Jan 3, 2018 12:00:00 AM
The best experience is just being accepted, I transferred from a public school with no individuality where I was struggling socially and academically. To have an advisory, a family that cares about you and your interests was truly the greatest feeling one could have at school. Before I transferred I had just stayed back a grade and was seriously considering dropping out. The Met changed everything, from my attitude to my interests. At previous school I never would have rediscovered my passion for animals, or had an opportunity to work with them and educate others. It’s safe to say that The Met turned my life around, I will always be grateful. Designing my own projects definitely made my learning better because it was my own. Having a schoolwork assigned is different than actually coming up with a project and process on your own and doing it because you want to. When I wanted to do a blood drive I made sure I knew everything there was to know about the process. I went above and beyond in every project because it was mine; it was something that made me feel independent.So how can we bridge the gap between small-school culture and the traditional large-school model? I believe that large schools need to be broken up into smaller groups of learners so that teachers have a chance to know their students. [pullquote position="right"]You cannot personalize a learning plan if you do not know who you are teaching.[/pullquote] Teaching teams should never be so large that the whole team cannot come to one physical table and discuss how to solve the problems facing the student or the school. And curriculum needs to change from a model focused on covering what is on the test to one that has flexibility for students to find meaning in their learning so that they will retain the essential skills. Most of all, teachers need professional development and resources. Personalized learning is like the improv exercise "Yes, and…" where the student drives the inquiry and you are not allowed to say "no." You have to go with it, find the learning goal and trust the process. It can be scary to let the student drive, but they will arrive at their chosen destination. After all, isn’t that why are we doing this work?
Brian Bordieri is a 9th through 12th grade advisor at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence, Rhode Island. He is a Teach Plus Rhode Island Teaching Policy Fellow.
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