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Originally Posted by spherojon
And to take a quote author Alvin Toffler, "the key literacy skill of the 21st century is the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn." I think the basic idea here is the freedom of information available on the internet in this "hyper-connected" society that we have (thanks Thomas Friedman). Dont get me wrong, I think school is very important and an idea like an "Accepted" movie type atmosphere will be counter-productive for the most part. However, something needs to be done with the education system in this country. Now if we could only motivate the kids to go out an take the initiative like this kid and his google searching skills.
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Awesome story, thanks for posting. Now, this kid is the exception, not the rule. I'm not sure the average student who is left to their own devices will excel the way he did, but anything's possible. I like the point Richard brought up about the fact that school hasn't always been "graded" so to speak, rather they were/are evaluated on a general merit system. You have to have teachers that pay individual attention to the students in order for that to happen though, as opposed to being herded like cattle.
After perusing the website of the school, I noticed they must have some sort of curriculum, and I'm assuming they leave it up to the kids to decide what and when they want to learn, but only time will tell. I also agree with you on the need for something different. Personally I feel there should just be smaller schools (and more of them) with a dash of that "
familial" environment Richard was referring to. Here's a snip from the school website:
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The founders of the Joan Rubin School promise the students:- the freedom to engage in self-initiated learning and to set out on an individualized path;
- the time and space to discover their own interests and talents;
- the tools and staff to help facilitate their goals and objectives;
- an environment and governance structure that demands personal responsibility;
- an age-mixed community built on knowledge sharing, mutual respect, and trust.
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