Introduction to teaching
How would you design a model school?
You have been asked by leading officials at a a university to design a model school. This should be designed to best meet the needs of all members of the community. That is, your school should be designed to provide educational equity and social justice for a diverse body of students. Your task is to draw upon your experiences as learner and teacher, readings, and previous class discussions to pick the characteristics of your school.
Stake out your position on these 7 major aspects common to a school-planning project. On the questions with continuums, decide where your group feels most comfortable. Explain your position and how it fits into the overall philosophy of your class.
1. What will be the discipline policy at your school? For example, will your school function more like a military academy, where teachers and administrators have all the power, or will it be more like an experimental school, where students make all the rules?
2.What will the curriculum look like? Explain your position. For example, will your curriculum demand that every student take the same subjects, or will students get to choose what they would like to study?
3. How will the classes be arranged? What will the layout of the school look like? Consider things like walls, common spaces, and the general shape of the building. You can either write out your ideas or draw them.
4.How will the students be grouped – ability, age, interests, or gender? How many will be in each group?
5.What role will the community play in your school? Who from the community will be involved, and how will you get them involved?
6.Will ethics and morals be part of the curriculum? If so, how will they be taught?
7.Based on what criteria will the teachers be selected?
