why not let them find out about it? Ideally, what they are researching should have something to do with their ‘One Great Thing’ (to quote this very cool Johnnie Walker advert, of all things). Staff members would need to work out who is in the best position to assist and guide each student – perhaps even forming support teams. And the purpose of such teacher mentors would be to co-learn whatever the student is learning, and to offer pointers and suggestions as the year progresses. Students would be required to report back in whatever way they see as apt. Imagine a report in the form of an actual performance, a painting, a mini-conference, a sculpture, a short story, a photography exhibition, a website or even a new invention. With a little bit of imagination, we can find the best ways to mentor and assess each individual project.
15. Uniform(ity) Sucks. And So Does ‘Tradition’. A great deal of schools around the world are obsessed with making their students conform to dress codes. Ties must be worn, hair must be of a particular length, shoes must be of a particular type, trousers of a particular length – unless you’re a girl, in which case you must wear a dress. And so on. It’s ridiculous! And it’s all based on a fallacious domino argument that goes something like this: If they don’t conform to the dress code, then they will not learn to be ‘self-disciplined’ (read: self-policing), if they have no self-discipline, they will be more difficult to control, if they are more difficult to control, they may begin to question our authority and not treat us with the proper amount of respect. And if they don’t respect their teachers, all hell will break loose, and we will have anarchy in our classrooms. I am not even exaggerating slightly. This means of manipulation also deliberately treats girls in a way that perpertuates stereotypes. Most school principals defend this tripe as being part of a school’s ‘ethos’ or ‘tradition’, and state that it aids camaraderie. What they really mean is that it is easier to control and manipulate the minds of students through fear and conformity. (A microcosm of government, if you will.) And it is a means of forcing respect… where it should be earned.
I would not do away with uniforms entirely, as I believe that allowing students to wear only mufti inevitably results in problems amongst students of differing socio-economic circumstances. But I would relax the rules a great deal. Let them wear something appropriate and comfortable in the right colours. Let them wear their hair as they wish. And for goodness sake, let them wear comfortable shoes. Giving them this kind of freedom tells them we respect them, and this is the first step towards them returning the favour.
16. Give Them a Say. At the beginning of a term, I would ask teachers to provide a rough outline of the content to be taught to their classes, and then give students a large say in how it is to be learnt and assessed. I think we would be amazed at the innovative ideas they would come up with.
17. Participation as the Goal. I believe that extra-mural participation is a vital part of a holistic education. I would encourage as many students as I could to be involved in after-school activities – and in all of these activities, I would stress that participation, team work, sportsmanship and personal growth by far supercede winning. Strangely, I believe that with this approach very firmly entrenched, we would probably end up winning anyway – just as I am sure that by encouraging learning and personal growth in our academic programme, our students would achieve excellent marks. The difference being that winning extra-murally and suceeding academically are symptoms of the right approach in each, and not ends in themselves.
18. Collaboration vs Competition. I would do away with any ‘academic’ awards which are based on some students having better marks than others. This is one of the primary causes of students and parents believing that marks are more important than learning. It is not a wishy-washy ‘everyone’s a winner’ philosophy, but one that seeks to address the misguided thinking which encourages ‘excellence through competition’ in learning. It is faulty to assume that these awards are solely about rewarding excellence – they are not. Rather, giving the mark-harvesters an award is assumed to be a good way to motivate those who have not received an award to try harder in order to get one next time. The logic used here is sound in many sports, but not in academics. (Ponder the difference between what an Olympic medalalist is rewarded for, and why a Nobel Prize is awarded.) The re