Principles Of Designing A Perfect School Platform - Case Study Example

Principles Of Designing A Perfect School Platform Abstract This report is a discussion about a perfect school platform. First of all, an introduction has been given so as to make clear what a perfect school should offer to its learners and what objectives does the school platform holds. Key points are mentioned that help clarify what are the qualities of a perfect school platform. Important consideration has been given to concepts like school tracking and extra-curricular activities. After then, some lines have been dedicated to clarify what a perfect curriculum platform is and what is its importance in the reputation of school and learners’ academic career. Different theories have been discussed which include the Linear tradition, the Holistic tradition, the Laissez-Faire tradition and the Critical theorist tradition to help the reader understand what approaches should be used while deigning an ideal curriculum. After describing these theories separately, paragraphs have been dedicated to blend together the main points and advantages of these theories in order to have a better idea what should be the exact approach towards the design and implementation of a perfect curriculum platform that should help promote the students’ learning. Furthermore, the roles of a good curriculum have been discussed. In the end, the report is concluded in a paragraph which helps the reader to have a brief summary of what this report aims to teach. Some references have been included in the report to provide an outlook at what famous literary personalities have to say about the topic Keywords: school, curriculum, platform, ideal, perfect, teachers, students, learner, learning, environment, academic, co-curricular, activities, theory, tracking, technology, classroom Introduction First of all, it would be important to illustrate what a perfect school platform is and what it appears, sounds and feels like. Surveys have been carried out to find out what features people think a perfect school should have. Every one of us believes that a perfect school platform is one which, along with studies, emphasizes upon sports and games, music, drama and plays; has comfortable classrooms, chairs and tables; hires highly educated staff and pays them well; considers school tracking an important concept to encourage similar ability level competition; incorporates practical work and projects into the curriculum; focuses on field work; makes policy for teachers to help out the students in their weaknesses; implements latest technology based tools to introduce the students to the modern virtual world; focuses on students’ strength and not on their weaknesses; runs a separate department for student counseling; maintains an updated and well-kept library; provides excellent food for students’ and teachers’ lunch; arranges seminars for teachers and students collaboration; maintain effective administration; so on and so forth. There should be freedom for everyone to move around so that one, especially a student, does not feel like he is walking in a no-go area. There should be colorful and eye catching art work hanging on the walls so that one feels good while walking around the school area. Arrangements should be there to cater with students needs of water and healthful food. Toilets should be clean and washed at a regular basis. A good doctor and first aid should be made available in case a child gets ill. Telephone facility should be provided to the students in case they have to contact their parents if an emergency occurs. There should be proper planting and greenery in gardens and lawns to beautify the whole look of the school. There should be “a competent, attentive wait staff” which is a major element toward school’s perfection or otherwise (Davis, 2008). Along with focusing on maintain a disciplined environment, teachers should encourage their students to communicate with them in a friendly way and confide in them their problems. Special trainers should be hired for sports and games and there should be special classes for aerobics, swimming, singing and acting. Students should be encouraged to participate in decorating their classrooms and there should be healthy competition between classes about keeping the surroundings of the school clean, neat and tidy. According to Rosborg, McGee and Burgett (2007), The perfect school must have the perfect principal, or at least the “practically perfect principal” because no principal can be or should be everything to everyone. The practically perfect principal (1) builds a perfect school around a shared vision, (2) is a terrific communicator, (3) is highly resourceful, (4) compiles and analyzes data to share with his or her staff, and (5) leads a balanced life which includes having fun at work. This is the outer picture of what a perfect school platform should be like. The vision of the school administration, especially the principal, is very important in order to create an inspiration for teachers and students to devote their lives for healthy learning. The principal should visit each classroom so as to get acquainted with what is going on and the teachers should know each student by his name which helps in developing better understanding between the two parties which eventually leads to the creation of a healthy environment for learning. The teachers should know which student is better at what and is weak at which point. School Tracking Tracking is the curriculum grouping of students based upon their academic capabilities. A perfect school platform should be able to incorporate healthy tracking among the students. The major advantage of school tracking is that it enables teachers to better decide what level of lessons to give to which group of students, keeping in mind their capabilities. This also enhances the teacher-student relationship as the teacher tends to have a better understanding of each group because “teachers are also valuable sources of information, not only on subject matter, but on school logistics, as well” (Hill, 1998). Tracks with similar ability level are compared to analyze their work which enhances competition, reduces frustration in the minds of lower ability groups and prevents the higher ability groups to become flattered. It is always a good idea to place students with advanced abilities in advanced placements so that they can polish their abilities to the highest extent. Tracking becomes somewhat dysfunctional when the ability level of students in a tracked class changes with time due to learning. Due to this reason, the school, in order to offer a perfect platform for healthy learning, has to assess and re-assess the students occasionally to maintain homogenous tracking. An imperfect platform may ignore to maintain a high level of curriculum for low-ability tracks which can finally lead to their low efficiency, but a perfect school considers