Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have
come to the same conclusion and invest vast
sums into supporting the development of new
small high school models.
Jordan Hylden at Harvard University observed:
“Students in small schools perform better
academically, graduate at higher levels, are more
likely to attend college, and earn higher salaries
later on in life.
They participate more in extracurricular activities,
have better rates of attendance, report greater positive
attitudes towards learning, and are less likely to face
school-related crime and violence.
Their teachers report greater job satisfaction and
are more likely to feel as if they are succeeding in
their work.
Their administrators and teachers are often
more able to identify problems, respond innovatively
and effectively, and adapt to change. Their
parents and relatives are more likely to become
involved in the school.
Small schools are often characterized by
personalized attention, curriculum integration
and specialization, relational trust and respect,
a student’s sense of belonging, a strong positive
ethos, greater accountability, and a sense of
communal mission.”
The point that I want to make is that bigger
is not necessarily better, especially when it
comes to designing schools. But large schools
have become the norm.
Endless numbers of movies and television
sitcoms showcase large public middle and
high schools. Children take for granted
that this is the way things are supposed
to be. All through elementary school,
many children long for the day when they
can make the rite of passage and go to a
big school. In affluent communities, the
modern secondary level campus is shiny
and new and costs enough to keep property
tax rates higher than ever.
Public education enjoys almost universal
support from the American public. We take
pride in our large schools. On the other
hand, we hear conflicting messages from
all sides, most commonly that our country’s
students are falling further and further
behind those of much of the rest of the
world. We decry the state of schools today
in America as a whole, while reassuring
each other that our local schools are among
the best in the nation.
The seemingly obvious solution is to spend
still more money on our schools. There are
inequities still to be found in American
public education. Some districts have much
greater resources, and some schools are
grossly underfunded. But the evidence of
the last several decades is that much of the
money invested had led to modest outcomes
in terms of overall student learning and the
emotional climate within our schools. We
have much larger modern buildings, iPads,
laptops, Smartboards, and educational
technology that looks and sounds good but
is not the direct link to deeper learning.
Education is still centered around the direct
relationship of children and adults who
know how to facilitate their learning.
We hear snide jokes about the wasteful
spending of the government, forgetting
that the biggest spending arm of our
government is typically right in our own
community, where the public school
system is often the largest employer in
town and usually spends almost as much
on centralized administration as on its
classroom programs.
In recent years, technology is often seen as the
answer, forgetting the wisdom of this old truth:
Tell me about something, and I may
quickly forget.
Show me, and I may remember and
understand.
But lead me to do something on my
own, to experience it firsthand, and I
will almost certainly remember it for
a lifetime.
Children learn best by doing, and they learn
best of all within a school setting in which
they feel safe, respected, and emotionally
connected to their teachers and fellow students.
This is very difficult to do in a school
system that is obsessed with state-mandated
standards, constantly changing curriculum,
high-stakes testing, and students who are
trained to follow instructions rather than
think deeply and become engaged in their
education.
SMALLER SCHOOL SIZE IS NOT ENOUGH
There are obvious trade-offs with a smaller
enrollment. With fewer students and teachers,
it becomes difficult to offer as many extra
curricular programs and widely varying
courses of study.
But how much is enough? Which is more
important: a choice among thirty different
social studies courses or a school in which you
find your own voice, live and work within a
strong supportive community, and, as a young
person, feel that adults really listen and treat
them with kindness, warmth, and respect?
Today, many charter and private schools are increasingly
specialized, offering families a greater
range of choice. Smaller schools that put
children at the center, rather than lesson plans,
tend to create far more humane, kind, and effective
educational outcomes in the long run,
not only in terms of what can be measured on
test scores, but in terms of the quality of relationships,
character, and ability to work together
to get things done.
Perhaps, it is time to go back to the good old
days when schools were small, and everyone
knew your name.
Tim Seldin is the President of the
Montessori Foundation and Chair
of the International Montessori
Council. His more than forty years
of experience in Montessori education includes
twenty-two years as Headmaster of the Barrie
School in Silver Spring, Maryland, which was his
alma mater from age two through graduation.
Tim was the co-founder and Director of the
Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies, the
Center for Guided Montessori Studies, and also
serves as the Head of the NewGate School in
Sarasota, Florida. He earned a B.A. in History
and Philosophy from Georgetown University,
an M.Ed. in Educational Administration and
Supervision from The American University,
and his Montessori certification from the
American Montessori Society. He is the author
of several books on Montessori Education,
including How to Raise An Amazing Child, The
Montessori Way with Dr. Paul Epstein, Building
a World-class Montessori School, Finding the
Perfect Match—Recruit and Retain Your Ideal
Enrollment, Master Teachers—Model Programs,
Starting a New Montessori School, Celebrations
of Life, and The World in the Palm of Her Hand.
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