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Instead of having schools that impose a one-size-fits-all, rigid curriculum on everyone, what if we instead had "public superlibraries" which were basically libraries, plus miniclasses ( a miniclass is like a class that results in a certification at the end), plus mentors and counselors to help guide learners, plus daycare for young children? I would propose having a system like this, where children 0 to 8 would be eligible for free day care, young people 5-18 would be eligible for up to 7-8 hours of free miniclasses per weekday, and adults would be eligible for one free miniclass per day as a poverty-fighting measure? Obviously some fine-tuning would be needed but with the appropriate conditions, replacing schools with superlibraries could be made approximately revenue-neutral.
Instead of having schools that impose a one-size-fits-all, rigid curriculum on everyone, what if we instead had "public superlibraries" which were basically libraries, plus miniclasses ( a miniclass is like a class that results in a certification at the end), plus mentors and counselors to help guide learners, plus daycare for young children? I would propose having a system like this, where children 0 to 8 would be eligible for free day care, young people 5-18 would be eligible for up to 7-8 hours of free miniclasses per weekday, and adults would be eligible for one free miniclass per day as a poverty-fighting measure? Obviously some fine-tuning would be needed but with the appropriate conditions, replacing schools with superlibraries could be made approximately revenue-neutral.
Thoughts?
Sounds like a good idea to me.
Anything is better than the crapola system we have now. It's great to keep these alternative ideas coming - we certainly need more of them.
Cool, how would you get kids to attend classes? How would you make sure lower income students show up and it’s not dominated by middle or upper income students? How would this certification be earned? How would learning disabilities be dealt with in earning this certificate? How would you know instructors had the required knowledge. How would you manage disruptive kids? If parents were to drop their kids off at this library, how would they know they were safe and attending the classes they signed up for instead of leaving and hanging out at the gas station?
Maybe someone could be in charge of making sure all the classes were stocked with certified instructors, we might call this a “principal.” There could be someone else in charge of classroom disruptions, maybe we could call them an assistant principal. If kids are there for 8 hours, then how do they eat lunch, especially the younger ones, maybe we could add a cafeteria. Granted that 1/4 of the total population of a town is typically under 18, we would have to build several superlibraries. The libraries could specialize in material geared for that age. If 1000 kids attend one of these superlibraries, the amount of cars dropping them off could overwhelm the local streets. We might want to invest in some buses and also make them available to families that have no transportation. Since schools no longer exist there might be a flood of big yellow school buses. I’m sure we could get those cheap. With all those principals out of a job, maybe we could hire some to help run the superlibraries. They could manage the 45-minute mini-classes with a system of bells.
I’m sure the kids attending these superlibraries will be nothing like modern adolescents. They will all be super motivated to learn, not interested in spending all day gaming, dating, and on social media. They will see the inherent benefits of learning Calculus instead of vaping and the scientific method will replace Instagram. Why play Fortnite when you can spend 8 hours a day in mini-classes?
Interesting idea. It needs some more fleshing out, but I'm not going to reject it out of hand. Could be the germ of something there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TXRunner
Cool, how would you get kids to attend classes? How would you make sure lower income students show up and it’s not dominated by middle or upper income students? How would this certification be earned? How would learning disabilities be dealt with in earning this certificate? How would you know instructors had the required knowledge. How would you manage disruptive kids? If parents were to drop their kids off at this library, how would they know they were safe and attending the classes they signed up for instead of leaving and hanging out at the gas station?
Maybe someone could be in charge of making sure all the classes were stocked with certified instructors, we might call this a “principal.” There could be someone else in charge of classroom disruptions, maybe we could call them an assistant principal. If kids are there for 8 hours, then how do they eat lunch, especially the younger ones, maybe we could add a cafeteria. Granted that 1/4 of the total population of a town is typically under 18, we would have to build several superlibraries. The libraries could specialize in material geared for that age. If 1000 kids attend one of these superlibraries, the amount of cars dropping them off could overwhelm the local streets. We might want to invest in some buses and also make them available to families that have no transportation. Since schools no longer exist there might be a flood of big yellow school buses. I’m sure we could get those cheap. With all those principals out of a job, maybe we could hire some to help run the superlibraries. They could manage the 45-minute mini-classes with a system of bells.
I’m sure the kids attending these superlibraries will be nothing like modern adolescents. They will all be super motivated to learn, not interested in spending all day gaming, dating, and on social media. They will see the inherent benefits of learning Calculus instead of vaping and the scientific method will replace Instagram. Why play Fortnite when you can spend 8 hours a day in mini-classes?
Nice bunch of sarcasm there. But think about it a minute. Does it really matter if the low income students refuse to show up? That's a choice their parents make and what's wrong with suffering the consequences of bad choices? More consequences might lead to fewer bad choices. What's wrong if it's dominated by middle and upper income students? They made good choices. Disruptive kids? Oops, bad choice. They can practice "do you want to supersize that?" Oh no, being automated out of existence. Bad choice.
Why does your rant assume they would have to function like a traditional school? What of self paced learning? Yes, I know little kids need guidance and development, but does it have to look like a traditional school? Should we not look for better models of education and learning?
Instead of having schools that impose a one-size-fits-all, rigid curriculum on everyone, what if we instead had "public superlibraries" which were basically libraries, plus miniclasses ( a miniclass is like a class that results in a certification at the end), plus mentors and counselors to help guide learners, plus daycare for young children? I would propose having a system like this, where children 0 to 8 would be eligible for free day care, young people 5-18 would be eligible for up to 7-8 hours of free miniclasses per weekday, and adults would be eligible for one free miniclass per day as a poverty-fighting measure? Obviously some fine-tuning would be needed but with the appropriate conditions, replacing schools with superlibraries could be made approximately revenue-neutral.
Thoughts?
Sounds like a big step in devolving into a 3rd world nation.
Sounds like a big step in devolving into a 3rd world nation.
We're already a 3rd world nation. We just don't know it yet.
Ideas like these might be the ticket out of 3rd world status. We should at least try. Rigid institutionalism is the death of every great nation / civilization.
We're already a 3rd world nation. We just don't know it yet.
Ideas like these might be the ticket out of 3rd world status. We should at least try. Rigid institutionalism is the death of every great nation / civilization.
The school innovation I heard about two years ago makes a lot of sense. The teacher assigns reading to be done at home, and homework is done in class session with teacher available to help students complete it. This would work best at upper grades, with classes of kids who are motivated to learn.
I am a great believer in libraries. I think allowing students more library time during school hours would be great, especially if the library holdings included access to old photos and non print media, and some realia. But the truth is, school libraries are not flourishing. Budget cuts, and other factors have shrunken or done away with them. Even in the best of times, library funds were often diverted into other areas.
I do think students need some class time with teacher instruction. I can’t imagine a community deciding to invest heavily in library materials, librarians and teachers to the extent you envision.
However, if I had been given that kind of education, I would have loved it.
We're already a 3rd world nation. We just don't know it yet.
Ideas like these might be the ticket out of 3rd world status. We should at least try. Rigid institutionalism is the death of every great nation / civilization.[/quote]Every complex problem has a simple, easy to understand "solution" that won't work.
Public education needs reform, no doubt. There are opposing views on how or even if that should happen.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 10-20-2019 at 06:14 AM..
Reason: removed the insult link
Every complex problem has a simple, easy to understand "solution" that won't work.
Public education needs reform, no doubt. There are opposing views on how or even if that should happen.
I agree with this. Complex problems are usually not solved with simple solutions.
And today’s schools reflect today’s culture.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 10-20-2019 at 06:15 AM..
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