Chapter 6 discusses the philosophies behind High Tech High, The Met, and Francis Parker Charter Essential School. If I could choose to teach at one of these schools, I would enjoy teaching at Francis Parker Charter Essential School. I especially admire their motto of “Less is More” and “Student as Worker, Teacher as Coach”. Francis Parker Charter Essential School believes that students would benefit from learning content more in depth rather than covering a lot of content briefly. I strongly agree and have seen this work at my current school site. Students are working on Investigations where they are covering content extremely in-depth and as a result have a stronger foundation, which in turn benefits them when they encounter new content. Francis Parker Charter Essential School has a philosophy that students should do the work and the teacher should facilitate. Similarly, I have seen this at work at my current school site because we implement plenty of group tasks where students work together while I facilitate the room and assess their understanding of the content by either listening in on conversations or asking clarifying questions. I personally believe that the same intellectual goals should apply to all students and that is exactly what Francis Parker Charter Essential School implements in their school. Francis Parker Charter Essential School does not track students and have “honors” classes and I have read plenty of research that tracking does not benefit students. Therefore, I believe that all students should be held accountable for the same intellectual goals. One aspect that I admire from Francis Parker Charter Essential School that my current school site does not have is personalization! We have so many students on campus that it is difficult for teachers to be familiar with all the students. Therefore, I make an effort to get to know as many students as I can by interacting with Math Club, Math Circles, and other sport related activities. The values that Francis Parker Charter Essential School stands for are values that are aligned with my teaching philosophy, especially democracy and equity.
In chapter 5, Wagner discusses how students learn and what motivates them. Much of the chapter is focused on how much time students spend on the Internet. He explains that students learn what they want to learn, most commonly without a teacher. Kids learn through Youtube videos and other online communities. Information is easy to access and satisfies their need for constant communication. Wagner states that, ““They want to turn the thing on, get in there, muck around, and see what works. Today’s kids get on the Web and link, lurk, and watch how other people are doing things, then try it for themselves.” He refers to this type of learning as “Learning as Discovery”. I agree that students prefer to learn by discovery. With smartphones in many of their back pockets, students know that pure facts are easily accessible to them. What they cannot practice simply by watching a Youtube video is how to think critically, how to communicate effectively, and how to solve problems using existing knowledge. Wagner argues that students “want learning to be active, not passive”. They do not want to sit in their desks and be told what to do. They want to be a part of the learning process. I agree that this is true when the learners are engaged. Students can easily learn how to play Minecraft by watching online videos because it is something that interests them and they want to learn. In schools, the key to unlocking this type of learning in a classroom is to first get students interested in what they are learning. Interest sparks curiosity and curiosity opens the doors to learn through discovery.
Chapter 6 discusses the philosophies behind High Tech High, The Met, and Francis Parker Charter Essential School. If I could choose to teach at one of these schools, I would enjoy teaching at Francis Parker Charter Essential School. I especially admire their motto of “Less is More” and “Student as Worker, Teacher as Coach”. Francis Parker Charter Essential School believes that students would benefit from learning content more in depth rather than covering a lot of content briefly. I strongly agree and have seen this work at my current school site. Students are working on Investigations where they are covering content extremely in-depth and as a result have a stronger foundation, which in turn benefits them when they encounter new content. Francis Parker Charter Essential School has a philosophy that students should do the work and the teacher should facilitate. Similarly, I have seen this at work at my current school site because we implement plenty of group tasks where students work together while I facilitate the room and assess their understanding of the content by either listening in on conversations or asking clarifying questions. I personally believe that the same intellectual goals should apply to all students and that is exactly what Francis Parker Charter Essential School implements in their school. Francis Parker Charter Essential School does not track students and have “honors” classes and I have read plenty of research that tracking does not benefit students. Therefore, I believe that all students should be held accountable for the same intellectual goals. One aspect that I admire from Francis Parker Charter Essential School that my current school site does not have is personalization! We have so many students on campus that it is difficult for teachers to be familiar with all the students. Therefore, I make an effort to get to know as many students as I can by interacting with Math Club, Math Circles, and other sport related activities. The values that Francis Parker Charter Essential School stands for are values that are aligned with my teaching philosophy, especially democracy and equity.
1 Comment
2/27/2015 12:52:43 pm
I also chose Francis Parker Charter school for very similar reasons - they offer personalization and a connection with students on a deeper level than is offered by traditional public school. All students should be offered the same opportunities that "honors" or "advanced placement students" are offered - they should not feel penalized for their individual educational abilities.
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Edgar AyalaI love mathematics and how everything in mathematics can be proven going back to simple axioms. I am a mathematics educator at heart and I hope to make learning mathematics fun for all my students and hope to instill the value of education in all my students. Archives
April 2015
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