In yesterday’s blog I poured the foundation for the school I
would create from scratch, the foundation being people. I am not interested in the size of the
school, the layout of the hallways and classrooms, the colors, the gadgets, the
lighting, or even the bathrooms. The
focus in my from-scratch school is on the humans who will teach and the humans
who will learn.
My school from scratch will educate children ages pre-birth
– ten years old. We will educate
pre-birth by connecting with expectant families through prenatal classes at our
community hospital, explaining simple ways to strengthen reading skills at home
during the infant and toddler stages of life.
We would not abandon families through these stages; we will offer…..no, require family participation in our
Early Childhood classes within the first month after birth. This bond with the family will continue
throughout the ten years each child attends our school.
During the 4-6 year-old stage students will begin to
independently attend school, though the family will still be looked at as a
partner in the educational process. Our
school will replace grade levels with developmentally appropriate academic and
behavioral standards that students must meet.
Rather than a first grade teacher children would have a first teacher
(4-6 year-old standards), a second teacher (7-8 year-old standards) and a third
teacher (9-10 year-old standards). The
detailed explanation of this system would need its own blog post – trust me, I
have the details.
A school created for the youngest learners will cater to
young minds and bodies. The school day
will start (7:00-7:30ish) and end (2:00) earlier than traditional schools. Up to four recess periods would be built into
the daily schedule, with NO indoor recesses because of weather. School will be in session for 12 months with
at least 200 student contact days; long summers off will be replaced by
frequent smaller breaks (the maximum break will be two weeks…..in early
November). The topic of the day, every
day, will be F-U-N. Our school will
pulse with the philosophy that learning flourishes when students are having fun.
The ideas I have for this from-scratch school mean nothing
without a dynamic staff of teachers in place.
The staff I envision would be as close as possible to a 50-50 split of
male and female teachers. I have no
preference for one gender or the other….ok, fine, I prefer the ladies….but our
youngest students deserve more male teachers than they currently get. Also, I firmly believe that loading a staff
too heavily with one gender poses threats to cohesiveness and moral; making
learning fun requires a fun group of teachers who love their students and each
other. I will get in trouble for this,
buuuuuuttttttt…….my school will need a young staff. I am a few years away from not being
qualified to teach at my own school because of my age. The youngest students require an incredible
amount of energy from their teachers, and in a school that will focus on fun
each and every day, well – older bodies and spirits might not be able to
provide what the students and I will demand.
The most important quality I will look for in a potential
teacher is mindset; to be specific, a realistic mindset. I do not want optimists, I am not interested in
how full someone’s glass is, and I absolutely do not need to see a constant
smile on everyone’s face. I want
teachers who can view a situation and see what is right and wrong, weigh both, and proclaim what CAN be done next. Not necessarily proclaim a positive outcome –
this is where the realistic part comes into play – but a real outcome that
could be expected from whatever the circumstances may be. The teachers in my school need to be upbeat,
energetic, full of laughter and easy smiles, creative, playful…but not without
the ability to call a spade a spade if necessary.
As I read and reread these paragraphs I cannot decide if I
have been too detailed or too vague with my explanation of the people who make
my school – somehow it feels like I have been both. In a nutshell, I would create a school
specifically for children ages 10 and under by assembling a staff of youngish
men and women dedicated to teaching with fun while maintaining a realistic
attitude about all things. In tomorrow’s
post I will point out what my school will NOT have; if I have not already written
myself a ticket to the dark side of the moon with these first two diatribes,
tomorrow could be the day. Until then –
thanks for reading.
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