I’ve just finished reading a thought-provoking newspaper op-ed about a small experiment at a high school in western Massachusetts. A local writer followed a group of high school students (including two kids on the verge of dropping out) as they spent an entire school year planning, writing, and following their own curriculum. The students acted as mentors, tutors, and cheerleaders for one another with the support of faculty and staff. In the end, the student participants all found their relationships with learning had changed dramatically and for the better as they became stakeholders in their own schooling.
It got me thinking once more about the many voices heard or silenced in the education reform debate. It also got me thinking about you, the active teacher. I wonder how you might react to the introduction of such a program in your school. And I wonder whether we’re listening enough to the broad range of voices from our students and fellow teachers.
Can you imagine something like this working in your school with younger students? Or would you, perhaps, like to share your experience with allowing young students to have a say in how their learning takes place?
What are your thoughts? There’s no wrong answer!
I teach 6th and 7th grade at a small private school. Because of the small class size I am able to do a lot of independent activities with my students. One of my favorites is giving them a choice in how they are assessed, especially summative assessments. I often, in my literature class, give them the choice of a traditional end of unit test or doing some sort of project that shows me, and themselves that they have a firm understanding of the characters and the authors intent witn the story we have completed. This helps them to feel more in control and confident. It helps me to better gain and understanding of how much they grasp of the material covered.