this thing the most. Tracking affects the self-concepts of students in a way that they learn to compete with their peers and develop a better understanding with their teachers without getting discouraged, but on the other hand, they may learn not to do friendships outside their tracks while considering other tracks as aliens. And this is where a perfect school’s role starts, that is, to encourage the tracks to form friendships outside their track as well and learn to communicate effectively with their peers. Co-curricular Activities A perfect school platform should offer creative co-curricular activities to the students so as to bring out their hidden talents which are as important as being skilful in curricular activities. Sports, games and outdoor activities help them get a good portion of daily exercise and they also learn to stay physically fit along with the assurance of their mental well-being. They learn to adopt a healthy and creative lifestyle. There should be special classes arranged for music, drams, plays, tableaus, performing arts which help the students to have an understanding of various fields of life and also help in relieving stress caused by studying. These activities satisfy the children’s natural curiosity and innovation while boosting their self-confidence at the same time. They learn to cooperate with their peers, communicate with them and enter into healthy competitions. They also learn to develop team spirit which is a very important lesson that will help them throughout their lives. They learn time management as many sport activities, like swimming, are performed while keeping track of time consumed, even minutes and seconds are calculated. This teaches students to learn to manage their time and this learning also helps them in their curricular activities. A perfect school platform makes sure that all of these activities are well arranged by the staff and well attended by the students. This is the outer picture of a perfect school platform. In short, a perfect school should be able to help students polish themselves academically, publicly, mentally, spiritually and ethically. A Perfect Curriculum Platform Now, we talk about a perfect curriculum that a perfect school platform should offer to its students. The word curriculum originated from currere which is a Latin word and its meaning is to run. A curriculum is actually “a program of instruction” (Tyler, 2009) that is prepared for the students’ learning process keeping them updated with the syllabus being followed in the modern world and promoting the “learners’ intellectual, personal, social and physical development” (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2009). A perfect curriculum plays a key role in healthy learning of students which leads them toward the achievement of higher grades through their academic career. The school’s authorities should pay particular consideration while choosing a curriculum that is beneficial to all types of students, whether they are high ability students or are low ability ones. High vision staff should be able to acclimatize and improve the curriculum so as to keep pace with the ever-changing and up to date world. However, Taylor (2009) very rightly says that “curricular resources are tools of our trade” and are just like paint brushes which, no matter how old or imperfect, if used by a trained artist, still can produce a beautiful picture. The curriculum should be able to accommodate all students no matter what their skill level is and should be easy enough to help promote learning from basics to higher standards in a strong fashion (Richmond, 1971). Linear Tradition, Holistic Tradition, Laissez-Faire Tradition and Critical Theory It is important to clarify these terms before going into the topic of blending these theories together so as to achieve a perfect curriculum platform for all types of students. Below is a brief description of these four important theories. Linear tradition. Linear tradition indicates that curriculum should be made more practical that would teach the students to get a better understanding of the subject though practical problem-solving using real-life examples. This helps to evaluate their learning in a wide variety of ways and teaches them problem-solving techniques by pondering upon practical objectives of the topic being studied. Students carry out discussions, enter into a question and answer session, think out for the application of the topic in real life, and come up with results that help attain the practical objectives. Holistic Tradition. According to Miller (2000), “holistic education is based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace”. Holistic tradition encourages students to work in group and engage in health group activities to discuss and experiment with their topic while focusing on the practical examples. The teacher serves as a facilitator rather than an instructing boss, and this helps the students to better communicate with the teacher and with other members of the group, and get a better understanding of intricate problems related to their curriculum Laissez-Faire Tradition. According to this tradition, much like the holistic approach, students tend to learn better and faster if the teacher is eliminated from the scene and the students are left alone to engage in group activities and carry out their problem-solving techniques and experimentation. This tradition is not fully acceptable because, no matter how much students learn from group activities, the need for an instructor or an educator or a teacher still persists. Critical Thoery. This theory encourages the students to communicate and collaborate with each other regarding the topic they are learning, and communicate with teacher as well. This theory brings about a comfortable relationship between the teacher and the students where the latter do not feel that they are the ones who just have to keep quiet and listen. Rather, every student gives his voice about the subject and participates in the on-going discussion while raising questions and answering them. This promotes healthy learning and meaningful collaboration among peers. All Theories Blended Together to Attain a Perfect Curriculum Platform In order to attain a perfect curriculum platform for the students, all of the above mentioned theories have to be blended together so that their positive points merge together to form an ideal curriculum platform which offers healthy and beneficial learning to the students and helps them achieve higher grades. An ideal curriculum would have the students ponder not only on the theoretical portion of the subject but also upon the practical objectives that can also be applied to “their personal and professional lives” (Adamson, 2009). An ideal curriculum should clearly be based upon the educational purposes the school aims to attain and should be designed in such a manner that the subject might be able