Idea du Jour

I have seen this video posted on a number of ed blogs, most notably by George Courous at his blog the Principal of Change. He is one blogger that I love reading because it really seems uncensored. Far too often we hesitate to click publish because we are scared of being misinterpreted or offending someone. The purpose, as I see it, of blogging is to explore ideas publicly. Part of this means possibly making mistakes and maybe even upsetting some people. As long as it is done with honesty and respect, I say click publish.

The idea that George and others are sharing is a video called ten expectations. This video is a commentary by the organization "leaving to learn.org." The main idea of this book/site is that student engagement and success can increase by allowing students to pursue "out-of-school" learning experiences.

The video challenges schools and classrooms to meet ten student expectations. Well, here you watch it:

One of the ideas that stands out in my mind, this speaks about the lens that I am viewing through in my position right now, is that it encourages schools and classrooms to be student-centered. We like to think that we are student centered, but how often are schoolwide or classroom decisions made based on larger organizational policies or budget restraints? I know that this is the reality that we have to work in, but can we really claim to be student-centered?

Some changes and policies are difficult to achieve, but if we put the individual student and their needs first, and then form our classrooms, schools and districts policies around that one student, only then can we say that we are in fact student centered.