Dear young people (especially public school students) (cc to parents),
I don’t envy you. As many of you realize, we adults have not made things easy for you. It is going to take a worldwide movement of inspired and committed people - led by you folks and older friends - to take on the many difficulties and challenges that the coming years are certain to bring. Toward this end, I want to share my thoughts with you regarding an initiative that I believe will be extremely helpful to you as individuals and as global citizens.
What I’m talking about is transforming the public school system. Not tweaking it a little bit but thoroughly turning it on it's head! Shifting it from a place where most of you are very happy when you hear that 'School is cancelled today' to a place where you actually can't wait to get to school! And the same for your teachers and administrators.
It can happen. I’ve experienced this a few times myself. Problem is, school programs where this is the case are few and far between. And they usually don't last long. Invariably, bureaucracy or politics or ego or some other aspect of 'the system' - or sometimes just bad luck - almost always finds a way to put an end to the programs that are most effectively meeting the needs of the students. I saw that for the first time in 1968, and I've seen it ever since.
In the transformed public school system that I am envisioning, programs or initiatives that are helping young people will not disappear. Rather, they will be replicated, improved, expanded. You, and every one of your classmates, will be respected, listened to and cared about. Instead of being in a place that puts the major emphasis on what you got wrong and what you are not good at, you will have the opportunity to discover the areas in which you are particularly gifted! You will be able to share your unique skills and strengths, and thereby make a real contribution to your school, your community, maybe the entire world. You will know that you are a worthwhile human being, that your being on this planet makes a difference. You will feel connected. You will know that you belong. You will feel good about yourself!
And you will be growing. You will be getting better at listening. You will be learning how to express yourself assertively, rather than aggressively or too timidly. You will be realizing the power of cooperation and collaboration. You will become a better decision maker. You will see that you have choices in life, and that you have the power to move your life in a healthy direction. You will be more confident, more hopeful. And happier!
Your school will be a place that values the search for Truth. Instead of the narrow and often slanted versions of History, Economics, and other subjects that characterize current public school curriculum, your teachers will model open-mindedness and will help you (and you will help them) to uncover every conceivable perspective on any given subject. After sharing, discussing, and analyzing these points of view, you will be encouraged to decide for yourself what you believe to be true. And you'll be likewise encouraged to stand up for your beliefs, to lead the life that you honestly believe you should be living...because the only chance one has at real happiness is to be true to who you really are!
No matter what your beliefs are at the moment, you will also be encouraged to always keep your minds open, because new information might become available, or because your accumulated life experiences might give you a different take on any given subject.
And with all this good stuff going on, your academic skills will be maximized. Your reading skills will improve because you will be reading material that is actually interesting and/or relevant to your life. Since what you will be reading is now meaningful and enjoyable, you will probably read twice as many books, articles, poems, etc., as you would have otherwise read. Or maybe three or four or five or six times as many! Christopher Paolini, of 'The Inheritance Cycle' fame and the author of Eragon, had read three thousand books by the time he was seventeen.
Your writing skills, too, will improve significantly, because you will be writing about subjects that are of interest to you, and you will want to most effectively get your point across to the reader.
Those of you who love Math will probably be in The Math mini-school, wherein you can spend as much time as you want doing Math, talking about Math, joking about Math, analyzing, sharing, playing Math games (some of which you may have designed yourselves), creating Math riddles, developing Math projects (maybe solving local and global problems), etc., etc. Whereas maybe one of you would have gotten 800 on your Math S.A.T.'s in a regular school setting, now maybe four, five, or six of you will reach that vaunted pinnacle.
Others of you might choose to be in the Black Studies mini school. Or the Solutions (Developing solutions for local and global problems) mini-school. Or the Music, Art, Writing, Carpentry, Self-Directed Learning, etc., etc., mini-school.
Btw, those of you who have trouble with Math will learn it much better now because you will not be tying your self-esteem to your weakness in this particular subject. You will not be telling yourself you are stupid just because you are not good in Math. Your Social and Emotional Development training will have taught you that part of the definition of being a human being is that we are all imperfect. Every human being - every single person - is imperfect! Every one of us has both strengths and weaknesses! Thus the stuff that you're particularly good at and the stuff that you're lousy at both celebrate your humanness! Because you are not ashamed of your Math deficiencies you can ask one or two of the Math wizards for help, and you in turn can help them learn how to do Magic or design clothing or dance or...whatever.
Now for the conclusion. For many years, for decades, the high level (state and federal) education officials have been making it clear that they are not going to allow these kinds of changes. The only way these - and other - good things will happen in our schools - in your schools - is if a large number of people stand up to the authorities and insist on this kind of transformation.
I believe it is going to be up to you folks, you young people, to make this change happen. The adults cannot do it. Some of them don’t see what needs to be done, but even those who do, and who want to make these kinds of changes, are thwarted by The System. They cannot stand up to their ‘superiors’ without putting their jobs in jeopardy. And they cannot chance losing their jobs because they have rent or mortgages to pay, mouths to feed, families to support. They are simply not in the position to take this kind of risk. But you can! Toward that end, you need to know that standing up to the education authorities will not hurt your future! Including - for those who are so inclined - your college chances! (I'll tell you more about that in a bit.)
You have the leverage that can force the power structure to allow your school to become a fantastic place! You and your parents. But mostly you. Because you do not need the school! You can leave school, for example, in the ninth (or third) grade, spend the next three or four (or nine) years reading any book you want to, playing as many games as you want to, fixing bicycles and computers, taking photos, telling jokes, writing and singing songs, planting gardens, traveling the world, helping your preferred public officials get elected, working to alleviate racism or to save the environment, etc., etc.; and then - if you need or want an official, fully accredited, fully recognized high school diploma, you can take the high school equivalency exam.
If you have followed your interests and passions during those years, those of you who choose to apply to college will have an incredible portfolio to show to the Admissions Committee. Others of you, having been free to discover who you are and what you care about, might not want college, or might not yet want college. Any direction is fine, as long as it represents the real you. Point is you will be much better prepared to decide what you want next and to begin your journey to or within whatever that is, than will be your classmates who stayed in the current school system!
So you don't need school, but the school needs you! Without students there is no school. Without students, the principal and teachers don't have jobs. The superintendents and chancellors don't have jobs. Betsy DeVos doesn't have a job.
Bottom line. At least the way I see it. If the high level officials see that very large numbers of you students will walk away if the schools do not change, they will visualize money disappearing from their bank accounts; and so they will decide that they have no choice but to listen to you, and be willing to work with you. (And, btw, your teachers and administrators will be very happy about this. For decades they have wanted things to change. The large majority of them care a lot about you and want to do what's best for you, and they are tired of years and years of frustration and stress caused by mandates from the State and Federal governments that interfere with effective teaching and healthy learning!)
To be clear and in summary...What I’m saying is make sure you have the best possible learning opportunities! If your school makes the commitment to do this, great! But if it’s not going to happen in your school, then I strongly suggest that you walk away and join the SDE (Self-Directed Education) movement.
Finally, I am writing this as a representative of a group of non-traditional educators who are absolutely committed to transforming public schools!! We are all strong proponents of student voice, and we recognize that a multi-generational collaborative will offer the best chance of making this happen. So why don't we work together on this?
If this resonates with you, please get in touch. Thanks.
Roger
Roger Dennis
itistime.nyc@gmail.com
cell: 646 202 0522
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