1. Ideal School L. Wressell 1
Lisa Wressell
August 2, 2012
ED 611
Design Project Paper
My School
Introduction
Even though I have gone through the public educational school system, I am now in
graduate school, and my son is about to go into the fourth grade, I had not given much
thought to why schools and classrooms are structured the way they are. I suppose I am
guilty of thinking that schools are structured the way they currently are because that is
how it has always been done. The teacher teaches and the students memorizes what the
teacher says, that is learning. Instead of sticking with the current model where students
attend schools separated into different classroom based on age and class size I would like
to create a completely different school. This paper will explore my school design by
analyzing the learning theories incorporated in my ideal school.
Learning Theories and Practices
I am incorporating several theories and practices as the basis for my ideal school
design. Educational Psychologist John Dewey's educational ideas will be used in my school.
Dewey theories are functionalist psychological theories. Dewey believed all students had a
right to an academic education . Dewey was for the development of thinking skills
(Berliner, 1993, p. 13). He believed knowledge is a tool and not "an end in itself," (Berliner,
1993, p. 13). His theories allowed students to participate in the educational process
because , "it was their personal needs that were the starting place of that process,"
(Berliner, 1993 p. 13).
Lev Vygotsky's theories will also be used in my school. Vygotsky's Social
Development Theory argues that social interaction comes before development and learning
is the product of socialization and social behavior, McLeod, 2007 Vygotsky strongly
believed that "community plays a central role in the process of meaning making" (McLeod,
2007). Vygotsky believed that learning came before development. When students
participate more within their environments their thought process becomes more complex
(McLeod, 2007).
Vygotsky's theory More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) refers to someone or
something who has a better understanding or ability regarding a certain process, concept,
or task (McLeod, 2007). Typically, the assumed MKO is a teacher or adult, but this does not
always have to be the case. Sometimes it can be older children, the child's peers, or even
the child who is more knowledgeable (McLeod, 2007). MKO's do not necessarily have to be
a person. Electronic tutors have been used in schools to help students learn new material
(McLeod, 2007).
Vygotsky's theory the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) will also be used in my
school. The Zone of Proximal Development is when instruction and guidance is given while
allowing the student the opportunity to develop skills they will later use on their own.
2. Ideal School L. Wressell 2
Vgyotsky viewed collaboration with classmates as "an effective way of developing skills
and strategies (McLeod, 2007). Vygotsky believed educators should assign coursework
that allowed students of varying educational levels to work together. This would enable
"less competent children to develop with help from more skillful peers," (McLeod, 2007).
Finally, contemporary educator and author Alfie Kohn, whose theories closely align
with Dewey's, believes children succeed the most when they are in a classroom with
unconditional acceptance (Kohn, 2005, 20). According to Kohn, "Although it is most critical
that they experience that kind of acceptance at home, what happens at school matters too,"
(Kohn, 2005, 21).
School Design
In my ideal school, I would like to set up a democratic school with about 400
students ranging from the ages of 4 to 19. I believe this is a suitable age range because
under Vgotsky's Social Learning Theory, learning is the product of socialization. Outside of
school and the military, people interact with people who are of a variety of age ranges. In
the typical public school class students are segregated by age. By allowing students to
interact with people of a variety of age ranges they will be allowed to learn how to socialize
with people from different age groups, not just those of their age. The younger students
will benefit from interactions from the older students through Vygotky's theory of the More
Knowledgeable Other.
There would be project based learning and self directed learning. Instead of going
to a library for a book or reference material, students will have access to books in every
room. The walls of each room will be lined with books. There will be dedicated spaces for
artistic endeavors, music, dance, technology, science, math, shop, photography, gym and
language. The rooms will have plenty of places to sit such as desk chairs, oversized chairs
or couches. The classrooms and study areas will have large conference tables and chairs,
blackboards and will be equipped with current technologies. Allowing all students access to
a computer will give them the benefit Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal
Development. The internet provides students with the ability to learn nearly anything they
would like to learn, and there is almost always an author or a program that is more
knowledgeable that can teach students what they would like to know. Essentially the
school will be furnished more like a home than the typical educational institution.
Illustration1: School Layout
3. Ideal School L. Wressell 3
Illustration 1 is an example of the different learning sections in my ideal school.
The administration will emulate an administration hierarchy similar to that of the
Sudbury school as researched by Peter Gray and David Chanoff in their journal article
Democratic Schooling, What happens to Young people Who have Charge of Their Own
Education.. Students will have complete control over their education and the school will be
run equally by both the students and the staff (Gray and Chanoff, p.185).
There will be one adult staff member/teacher for every 10 students enrolled.
Similarly to the Sudbury school, (Gray and Chanoff, 186). I would like to see the staff with a
wide range of skills and backgrounds such as a historian, a librarian, a musician,
businessmen, a scientists, a mathematician, an artist and/or writer, so students have
guidance from professionals within a wide variety of fields and disciplines. The members
of the staff would serve as facilitators instead of teachers. This method of teaching or
facilitating falls in line with Deweyian educational theory. Dewey believed reciting lessons
and information to students where teachers acted like they were pouring knowledge into
student's heads head to be a mistake (Berliner,1993, p. 12). Lessons that were taught in
that manner were emphasizing only one part of the system and full learning and
understanding is not taking place under that method of teaching. Dewey wanted students
to have the chance to response and to have students be active participants in learning.
