A blogger (ingvihrannar) has recently compiled a list of fourteen things that are considered "obsolete" in today's schools. This list included things like having a separate "computer room", not having WiFi in school, banning electronics, having unhealthy cafeteria food, starting school early for teenagers, and others. The purpose of the post was to generate ideas and discussions for the future generation of learning, and to not use the same "outdated" system students used 100 years ago. I am in agreement with most of the things included on this list; however, there are some things that I am in disagreement with, and some other things I want to add to this list.
One of the things I agreed with the most on this list was starting school too early for teenagers. This is extremely relevant to all teenagers in high school, since some of the things on this list only applied to some teens; many kids are very tired in the early morning and have a hard time concentrating on the lesson and the material being taught. Some students may also be in a rush to get to school and may miss essential morning activities, such as breakfast, which can be unhealthy to them. High school students (especially seniors) have a lot of homework or daily commitments such as clubs, sports, or extracurriculars that the school doesn't provide. These commitments can eat up a lot of the students' free time, giving them less time to do schoolwork. As a result, many students stay up late trying to get work done or cram in extra study time for tests. When they wake up for school the next morning, they would be utterly exhausted, inattentive to the lesson being taught, and maybe even stressed out. This leads to a decline in the student's ability to learn well. Research shows that teenagers do and feel better in schools that start at a later time; it also shows that if we push back the time for school start by just fifty minutes and extend school time by half an hour, students will do much better in both school and after-school activities. Teachers also have more time to prepare for their daily lessons to their kids, so it's a "win-win situation".
Another thing I agreed with was having unhealthy cafeteria food. If classes in school tell students to have a healthy and balanced diet, then go on and serve unhealthy food for them, then teaching students to eat healthy would be pointless. Instead, schools should promote healthy eating -- not just in the form of worksheets or lectures, but also in the form of the food itself. Maybe healthy food doesn't have to be served every day; sometimes the cafeteria could serve "junk food", but only once or twice every week (this is similar to how in reality, you can have junk food every once in a while). The idea of students cleaning up after themselves, or washing their own dishes, is a great idea as well -- this teaches students about responsibility, which helps them prepare for the world afterwards. The small task of washing dishes will teach students to be more independent as they journey into the real world after they are done with high school. The farm/"windowfarm" is also a good idea; it could provide students with the food that they eat, and at the same time have hands-on interaction with the science of nature. However this idea may not be so realistic, since many factors can play out to make the farm idea an unsuccessful one.
Something I disagree with, however, is for the students to create their own poster/website/pamphlet for the school. Buying a service from another place does not make the school "obsolete" at all; there is nothing wrong with doing so because there would be no huge impact on the school if the students were to design the school's website. Of course, it would enhance the interactions between the students and the school, and be used as a way to showcase what the student(s) have learned in a certain class, but that does not make the school seem more "modernized" in any way. On the surface, students designing websites/posters/pamphlets for the school may only show that the kids in that school may have more artistic ability than others. Even if the kids do make their own pamphlets/posters/websites for the school, the school should not call it a "collaborative project", which implies that it is mandatory and counts for marks; students should consider making websites for the school because they enjoy it, not because it's a compulsory task. I would take this idea away from the list.
Something I would add to this list is schools that have activities that are all run by teachers or staff. By doing this, teachers restrict the amount of freedom and creativity the kids should have. Now, more and more clubs, and even sports teams are usually led by senior students and students who have been in the club for a long time or are very good at a certain sport; they are not usually led by teachers. Yes, teachers do play an important role in the forming of clubs and sports teams, but students also play a key role. This can increase the leadership side of students, increase interaction between students, and help kids become more independent and not as reliant on teachers for help. This also helps develop creativity for student-led activities; kids can have the freedom of choice, in terms of what they choose to do in their club, instead of having a teacher give instructions for compulsory guidelines for that club.
In my opinion, Fraser Heights is a modernized school; many of the things on the list apply to our school, such as the molding of today's technology into every subject, or having WiFi in school, or letting kids use the powerful tools in cell phones or tablets for educational purposes. The school is opening up a new world of opportunities by taking the modern discoveries of our world and fitting it into the school's curriculum. By doing these things, Fraser Heights is taking a big step towards education for the next generation of learners.
Link to the original article: here.
Hello! Great post, Alice! You provided a lot of information and gave several examples to prove your point. I found all of this to be very helpful, as it gave me a better understanding of event. I agree with your opinion, many of these things do apply to our school and technology is fitting into our school activities. You did a a very good job, and thoroughly explaining things really helped with your post. Keep up the great work!
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