Innovation is necessary in a changing world and schools are no different. So, how can we redesign the system to meet our students' needs? Where are our growth opportunities?
It is during these times of innovative disruption that we can get the needle to really move. The process starts by creating a physical place where people can continually work on ways to better teach and learn, incorporate new technology, and improve productivity. Can you see evidence of this at the Purple Palace?
The traditional school of 1974 (when North was built) is unable to differentiate pace, content, or type of learning. The mode of production is still batch process, necessitating uniformity. And with few exceptions, uniformity is mediocrity. Our system has now hit a wall. Productivity is capped at the capacity of you as the teacher, to present information and engage students.
If we are going to improve the quality of education at North, learning MUST become much more personalized. Student labor is a tremendously underused resource in our schools. Why is that?
Conventional school seems like a school bus rolling along the highway, with the teacher standing at the front and pointing out interesting and important sights but telling the passengers that, no, we cannot let you get off to explore what's down that side road. Students who want to pursue their interests and passions must do so on their own time and energy, if they have any left. How can we rethink ways in which North can involve students in more student-driven learning?
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