“Cycle Five: What does a good school look like?”

                                What does a good school look like?

          I think back on my formal education, the readings from this chapter, and the school that I am currently working at in order to answer this question. We measure schools in terms of success, in today’s society that success is based on standardized test scores, the amount of graduates, and the schools with the lowest attrition.

          The readings from this chapter made me think about success in a different way. Although some of the texts had varied views, I identified most with the idea that student centered success, not the school in societies’ eyes was most important. When talking about aims in school, Nel Noddings mentions that happiness should be a contender. When you mention a singular word like happiness, it opens up an assortment of paths for a school to take. How will they reach each student? What makes a student happy? How do we know they truly are happy and we have reached this aim?

          I then think about my own education, the times\ I was happiest in school, what I remember the most. I think about those amazing teachers I had, those were years of happiness from feeling safe and appreciated. I think about the enjoyable projects I got to create, that was a time of happiness from content I was interested in. I think about reaching educational milestones like my first oral presentation or high school graduation, that was happiness of success. If these were times that I was happy? Could it be true for everyone? So, with some research, a came across a program that is suppose to increase students' happiness through brain based learning and being mindful of their actions and thoughts. The program is called, "MindUP". This reminded me of one of the new aged programs that is being offered to schools.

 


In many ways, I feel like these programs are put in place because of the awareness that many students' home environments are not always condusive to their mental development.

Are my ideals Socratic? “Those who love certain forms of work will care deeply about that work and become competent at it” (Noddings, 428). This was the case when I was completing projects in my youth.  However, I know I would not be as happy as I am now if that philosophy followed me throughout my entire schooling. What if I only had to concentrate in one discipline that I really enjoyed? Then, years later, I became an elementary teacher? I would probably be crying of embarrassment any time my students asked me a question in language arts or science and praying from math class to come. Then I think, I probably would not have become an elementary teacher but gone into a job that was closer to my field of enjoyment at the current point in my life that I picked it. This makes me laugh since I changed my major in college. I probably would have been stuck as a biomechanical engineer.       

Because I received a varied education in my youth, I am happy today. “The function of schooling is not to enable students to do better in school. The function of schooling is to enable students to do better in life” (Eisner, 329). I felt that I could identify best with Rousseau’s idea that educational curriculum should be based on the individual’s success. However, this needs to be done with a focus of the needs of society. For an individual to be truly successful, they need to perform well in society. This can be done in the way that we asses students too. “Multiple-choice tests are not a substitute for the real performance” (Meier, 65).

          I thought the idea of commensurability was an interesting one in the Elliot Eisner reading. Part of me understood that commensurability seems to be needed to make comparisons on an even playing field. However, you are comparing different students with different learning styles. Therefore, are you really comparing them fairly? I think not. However, if you assessing students differently based on their needs, is there a way to create the assessments and rubric to be just as rigorous for each different type of assessment? Should you have a different creator make each assessment? I for one could create an extremely easy assessment for a learner that does not have the same learning style as me and think it was just as challenging as another assessment.  Is there a better way to go about this? I always think about teaching something in three different ways. If you do, you are bound to hit the needs of almost all of your learners in the classroom. As this article PBS aricle points out, "How can different learning styles be addressed with consistent expectations?" there are some teaching strategies, like inquiry lessons that support a variety of learning styles.

          I think a good school creates critical thinkers, attempts to create happiness by catering to different learning needs, has an integrated curriculum, and helps students become acclimated to society. I agree with the need for staff centered curriculum discussions. I have been at different schools in my life that had completely different beliefs and outcomes with respect to this idea. Let me tell you, a staff that speaks a common language throughout the school building has an easier time getting through to students, is able to start the school year at a run (expectations are consistent from year to year for students), and also creates a common bond for the students to see.