School shedule

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As you probably noticed, I dragged Ali and Pete with me out of the house yesterday. Supposedly for a break from this place, but of course, we can´t just let it go, because we are insane. So we ended up scribbling down an idea for changing the way things are taught at this school and suchlike.

We wrote it down on six papernapkins, (as if my handwriting didn´t already suck) so there are some bits I have no idea what means, but am including them anyway.



The way things are taught here is quite frankly outdated and impractical, and I´d be surprised if any of the children will manage to even get a C on their next tests. So it´s about time we dragged it (kicking and screaming) into the Year of the Monkey.

Which means, according to my sister and M, cross-subject project work. What this means, is that it´s not necessary for teachers to actually be around all the time, nor is it necessary for the children. They´ll get a project, a curriculumn, and a crash course in report writing and a deadline. This is also good because they will be developing portefolios, and it´d be easier for them to judge their own advancement in things. We also believe that they are much more inclined to learn if there´s a practical reason for it.

We already have what might be transformed into three projects: Communications (Jamie´s idea), Red X and Security.

Alison has already volunteered to supervise the Communications project, and me and Pete will be doing the Security anyway so we might as well supervise, and for Red X we were thinking Dr. MacTaggert, unless the professor has anybody else in mind.

Communications and Red X are so diverse they can go out the year, whereas a month would be enough for Security, I´d think. The school would have to buy in some new gear, and find out where the hell the digicams have gone, but I´m sure you can make that happen. Alison would especially like macs, because of the programs such as QuarkXpress and Premiere, Pete and I are making a list of what we need, and Moira would have to weigh in on what she believes would be necessary.

As for the smallest children, who still need the basics such as maths and english, we were thinking that maybe it could be possible to use only one teacher per day, and alternate (Marie and/or Bobby?), which Alison believes will make them feel a lot safer and more inclined to speak with their teachers when something is bothering them. I think it would also take some of the stress of the youngest teachers, since an 18 year old is a "grown-up" to a ten year old, but not, perhaps, so much to a 16 year old.

There are a couple who are already doing their own projects; Kitty, Marie-Ange, as far as I know.
As well as Manuel and Amanda who have their own shedules to follow, but whom we believe should be integrated into the project of their choice as much as possible.

Basically, we just think this would take a whole lot of stress off people.

What do the rest of you think?


(Pete, Amanda: This I couldn´t make sense of at all:
Shit shovel - Remy.
Jubilee go boom! Bad.
Aztek Gods (might be asteh goos) - Marie Ange.)