Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:16 am
You misunderstand me. I do not mean ask the teacher questions. I mean question the material.
For instance, our teacher at school would lecture historical events and talk about the impact and cause. We were always expected to question and disagree. In fact, our grade depended on it. Our classes were 90 minutes, so we often spent half the time arguing back and forth, and then other kids would take sides. This wasn't just for history, but for all of our humanity classes. It is not uncommon to start the class off with one of the students disputing the contents of the textbook. Many of us were given assignments to research on the current topic at hand. This happened most often in the science classes, where recent research could be used to either further discuss or dispute our lessons.
In short, performing the lesson well wasn't the focus of the school, though of course, you needed to understand it. What was truly important was taking the lesson and forming your own thoughts (well supported, you can't just make crap up) so that they can be applicable to real life.
I will never understand the Scientology idea of "disputing wins" because that's what we did in school so often. More than once I've thought I had created the perfect argument only to have it torn to pieces in class. And of course, in the end what you learn is that there isn't necessarily a right answer. That had been a very frightening moment for me in school, but was something I truly appreciate now.
I guess what I'm saying is that while Delphi schools may be better than a lot of public schools, I would never consider them to be good schools, nevermind sending my kids to one of them. The fact that a school that inadequately prepares kids for the real world has so few graduates (this was my impression, from the fact that the stories most of you guys describe seems to be a one by one graduating basis, so correct me if I'm wrong) is something I find mind boggling. My school was strict too (I attended a public IB school), but it wasn't in our interest to kick students out. In fact, that rarely happens. Instead most kids decide that they prefer a less academic based school and return to their home high schools.
I think the Delphi schools have pressed all my buttons. I'm a teacher, so it angers me when I read about the curriculum. As far as I'm concerned, it is a teacher's responsibility to teach, not hand out materials and wait for the student to stumble over them. You might as well not call such people teachers, but supervisors.
For instance, our teacher at school would lecture historical events and talk about the impact and cause. We were always expected to question and disagree. In fact, our grade depended on it. Our classes were 90 minutes, so we often spent half the time arguing back and forth, and then other kids would take sides. This wasn't just for history, but for all of our humanity classes. It is not uncommon to start the class off with one of the students disputing the contents of the textbook. Many of us were given assignments to research on the current topic at hand. This happened most often in the science classes, where recent research could be used to either further discuss or dispute our lessons.
In short, performing the lesson well wasn't the focus of the school, though of course, you needed to understand it. What was truly important was taking the lesson and forming your own thoughts (well supported, you can't just make crap up) so that they can be applicable to real life.
I will never understand the Scientology idea of "disputing wins" because that's what we did in school so often. More than once I've thought I had created the perfect argument only to have it torn to pieces in class. And of course, in the end what you learn is that there isn't necessarily a right answer. That had been a very frightening moment for me in school, but was something I truly appreciate now.
I guess what I'm saying is that while Delphi schools may be better than a lot of public schools, I would never consider them to be good schools, nevermind sending my kids to one of them. The fact that a school that inadequately prepares kids for the real world has so few graduates (this was my impression, from the fact that the stories most of you guys describe seems to be a one by one graduating basis, so correct me if I'm wrong) is something I find mind boggling. My school was strict too (I attended a public IB school), but it wasn't in our interest to kick students out. In fact, that rarely happens. Instead most kids decide that they prefer a less academic based school and return to their home high schools.
I think the Delphi schools have pressed all my buttons. I'm a teacher, so it angers me when I read about the curriculum. As far as I'm concerned, it is a teacher's responsibility to teach, not hand out materials and wait for the student to stumble over them. You might as well not call such people teachers, but supervisors.
