Adventures in Learning
“Is it possible that art is the answer?”
“A student from a few years ago created this video. I felt affirmed that we were doing something right in social studies by including the arts:”
(via John Spencer’s post The Real Reason for the Arts « Cooperative Catalyst)
10 months ago, I quit school to get a Real Life and Education.
In School, I….
- was constantly stressed.
- didn’t have to time to relax or be with my family.
- was told I was stupid by teachers and their grades.
- wasn’t really learning.
Now, I …
- am happy and helathy.
- have control over my time.
- know I’m smart.
- feel good about myself.
- am learning, living, and loving it!!!
I OCCUPY EDUCATION!
We have had a number of recent new student/youth leaders join us at the Cooperative Catalyst, either as guest bloggers or members. Here is a handful of their important posts!
Youth Rights, Dignity, and the Anti-Democratic Values of Public Schooling
Learning Revolution, Are You Ready? (Guest Post by Line Dalile)
It Takes People to Make a Change, Not a Government (Guest post by student Diego Negrón Reichard)
Hey Mr.Knowitall, 2 Weeks Detention…For Talking Seriously About Education
As students, we are told that we are being made into an “informed citizenry” capable of maintaining a vibrant democracy. Indeed, we are told that we must give up most of our constitutional rights in the name of achieving this goal. We are compelled to attend an institution where our every action, from speaking, to moving, to going to the bathroom is strictly controlled by an authority figure. We have no right to due process in this institution, the word of the school authorities is final, and in fact our meager protestations of any wrongful accusation are often called “disrespectful” and used as another justification for punishment. We are also limited in our freedom of speech and of assembly, we cannot leave class to assemble and petition our government and the Supreme Court has explicitly prohibited any speech that would disrupt the educational process. Most of the first 18 years of our lives are fundamentally shaped by a process in which we have absolutely no say. This seems explicitly nonsensical. Should we give up our democratic rights in the name of preserving democracy? Does an institution which has power over countless individuals without giving them any representation or say in how this institution is run really the best preparation for a democratic society? Rather than creating an informed citizenry capable of engaging in the democratic process, compulsory education creates apathy, harms our ability to engage in real education, and actively harms democracy.
Asking students: revolutionary?
Whether I shall be the hero of my school life, or whether that station will be held by anyone else I cannot tell. All I can say is I am Devoted and Dedicated to my education. That is WHY I OCCUPY!
I Occupy Education because I think!
Engaged
Development
Unique
Creative
Active
Talent
Interesting
Occupy
Nonviolence
Love Education!
From a student at Occupy High…
Don’t analyze me. Inspire me. I occupy my education!
I occupy education by:
-Empowering young people to become agents of change
-Allowing spaces of democracy in every learning experience I have
-Facing controversial social issues in my community
-Fighting avidly for race and gender justice
-Taking control over my own education
-Discouraging traditional and oppression methods of teaching
-Highlighting the good things of everyone I meet
We are unschoolers who learn every day about things that are meaningful to us and helpful in creating a loving, just, sustainable world.
We Occupy Education
<3
Students have a great opportunity to use their collective voice to stand up to practices in education that do not help them to be creative, innovative, mindful, critical thinkers. Students deserve education that is passion and project based that has a connection to life and to their community.
Please encourage your students to use their voice to make change, even if it means occupying classrooms and gyms, even if it means walking out of class. Students have power to make change, teachers have the power to make change, parents have the power to make change. We just need to come together around education transformation!
Please reblog this and join us by submit your voice to the ever expanding collections of power messages of change!
-adventures in learning
I occupy education because I’m tired of failure
I occupy education because I believe in real reforms and second chances
I occupy education because I work to bring students to the table
I occupy education because I’ve been told that I’m a failure because I’m 17 in the 9th grade. Even though I’ve been declare advanced in all core subject areas except for mathamatics.
I occupy education because I believe its time we reclaim education.
I occupy education because I believe everyone’s voice counts, not just the 1%’s.
From Puerto Rico!
I occupy education by:
-Empowering young people to become agents of change
-Allowing spaces of democracy in every learning experience I have
-Facing controversial social issues in my community
-Fighting avidly for race and gender justice
-Taking control over my own education
-Discouraging traditional and oppression methods of teaching
-Highlighting the good things of everyone I meet
I occupy education because I’m tired of failure
I occupy education because I believe in real reforms and second chances
I occupy education because I work to bring students to the table
I occupy education because I’ve been told that I’m a failure because I’m 17 in the 9th grade. Even though I’ve been declare advanced in all core subject areas except for mathamatics.
I occupy education because I believe its time we reclaim education.
I occupy education because I believe everyone’s voice counts, not just the 1%’s.
I occupy education by focusing on students’ strengths and inviting them to learn!
Posted by johntspencer ⋅ December 11, 2010 ⋅
Last year in my Multimedia Authoring class, I asked students to create short projects on school reform. Their answers were far from revolutionary. In fact, few of them seemed to want broad, sweeping reforms. Instead, nearly all of them suggested the following:
- Better cafeteria food with real ingredients
- No school busses – nearly every child mentioned the bullying of bus rides as one of the reasons they hated school
- More choice in their assignments or projects
- Replace grades with feedback and portfolios (like we did in our class)
- Staggered start and end times so that the school would “feel smaller”
- More alternative sports in addition to the traditional ones
- Off-campus community service once a week
- Job-shadowing for one month of the year
- A monthly educational field trip
- iPads, netbooks or laptops in classes – they even brought up some interesting ways to raise money for these devices
- More freedom in terms of leaving to use the restroom, eating a snack or getting a drink of water
- More electives – while most of them agreed that we need math, they suggested that maybe they could choose pre-geometry or pre-algebra or in reading, they could have reading classes geared toward certain topics
- A school garden
While a few of those might seem large at first glance, the reality is that most students wanted more authenticity and more autonomy. None of the reforms they suggested involved “back to basics.” None of them included firing all the teachers, either. Instead, they were small, fairly inexpensive reforms that could have been done without the blessing of a politician, pundit or educrat.
