bugsii

I did a bunch of work today and attended two classes that I hadn’t been to in three weeks (conference plus snow days).  In my educational philosophy class, I’m working on a paper and I thought I’d post the introduction here to see if anyone wanted to give feedback.  Enjoy!

‘I never let my schooling interfere with my education’.
Mark Twain.

Education is important to humanity; education, that is, in its broadest sense.  Here’s how wikipedia puts it: “Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual.”  This definition, constructed by collective wisdom on a mostly open piece of new media called a wiki, is at the heart of the concept of school.  School does present a certain sort of education, and we tend to conflate the two, but by this definition, you can receive an education by watching television, helping your dad fix a car, apprenticing with an artist, etc.  With the current proliferation of the internet and resulting “new media,” people are participating in a form of education, once again, in new ways in new venues with new tools at their disposal.  New media, according to wikipedia, “is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century. Most technologies described as “new media” are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable, dense, compressible, interactive and impartial.”  Of course, not everyone is able to participate (so I might not use the word “impartial” in my own definition), but I have hope for increased accessibility alongside a healthy skepticism that people will be able to live without it for much longer.

As a doctoral student in an Educational Technology program, I have been looking closely at new media and its interactions and effects.  New media, in my mind, is more than anything, a learning mechanism.  A state-sponsored school is also a learning mechanism.  These two entities function in very different ways and with different sets of regulations (or lack thereof).  My interest then, in this paper, is to compare the educational possibilities present in new media and in state-run schools with regard to the ideals of liberalism and multiculturalism.  I posit that the values of liberalism and multiculturalism are better served by the capabilities of new media than by state-run schools.  I also argue that the values of liberalism and multiculturalism do not necessitate state regulation and, therefore, our philosophy and practices of education should be more open to collective experimental play; new media can serve as an aid to this process.

As I was working from my Cincinnati home today, I thought of another school that I can use for my Edupunks show.  Last winter, I took a course on gaming in education and I found out about this new school in New York City that is all game-based.  It sounds interesting.  It’s called Quest to Learn and here’s its mission statement:

“Design and innovation are at the heart of Quest to Learn (Q2L), a school committed to helping every student to achieve excellence in the skills and literacies necessary for college and career readiness. We believe that students today can and do learn in different ways, often through interaction with digital media and games. Q2L builds on this belief to create a nurturing and vibrant 6th-12th grade school environment that supports all students in the pursuit of academic excellence, social responsibility, respect for others, and a passion for lifelong learning.”

Don’t you want to go there?  Why wasn’t SJS this cool?

Yesterday on my walk to and fro my place of employment, I had forgotten my headphones, which means I couldn’t listen to my podcasts, which means I started to get crazy ideas.  That’s what happens when I walk idly, I get crazy ideas.  It’s a blessing and a curse.

Here’s my train of thought… Schools need fundamental change, right?  Our schools haven’t changed in over a hundred years, they still follow the factory model, focusing on discrete bits of knowledge, usually irrelevant from students’ lives and increasingly irrelevant to our non-industrial economy.  This isn’t to say that classrooms haven’t changed.  Teachers have been trying to apply research and teach creativity within the confines of standards, testing, and antiquated school schedules and buildings, but this is difficult to do without fundamental change in the structure of schooling.  So, how do we get fundamental change?  It doesn’t seem like our elected officials are doing a very good job, I argue because they know jack about education and only make true change when they get pressure from their constituents.  But, everyone sort of thinks they know about education because everyone has been through school as a student so everyone has some experience with it.  But, everyone has had very similar experiences with education and most of us are convinced that the way we went through school worked just fine, thank you very much.  This might be true, but maybe if we saw some different models of schools, some radically different ideas about how schools can function, ideas that are qualitatively better for students, maybe we might start to change our minds.  Maybe we would start to demand schools that don’t just teach students discrete bits of knowledge, but how to develop as human beings, how to develop their own interests and strengths, not just to get a job, but to make an impact in the world.

How could we change the public’s opinion so that they can see schools that function in different ways as possibilities for bigger change in school?  And then use those ideas to pressure local school boards and politicians to enact real change?  There are schools and philosophies of education at work that look different than the traditional school set up we are used to and it might be difficult to imagine how these work or that they work at all, unless we get to see them functioning.  So, here’s my idea.  I want to have a weekly show on PBS that focuses on schools that are making changes that are meaningful for students, changes that the general population may, at first glance reject, but when they get to see how it plays out, start to think, I would want to go to that school or I would want my kids to go to that school and why aren’t our schools trying things like that?  The schools featured could be charter schools, alternative public schools, unschooling, homeschooling, virtual schools, or even standard public schools trying out new programs.  Each week, I would visit and follow a student in one of those schools and have them explain their schedule, how they are graded, what their “classes” are like, what they do outside of school, etc.  If you think about it, as kids, we never get to see what other schools are like because all students are in school at the same time, so to kids, I think this would be an interesting opportunity to see what other kids do at their schools, so that they can ask their teachers, can we do that?  And for parents, they can get some insight into different things schools are doing so that they can ask their kids’ schools, can we do that?  And, then hopefully, the more demand for fundamental change, the more fundamental change we might have.

There’s one school in particular that comes to mind called The Graham School.  I was introduced to The Graham School as I was researching ideas for educational options for gifted students.  And, the school’s website makes me think, I would want my kids at that school!  Here’s a tidbit from the “Our Program” section.  This is a Columbus area charter high school, but the way.

“As the primary means of articulating our mission to “encounter the world and engage the mind,” we offer students, from the ninth grade forward, a balance of classroom and experiential learning opportunities. Students spend three days each week at the school and two days at one of 50 learning partner sites including museums, hospitals, a botanical conservatory and parkland, businesses, and other private and public community organizations that share with TGS a common vision for students and their learning.”

And then under “Experiential Education,” they have this information:

“The Graham School’s Experiential Program offers students the opportunity to enter into a real-world setting and tackle real-world issues and problems. Students leave the school building and enter the community to offer their talents and helping hands while the community offers students the chance to learn about opportunities and challenges in a work and educational environment. The Graham School’s Experiential Program offers students exposure to various means and methods of learning…

In its most basic definition, experiential learning is learning by doing. It is a process by which learners gain knowledge and acquire skills through critically reflecting on a direct experience. Through reflection, the learner connects new knowledge to past experience, finds insightful patterns through analyzing the experience, and applies those new discoveries to everyday life situations. This leads to a change in thinking and behavior when encountering the next experience, whether in or out of the classroom.”

Interesting, right?  Now, I would never say that there is one answer or that schools should all look one way, nor would I assume that this school has no problems, but just seeing how this school works might help us all start to think about how schools could look very different, function in different ways, and offer students a life-changing education.  So, here are my questions for my readers…

1.  Anyone know how to start a show on PBS?
2.  Anyone know how to get funded?
3.  Which name do you like better, Rethinking Schools or Edupunks?
4.  Anyone want to help?
5.  What do you think about this crazy idea in general?  You won’t hurt my feelings.  Many of my crazy ideas have come and gone.