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Writer's Block: Back to School
Jan. 14th, 2009 05:27 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
The question is so very germane to my life at this moment. My experience at an eastern Prep School was so disturbing that I have been moved to start a school of my own.
Academic excellence is one thing, but when it is focused on to the exclusion of all else, the social and moral climate of the students, especially in a boarding-school environment - can become abysmal.
More than ever, school is a trial for many, many students. Overcrowding, underfunding, poorly-qualified teachers and the "No Child Left Behind" initiative are creating educational environments where teachers and administrators have no time to tend to the social development of their charges. Classrooms and hallways are rife with abuse, and many children fear for their safety or end up enduring years of abuse at the hands of bullies and cliques.
I dream of a school where children can learn in an atmosphere of absolute safety and impeccable excellence. Where they are taught from the day they enter the campus, that each member of their class has unsurpassable value and the potential to become great. Where teachers are hired to function as counsellors and facilitators as well as academicians. And where students who graduate will be ready, prepared and willing to build a world that works for everyone, with nobody left out.
Explore the vision at http://www.academyofgreatness.com
The question is so very germane to my life at this moment. My experience at an eastern Prep School was so disturbing that I have been moved to start a school of my own.
Academic excellence is one thing, but when it is focused on to the exclusion of all else, the social and moral climate of the students, especially in a boarding-school environment - can become abysmal.
More than ever, school is a trial for many, many students. Overcrowding, underfunding, poorly-qualified teachers and the "No Child Left Behind" initiative are creating educational environments where teachers and administrators have no time to tend to the social development of their charges. Classrooms and hallways are rife with abuse, and many children fear for their safety or end up enduring years of abuse at the hands of bullies and cliques.
I dream of a school where children can learn in an atmosphere of absolute safety and impeccable excellence. Where they are taught from the day they enter the campus, that each member of their class has unsurpassable value and the potential to become great. Where teachers are hired to function as counsellors and facilitators as well as academicians. And where students who graduate will be ready, prepared and willing to build a world that works for everyone, with nobody left out.
Explore the vision at http://www.academyofgreatness.com
