The material for Curriculum 21 reminds me of everything we do where I work. Although I work in the middle school, I have applied to a position at the high school. Chapter 4 was a really informative reading, because it talks a lot about how education hasn't really changed since the late 1800's. It also talks about what's happening in other states to try and change the current curriculum.
For the most part around the United States students spend the same amount of time in school throughout the year. As chapter 4 states, "A majority of schools run on the same length of school year and same daily schedule, with some grouping of students ans same faculty organization, in the same type of buildings since the 1890's." From what I understand, this is something that school systems are trying to change. It's not about how long you're in school each day or year, it has to do with what you're learning while you're there. I'm a firm believer that students can get learning at their full potential from only a couple of hours of schooling a day. The reason I feel this way is because when I'm working, there are unnecessary periods of time where we are doing things that aren't helping the educational process. There are activities like recess and break times in the day that are just waste of time. Cut those things out, and have shorter school days. It doesn't make much sense to me.
Another problem for students in high school is students who drop out of school. Students don't have the right direction in school and often feel overwhelmed by deadlines. I remember being in high school and always worrying about getting my work done before it was due during my senior year. The school was so strict and threatened to not let you graduate on time if you didn't have all of your projects done. Chapter 4 touched on this when I read, "many students drop out because they can't make a particular deadline before graduation." This is a serious problem because at the time students may not realize how serious not graduating is. By the time they understand the decision they made, it's too late in their mind to go back.
Something in the reading that sounded cool was the MetCenter. This is a place that has six small public high schools in Rhode Island. They don't use bells or block periods and part of their work is through internships and projects. I think this sounds like a better option than the current schedule in the school system I work in. Maybe someday we'll changes similar to these.
Often the "regularities" of school...time, periods, bells and much more RUN the school. For example, why do schools send students through periods of essentially 45 minutes. Has it been proven that that amount of time is optimal for learning? No, it is simply how schools have always been run. And yet the curriculum is narrowed and hindered by these arbitrary boundaries. With the possibilities of technology, why aren't we showing students how to learn on their own outside (or inside) school?
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