountered amazing ones, when I add them... Autonomy, Belongingness, and Engagement in School
After receiving our Metrocards (this was an all subway all the time tour), and a quick chance to get to know each other, we were off to do what we came to do: see four innovative, breakthrough schools, each with different histories, instructional models and student populations. (Monday: NYC iSchool, The Green School; Tuesday: Urban Academy, Calhoun School). We were especially interested in the culture and climate of each school"each one was considered...
Posted on Jan 10, 2010 - 05:20 PM by Claire Russell in Pulse
In schools across America, young teens walk their halls with the heavy burden of perfection always upon them. Whoever instills this need for being flawless is often the one pushing young people. Their parents, their teachers, their family. However, at my school there is a new kind of pressure that is exceedingly different from the classic one: The pressure to fail.Meeting the status quo. That's what it's all about. Don't do too well, don't stand out. Kids use the term “rebel” fairly often in my school. In dictionary terms, this means someone or a group of people who rise up against the government. In my school, it's someone who fails. Someone who steals. Someone who is not in a good place... The Homeschooling Disclaimer
Posted on Oct 22, 2010 - 10:08 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Why is it that when we criticize the government or welfare programs, immigration policies, health care, or any of its other arms, it's considered valid--but when we move toward criticizing education, it's either A. taboo, something that's too sacred to dissect, or B. something that should be blamed on the children and their "lack of motivation"?Each time I criticize the American public school paradigm or talk about homeschooling, I always feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer about how much I support teachers, public schools that work, etc. But this little disclaimer feels so hollow; I've encountered just as many awful teachers as I've encountered amazing ones, when I add them... Autonomy, Belongingness, and Engagement in School
Posted on Dec 22, 2010 - 03:48 PM by Shawn Strader in Resources
My Second SemesterPosted on Dec 25, 2010 - 12:26 AM by Zuleka Irvin in Pulse
At my school, Green Mountain College, I gained acceptance into what is known as the “Progressive Program”. It is one of the opportunities at my school to “chart [my] own course of study”. At my school there are four core “environmental liberal arts” classes: Images of Nature, Voices of Community, Dimensions of Nature, and Voices of Community. These courses are meant to prepare me with a liberal arts education in the context of environmental conscientiousness. However, there are seven smaller “ELA” classes that I am no longer required to take as a Progressive Program Student (PPS). As a PPS I will keep a traditional Art major, while also incorporating studies of education, philosophy,... Tour of Our LivesPosted on Apr 11, 2011 - 09:11 PM by Kirsten Olson in The Landscape
Last week 37 educators from 10 states and 4 countries gathered at the headquarters of Project Reach and Fertile Grounds in Manhattan to begin the Institute for Democratic Education in America's (IDEA's) first ever Innovation School tour.After receiving our Metrocards (this was an all subway all the time tour), and a quick chance to get to know each other, we were off to do what we came to do: see four innovative, breakthrough schools, each with different histories, instructional models and student populations. (Monday: NYC iSchool, The Green School; Tuesday: Urban Academy, Calhoun School). We were especially interested in the culture and climate of each school"each one was considered...