Posts from — January 2006

Some time before the holidays, Zandra and I watched a documentary about middle school children. For some reason I’ve forgotten the name of the show but it was moving. In this show there were statistics about how many young people had been exposed to violence, abuse, bullying, drugs, sex, and other pressures.

I was left feeling sad and disappointed that our current school system doesn’t account for the fact that students are people too!

The design of school environments, the curriculum, the delivery method and the methods for giving and getting feedback do not consider young people as people – with feelings, needs, and emotional challenges in their lives.

In this documentary the young people featured were very articulate about their needs – and the pressures they experience. They could communicate very well about their sexual desires – and beliefs – as well as their feelings about their experiences at school and their experiences with adults.

How can people learn in an environment where they are not supported as people?

The documentary left me feeling more dubious about public schools and the ever increasing challenges of creating a true environment for learning.