Does education have to occur within a classroom? Is education a two part system, the delivery of information and the receiving of information? Is education a person in a desk and a person imparting knowledge? These are questions we need to rethink.
I believe the walls of the classroom and school need to be a blended line with community. Youth should be learning where they live, work and play. The culture of the community is a huge factor in how the youth will learn. Setting up situations and opportunities for them to explore and gain knowledge from, then debriefing with them should be the educators job. Our job is not to keep thinking up ways to “get” them to learn, but to look for what is meaningful for them and provide opportunities for them to find the answers.
The “special ed” approach works for ALL students. When I offer these ideas to my colleagues, I am too often met with a comment such as, “Well, that is fine for your kids, but we have a test ours must pass.” That is so sad! All students should have to fun of learning that mine receive! All students should be offered opportunities to explore the real life world of work, prior to making a commitment to a job or career.
On One Road 