Dewey believed there need to be time allocated during teaching for "interpretation to make
sense out of what was presented," (Berliner 1993, p. 12).
Even though the learning is self directed, it is still important for students to have
access to someone who can answer their questions or help with a project.
Curriculum, Discipline, and Management
The main objective for educating students at the ideal school is to allow the students
to have greater control over what they will learn. Students will not be tested or forced to
memorize information they do not genuinely have an interest. This will provide the
backbone for personal creativity. Alfie Kohn points out in his work, Rewards Versus
learning a Response to Paul Chance, grades or rewards do not "alter the attitudes that
underlie our behaviors. They do not create an enduring commitment to a set of values or to
learning, they merely and temporarily, change what we do," (Kohn, 1992, p.784). In other
words, if grades are given for assignments, students will not necessarily become more
motivated in their school work, in fact it may cause the exact opposite to happen. Or
students will work just hard enough to achieve the grade they want, but will not work any
harder to try to gain more insight into a subject than what is required of the students.
Ultimately, students will have free rein to decide what they will learn. They will not be
specifically taught anything until they are ready and have the interest.
Discipline will be handled by the student/staff committee. The committee meetings
rotate so most students and staff will have a chance to serve on the committee that handles
discipline. The rules such as no graffiti or harassment are determined by everyone in the
school. During the monthly student and staff meetings where every staff member and
student attends issues such as policies, procedures, and budget are addressed. The school
4. Ideal School L. Wressell 4
will have a code of conducts and ethics that are agreed upon by majority vote. If someone
violates the agreed upon rules such as no littering there will be a logical consequence
applied (pick up garbage for a week). School hours are from 7:30 - 5:30, but students only
have to show up for 6 hours each day. Students can determine when they would like to
attend, so issues such as attendance, truancy, and skipping class should be minimal or
nonexistent.
Teaching Practices
The teachers at the idea school will serve to help students with their projects and
their subjects of interest. They will be mindful of Gardner's multiple intelligence levels.
Students will not be scored, instead they will be profiles. According to Seana Moran, Mindy
Kornhaber, and Howard Gardner in their work Multiple Intelligences, every learner has a
combination of strengths and weakness' in varying areas of intelligence: "language,
logic/math, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and
existential (Moran, Kohnhaber, and Gardner, 2006, p 23). This method of accessing
intelligence levels is on par with Deweyian theory since Dewey believed in a holistic view
of teaching (Berliner, 1993, p. 12).
Goals and School Priorities
The goal of the school is to educate learners and to help students develop a love of
knowledge and pursing their own interest. In order for us to have a democratic society you
must have an educated society. But is an educated society really educated when
authoritarian figures are telling you what you need to learn? If students are told what they
have to learn for a test, they are not intrinsically motivated to really learn and retain the
information presented. The school will value freedom, liberty, and creativity. While public
schools in the United States value the product: high school graduates all graduating at the
same time in the same age group, the ideal school will value the process of learning.
Students will engage in meaningful learning, not required learning. The school will
facilitate learning when the students are ready to learn and when they have the desire to
learn the new material.
Conclusion
While completely changing our current school structure may seem like a radical
idea, I think it's important to consider that our current model of educating the masses is
not working. According to Henry M Levin and Cecilia E Rouse in their New York Times
article The True Cost of High School Dropouts, only 7 out of 10 high school students
complete high school (Levin & Rouse, 2012). That is a thirty percent failure rate. If thirty
percent of cars stopped working within four years, consumers would not buy that model of
car. And yet we have continued our same model of public education for the last two
hundred years in the same manner. It seems like it is time for a different option.
5. Ideal School L. Wressell 5
References
Berliner, D.C. (1993). The 100-year journey of Educational Psychology: From interest, to
disdain, to respect for practice. In T.K. Fagan and G.R. Vandenbos (Eds.) Exploring
Applied Psychology Origins and Critical Analysis: Master Lectures in Psychology.
Washington, DC.
Gary, P. & Chanoff, D. (1986). Democratic Schooling: What happens to Young People Who
Have Charge of Their Own Education. American Journal of Education, 94, 182-213.
Kohn, A. (1993). Rewards verses learning: A response to Paul Chance. Phi Delta Kappan, 74
(10), 783-787.
Levin, H. & Rouse C. (2012, January 28). The True Cost of High School Dropouts. The New
York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2012, from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/the-true-cost-of-high-school-
dropouts.html
McLeod, S.A. (2007). Simply Psychology. Retrieved August 2, 2012 from:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
Moran, s. Korhaber, M., & Gardener, H. (2006). Orchestrating Mulitple Intelligence.
Educational Leadership, 64(1), pp. 22-27
