Alexia made a great point. What about foster kids and kids who have no opportunities? Along similar lines, I had been thinking about the cost of the school (as a starting point). I'd love for the school to be free. But that is unrealistic. So I thought about making tuition be a percentage of parent's income. That could work. I'd also like to offer bartering options. So parents who landscape could mow our lawns, farms can donate food, doctors could donate clinic hours or other benefits, etc. You get the point. So that could help some kids. But what if kids don't have guardians like that?? Good question. Well if tuition is a percentage of parent's income and they don't have parents, then it could be free or really low. But how would they get there and be supported through it all? We could have a certain number of slots for these kids and even offer housing. They would still have to be pretty motivated kids to go through the process of applying and wanting something different.
What about the kids who don't know there is anything different or who cannot even see that far ahead of themselves? We could have a program internally for foster kids, kind of like a school-based foster home. But what about kids with issues? Can we do anything for them or would it be disruptive? It is hard to pair genius kids with struggling ones in one class, but we shouldn't let their issues leave them behind. There is sometimes only so much we can do, but I don't want a school for smart kids. I want a school for motivated kids who need someone to believe in them and place to carry that out. What about the 6th grader who can't tell time? Do we have a track for struggling students? Can we afford one-on-one time in a private school setting with no government funding? Is any of this financially stable? Can kids with behavior issues possibly succeed in a do-it-yourself environment with many freedoms? I just don't know.
The bottom line is that I want this school to be accessible. Now kids who don't know they want something different, that's another question. Do we help kids see that they could be something better in a different environment? Should we take on major issues or some at least? How can we at least build bridges between the school and kids with issues in the community? Would that be beneficial to either side??
About Me
- Jess
- I dream big, but I have no idea where I will end up. I am a middle school science teacher, but I want to go back to school. I am interested in the broader field of education and the possibilities of alternative education. I am also an artist. I design and build furniture from recycled materials and play around with other forms of mixed media art. On the horizon is traveling, starting a school, and building a dream house that is disguised as a giant art installation.
SWAPS
3 comments:
Wow....Interesing ideas..
One reality is that you have to have a central focus of some sort...You cannot be all things to everyone or you will be nothing much to anyone. So, then it seems to me the kids who come need to be centered around that main focus. Given that....they could be geniuses or more average kids with tons of motivation, rich kids, poor kids, kids from 2 parent families, kids from one parent or maybe foster kids etc. Foster kids: that is tough b/c they are in the custody of the state and that brings its own set of regulations and issues. Special needs kids come under federal regulations that may not fit with an alternative approach to education. These are complicated detials that would take a lot of research. As far as $$ goes...maybe getting scholarships set up would help. But it does get hard then b/c kids always know who is there for $$ and who is on scholarship and it is hard not to have cliques based on it. Same with residential kids and day students combined. "In groups" and "out groups" are hard to get away from, epsecially with teens.
One radical idea would be to be like Berea College where everyone is there tuition free and motivated kids with finacial needs get priority because there are plenty of options for rich kids....hmmmmmm....
Then to find the funding for the program....so there is no tuition costs. Bill Cosby maybe? :-)
That is where giving priority to kids with financial needs would be an advantage.
Thank you for thinking about my kids. The foster kids are smart people too.
In other news, you should really link my blog to your blog. www.livejournal.com/spiceypepita. Yay!
wait! I mean link it as this:http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=spiceypepita
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