Question: What are your top three insights from young people about how they experience school and learning in their lives, about how they see their education and career opportunities, and about your role in preparing them for the future?
Ask students to explain what they would appreciate about their experiences at their dream school, and they will talk about the choices they have to learn and develop as human beings.
Initially, student responses to rethinking high school focus on superficial issues such as what they can and cannot wear or can and cannot eat. With further discussion, however, students are able to discuss more meaningful issues regarding the nature of education. Engaging students in this discussion is essential to designing a student-centered school.
Students do not want to be hemmed in by a rigid system and structure that limits what they study, when they study it, how long they have to learn it, or how that learning must be demonstrated. They appreciate the opportunity to study a pathway that resonates with them. They embrace an array of options that will provide them with practical skills needed to be successful in college and career. Student-centered design allows students to engage in collaborative problem-solving and project-based learning. Students tell us they are inspired when their learning is relevant and applicable, when it appeals to their creativity, and when it pertains to their aspirations. About his traditional schooling, one student noted, “In some classes, the knowledge we learn seems so abstract and distant from any application.”
Finally, students tell us they are motivated by variety, interaction, stimulation, and creativity. High school students need choices; we know this because they are finding ways on their own to discover learning online, in groups, on the athletic fields, and outside the walls of the classroom. They need to follow their unique interests and pursue depth at a pace and complexity not offered by a one-size-fits-all curriculum.
Student voice will be a cornerstone of our mission and paramount to the success of the school.
Ask students to explain what they would appreciate about their experiences at their dream school, and they will talk about the choices they have to learn and develop as human beings.
Initially, student responses to rethinking high school focus on superficial issues such as what they can and cannot wear or can and cannot eat. With further discussion, however, students are able to discuss more meaningful issues regarding the nature of education. Engaging students in this discussion is essential to designing a student-centered school.
Students do not want to be hemmed in by a rigid system and structure that limits what they study, when they study it, how long they have to learn it, or how that learning must be demonstrated. They appreciate the opportunity to study a pathway that resonates with them. They embrace an array of options that will provide them with practical skills needed to be successful in college and career. Student-centered design allows students to engage in collaborative problem-solving and project-based learning. Students tell us they are inspired when their learning is relevant and applicable, when it appeals to their creativity, and when it pertains to their aspirations. About his traditional schooling, one student noted, “In some classes, the knowledge we learn seems so abstract and distant from any application.”
Finally, students tell us they are motivated by variety, interaction, stimulation, and creativity. High school students need choices; we know this because they are finding ways on their own to discover learning online, in groups, on the athletic fields, and outside the walls of the classroom. They need to follow their unique interests and pursue depth at a pace and complexity not offered by a one-size-fits-all curriculum.
Student voice will be a cornerstone of our mission and paramount to the success of the school.
