The Ideal school : My Vision -- Miyu TOKUMOTO
My
ideal school needs to be comfortable, safe and equal. In my experience, this is
because not only is the environment poor, but the teachers themselves do not
provide education that is tailored on the students. I believe we should create
schools that are safe and where students truly want to go.
First of all, we need to have physical and
emotional safety. It means to create an attitude to eliminate bullying and
discrimination. There are many students who refuse to go to school because of
bullying and discrimination. Second, teachers need to provide learning methods
that suit each individual student. Finally, teachers and students need to
respect diversity. Ensuring fairness for all students also helps to prevent
bullying.
Effective
instruction to address needs is psychological safety, clear expectations,
consistency, feedback and visible learning. For example, teachers hold classes where students can do group work and individual assignments, solve problems on their own, and get clear, visible results. It is important to instill in
students an attitude of not being afraid of failure and for teachers to listen
to students’ opinions without opposing them. In addition, clarifying the rules
for learning and the classroom can help prevent conflicts by bringing students. Even if students have different opinions, there is a possibility that the problem can be resolved if they follow the rules. Moreover, giving each student individual feedback is also important to keep
them motivated.
So
are there any practical problems with such measures? There were two main
types. First of all, due to time and manpower shortage. There are too few
teachers compared to the number of students, so work doesn’t get done. The
second is the increase in larger class sizes. As I said before, because
there are so many students, there is no time to spend with each student.
I
have come up with solutions to this problem. By
implementing team teaching, in which multiple teachers in charge of in class,
the burden on teachers is reduced. For instance, I believe that by diving
classes into smaller groups, problems
such as a shortage of teachers and large class sizes could be solved. First, two or more teachers teach the same class together. One teaches the lesson, and the other helps students or supports the class. Second, students are divided into small groups. Each group moves between stations, and each teacher teaches at the station.
In
conclusion, I believe that a better school can be created by reducing the
burden on teachers while at the same time showing compassion for students and
deepening understanding of each individual.
Fascinating post, Miyu. Team teaching and the use of a variety of learning stations in large open-plan classrooms can work well. We have sometimes used the team-teaching approach at the English Language Centre a day a week when several classes at the same level or adjacent levels are working on a project. David :-)
ReplyDeleteYour essay presents a thoughtful and compassionate vision of an ideal school. You clearly care about students’ well-being and emphasize very important issues such as safety, equality, and individualized education. I especially liked how you explained the emotional side of education, like reducing fear of failure and respecting students’ opinions. The idea of team teaching and station-based learning is also very creative and practical!
ReplyDeleteLacking of teachers affect on many aspects in education. It is important to reduce teacher's burden. That's a good idea.
ReplyDeleteYou highlight important points like emotional safety, respect for diversity, and personalized teaching methods. r u satisfied the classes in NZ btw, or prefer kandai?
ReplyDeleteI really like your ideal school, physically and emotionally safe school, in that environment, student could focus on study more easily!
ReplyDeleteHello, Miyu, I agree with you that student’s physical and mental’s health are as important as helping them to gain knowledge. Moreover, I also I like your idea of a group activity teaching style.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your essay because it was written from a different perspective than others (including myself). I also believe that schools should be safe and comfortable places for students. But I think that more teachers are still needed because two or more teachers teach the same class together and divide the class into small groups, right?
ReplyDelete