194/365. That's 53%. A school building is in use by its teachers and students 53% of the year.
7/16. If we allow 16 hours a day of wake time, a school building is in use by its teachers and students for 43% of the day. Now, I will allow for some schools that open their doors for evening programs like Scouts or soccer, and there are occasional school functions that spill over the end of the school day. But many buildings lock their doors (but leave their lights on) more than they are open. What might happen if we view the education of our children as a community responsibility rather than a time to ship our kids off to learn under the direction of a single adult? I envision a building that isn't a school, but a community gathering place. Our children might learn just as much from their teacher as from a senior citizen with a story to share, or a young mother and her baby needing connection. I see an rich tapestry created by local artists inspiring the next generation of artists. I see a schools with stages shared with professional theatre companies, and footsteps fall on the apron under the lights day and night. I see the community band sitting among young musicians giving encouragement through the scratchy beginnings of "Cannon in D" or "Ode to Joy." What if the gym was open for pickup basketball, and the art studio for exploration? What if the small plastic chairs held young blossoming minds during the day and wise senior minds at night? What if the sign on the child and youth worker office switched to a counselling sign at night? What if we didn't build a separate building for every use, but allowed the ebb and flow of our communities to stream through the doors of our educational places? What positive effects might it have on our students, to see the realities and possibilities around them, to see the community of which they are a part and to which they have great things to contribute? What positive effects might it have on our bedroom communities where few people know their neighbours, let alone have meaningful conversation with them? How might we ease the pain of loneliness for adults and provide much needed support to children? Our global community is not defined by the moving of masses from one room to the next, one task to the next, at the sound of a bell. We are not a society that needs knowledge, but one that needs connection. Technology has given us the gift of knowledge, but the curse of isolation. Our school buildings need to be a place that gives communities that which they are lacking, not that which we have in abundance.
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Terri-AnnPersonal reflections on project-based learning. Archives
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