In true hypocrite fashion I am beginning this analysis by looking at a couple of programs in the U.S.. Despite years of ranting about the inability of Canadians to consider models outside of North America, and our insistent comparisons to alternatives south of the border, even when models are clearly inferior to our own or others is infuriating. I will begin here, but promise to cast a broader net moving forward.
I have been curious about Charter schools for a long time, particularly because they offer the promise of diversity. Charter schools are an opportunity within public education to offer something different from the current replicated model. They offer hope for variation, experimentation and an opportunity to put into practise some of the theoretical ambitions that are so often constrained by the regulations of traditional structures.
A couple of interesting quotations about Charter schools in the U.S. that I feel are worth exploring.
"Charter schools offer a way to embrace diversity within public education and empower students, parents, and teachers. Let's not fight this as an organization. Let's get on the bandwagon and try to make it work."
And
"My greatest concern about charter schools is the possibility that they will lead to further fragmentation of society, by people of like minds flocking to the same school and not being faced with having to get along with others and reach common agreements."
(from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/nov97/vol39/num07/Your-Views-on-Charter-Schools.aspx)
(from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/nov97/vol39/num07/Your-Views-on-Charter-Schools.aspx)
Looking at Charter schools online I am at first struck by the very traditional nature of most programs. However, the Sandpoint Charter School in Sandpoint, Idaho posits this as its mission statement:
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Sandpoint Public Charter School, a public middle school, is to create a community of learners equipped with two kinds of literacy.
1.The ability to read, write, speak and calculate with clarity and precision incorporating technology as appropriate.
2.The ability to participate passionately and responsibly in the life of their community.
To fulfill this mission we:
Limit our community to 200 students.
Provide each student with at least one positive adult mentor/advocate to support student success.
Facilitate a positive and safe community culture by fostering accountability through high behavioral standards and academic success through integration and project-based learning.
Focus on student-family-teacher relationships and encourage individuality within our community.
Work in collaborative relationships within and outside of the school and serve the greater community.
Actively encourage creativity and fun within our school.
If we are looking at technology as the "use of knowledge for intelligent human action" (Aristotle), the focus on community shown in the Sandpoint mission statement actually offers a similar answer to education as those who advocate online learning (like the Khan academy).
The difference is that the community may be live and immediate (Sandpoint) or online and thus global (Khan). While Sandpoint wants to educate their immediate community, Khan wants to educate 'the world'. Who has the right approach?
In my experience, what we need to offer students a multitude of approaches. That is, an online community of helpers and an immediate community of mentors each need to be available. By offering learning communities where some students will achieve online, some will achieve by getting their hands literally dirty and some will benefit the variety of access to both. As communities our mandate ought not to be to offer six identical institutions, but to provide variety for our varied student needs. If there are three schools in a city of 30,000, should each not be based on a different system?
Sadly, like the cookie cutter subdivisions we build, the time, effort and money to build uniquely seems unlikely.
Here in Calgary we have many Charter schools with many different mandates. As a teacher in the Public School Board I have noticed that the popularity of Charter Schools has sparked many more programming choices offered in our Board. We now have specific public schools for All Girls, All Boys, Science, Traditional Learning, Arts Centred, and Languages such as Spanish and German. These were not largely available pre-Charter schools. I think the element of choice to personalize student learning is clearly supported by parent and student response to these programs and the presence of Charter Schools has sparked Public schools to respond in a similar fashion, while also providing a healthy sense of competition. -Tannis
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly that we need more choices and that the model of replicating standardized approaches to learning and imposing them on schools is not my preference either. There are people who will disagree, but that opens a conversation that is probably healthy too.
ReplyDeleteOne of the hesitations I have about special schooling arrangements generally is that they can become highly selective and elitist. I would like to think that all kids would have access to special schools and programming, but I haven't seen that play out in practice. Yet.
I wonder how we can promote alternatives in a way that doesn't disenfranchise groups that are already disadvantaged.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRick and Tannis -
ReplyDeleteThank-you for your comments. Tannis, I had no idea that the Charter model existed in Canada. I will look into what Alberta did with all that money they had a few years ago.
Rick, I appreciate the problem of elitism. In fact, I made a similar comment on a blog this morning:
http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2010/09/04/excellence-and-teacher-pay-a-new-york-charter-school-is-not-the-only-school-paying-teachers-100000/
However, this is why publicly funded models are great options. Those in the greatest need are often also those for whom traditional models are failing. Diversity of structure would allow educators to design schools that apply directly to community needs.
Hey Steeve,
ReplyDeleteThe concept of disruptive innovation(s)(Christensen and Johnson, 2008)comes to mind when thinking about alternatives to traditional education. According to Horn (2010) disruptive technologies are a means in which education can move from an industrial model to student centered model. Large traditional public schools are often highly resistant to change, thus the rate in which they evolve to meet the needs of students today presents opportunities for others (Khan and Charter schools for example).
Both Kha,n when tutoring his cousins in math and science, and Sandpoint Charter jumped in and filled a gap created by the lack of dynamism in the traditional system. Both are meeting needs of individual students with an alternative to the traditional students in rows, teacher at the front approach. Unfortunately students having control over there own learning seems to be a rarity. Alternatives to me offer an exciting opportunity for students to have more control over their own learning. Whether it's in the form of choice assessment in a brick and mortar charter school or being able to watch a video as many times as they need to without feeling self conscious, students are in control of their own learning all bc of disruptive alternatives.
Check these out if you have not already:
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/821
http://carlanderson.blogspot.com/2009/05/case-for-charters-part-4-disruptive.html
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2546421.Disrupting_Class
I look forward to seeing you future thoughts as you explore this topic:)
Liz
Liz - Thanks for the links. Much appreciated. I like the idea of 'disruptive alternatives' - that is exactly what they are. More to follow...
ReplyDelete