What if we met students's needs?
Students spend the better part of their youth in school. What would happen if we actually met their needs? Instead it seems we are intent on meeting the needs of teachers, administrators and politicians. Kids have a great need for verbal skills. They need to be able to argue their position among friends and bullies. As adults their ability to take and argue a position will be a critical work skill.
Teachers want the students to stay on track so they can meet the demands of the pacing guide. Too many discussions will slow down the schedule and no one will be happy with that except maybe the kids. Principals need to make sure material is covered in time for the tests.
Students need to know how to work in a multi-ethnic world. That is the world they live in now and it will be even more so when they grow into adults. Yet administrators and politicians are working very hard to design school catchment areas that are as ethnically homogeneous. It is more politically expedient to do that but it is not in the best interests of the students.
Teenagers get to bed late. High schools are scheduled to open the earliest of the three levels. That makes the scheduling easier for the transportation folk. It doesn’t seem to matter when teachers complain that kids are sleeping through the first two periods of the day.
Young children need to play and move. Through play they develop basic social skills. Motor learning and movement is basic language. Providing opportunities for group problem solving is not just a child skill it’s the basic negotiating skill of the adult world. Social skills count as the basis of all other social learning. But administrators are anxious to be able to tout their higher standards which for some reason means more academic learning and less play and motor/social learning.
And here’s a thought- maybe if schools met the needs of kids rather than adults there would be fewer behavioral problems. Now there’s an idea!
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