After visiting the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry, I can’t stop thinking about the impact that this school system has on students. I was skeptical at first, but after the visit, I have been reflecting on the fact that our current school system is something that has been built over time, and followed just because that’s how it’s always been. Although I still have lots to learn and don’t fully understand how this inquiry model works yet, I find it so interesting how engaged students can be with this sense of freedom. One of the biggest challenges of teaching a large, diverse classroom is keeping everyone engaged and meeting a variety of learners’ needs. It was so refreshing to hear that the students at this school want to be at school on weekends and stay up late by choice doing their schoolwork, because they genuinely enjoy it. I definitely will continue to ponder how I can integrate similar strategies into my future classroom in even just small ways, like centers, to understand students’ interests and learn how to incorporate their curiosity into my teaching. After reflecting on what I learned on Friday, my few lingering questions that are…
- Does this structure work for every kid? Would this structure fit the needs of students who love the current traditional schooling system?
- How do attendance rates influence consistency in learning? And if this system were to be implemented in primary years, would attendance be affected?
- How are both math and indigenous knowledge appropriately included in self-directed learning?
