As I formulate views on school and curriculum development, I have been struck by the need to value student diversity rather than squash it. This was reinforced for me during the recent address from Yong Zhao.
There are a number of students at Hornby High School who clearly value their own difference. They actively try to maintain their individuality, at the personal cost of regular conflict with the school rules, and so they are a target of the school discipline system.
I decided to meet with one of these students (I walked him to a local coffee shop and bought him coffee) and ask him why he does this, and what he would want from a school that would better prepare him for his future.
I interviewed a year 12 boy, asking only these two questions:
- Why do you choose to dress the way you do, ignoring the uniform rules of the school?
- What would school look like if it were to meet your own needs?
He made the following comments:
- We don’t acknowledge student differences
- We have too many rules, many of which don’t seem to serve a purpose
- We should be offering more individualised courses that meet student needs/’passions’ (he used that word without prompting
- “More people would attend school if they were doing what they love doing”
- We should have less of a gap between teachers and students, teachers need to “know more about their students”
- He would like more freedom, he acknowledged that we need some rules, but should have fewer, and more choice to specialise in what they love
When you think about it, there is nothing there that should come as a surprise. During a meeting with several staff about integrated curriculum, project based learning, connected curriculum (call it what you will) a colleague made this comment:
"I've taught in Year 7-13 schools for 18 years. As a profession we have been talking about this stuff all that time. It's time we did something about it instead of talking."
Yep. The moral imperative is clear, the mandate is there. Time to act!!!