to contribute something to those students as well who are not going to have an expertise of that particular subject later in life. An ideal curriculum, like in linear tradition, should help the students to make predictions and decisions and efficiently solve the problems by bringing out examples from real life. For example The curriculum should be flexible enough to accommodate paper and pencil discussion along with the use of the latest technology based tools. It should eliminate the gap (as proposed by the gap theory) between the teacher and the students. Moreover, an ideal curriculum should encourage the students to work in groups in an informal environment where teacher does not act as a boss or a dictator; rather, the students act their own instructors. They discuss the topic among themselves, ask each other questions and try to come up with the best possible solutions. This way, they learn to better communicate with peers and get to know each other better along with obtaining a clearer concept about the topic in hand. Any chaos created in the classroom due to this approach should be considered seriously as long as the students want to learn by themselves. An ideal curriculum should so much keep the student engaged with the topic that they want to remain in the class even after the session is over so that they can discuss out the unclear concepts with the teacher. However, even when the students are working in groups, a teacher should be thee to supervise them without letting the students feel that they are being bossed and dictated; rather, the teacher should act as a facilitator who should encourage and help out the students with the points that they are having problems understanding. An ideal curriculum tends to promote a collaborative environment where students learn by talking and talk by learning. They feel empowered when they are given the opportunity to have the classroom all by themselves where they can sit in whichever manner they want and engage in healthy discussions full of excitement. A perfect curriculum platform makes practical learning possible which is helpful for the students even later in life. Moreover, there is no distinction between high-ability and low-ability students. Even if tracking is implemented within classes, still this is the role of an ideal curriculum platform to help each and every student participate in the group discussions without lowering their self-esteem and without making the high-ability students feel flattered. Thus, all students tend to have a similar collaborative environment for learning. In addition to this, an ideal curriculum not only focuses on lesson plans and syllabus, it also arranges extracurricular activities for the students and “includes approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, the quality of relationships within school, and the values embodied in the way the school operates” (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2009). The authorities who are responsible for design school curriculums should keep in mind that the curriculum should portray what standard the school system aims to achieve and if it aims at all the students belonging to different ability levels. An ideal curriculum should be able to portray the objectives of students as healthy individuals and disciplined citizens. It should spot out the results and outcomes regarding knowledge, skill and expertise. It should help each and every student to make a progress in his academic and personal career, not only inside the school but also in the outside world. A good curriculum maintains an easy but intellectual assessment criterion to assess the capability level of students as to what they have learnt. It should be able to accommodate the latest technology based teaching and expertise. It should be flexible when it comes to time constraints, which is important so as to fully meet the students’ learning needs. It should provide opportunities to the students to better cooperate with the teachers and with peers. Once school authorities are able to design an ideal curriculum, the job does not end here. The curriculum needs to be continuously assessed and evaluated so as to know what affect it is having upon the students’ learning process. They should be able to make changes in the curriculum to keep it up-to-date with the current world. They should remain in touch with the students’ parents as well to find out what they think should be changed about the curriculum. The purpose of evaluating the curriculum over periods of time is to make sure that it is updates and is helping the students improve their learning and progress in their academic career. Conclusion Designing a perfect school platform and an ideal curriculum is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the concerned school authorities. It as “a continuous, cyclic process” (Ministry of Education, 2009) which involves an extensive decision-making process so as to meet the learners’ needs efficiently. A perfect school is one which knows what to teach its students and how. It maintains high quality workforce or staff that is helpful in delivering to the students the objectives of the designed curriculum. The curriculum should be able to adjust both the curricular and non-curricular activities so that the students tend to learn different aspects of life and try to apply this learning in different areas of their personal lives. This is very important in order to help the students develop well-balanced personalities and adopt healthy lifestyles. This way, not only they will be able to meet the academic demands of their curriculum, but also they will be able to excel in their everyday lives. To sum up, a student, as a learner and as a citizen, has the right to achieve his learning objectives by getting admission in a school which is perfect in all means and, thus, the authorities hold great responsibility towards designing an ideal curriculum which caters with all the needs of the learners and is compatible with the academic world as well with the non-academic aspects of the ever-changing society. A well designed curriculum is a key factor that leads to the perfection of a school platform, and if otherwise happens, destroys the overall reputation of the school. References Adamson, S. (2009). Linear tradition. Curriculum Platform. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://employeeweb.cgc.maricopa.edu/a/da/adamson/curriculum_platform.html Davis, B. (2008). A perfect school = neighborhood bookstore / coffeehouse. History Tech. Retrieved December 7, 2009 from http://historytech.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/a-perfect-school-neighborhood-bookstore-coffeehouse.html Hill, J. (1998). Tracking in schools…a thing of the past? Office of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://mste.illinois.edu/hill/papers/tracking.html Miller, R. (2000). Holistic education. A Brief Introduction to Holistic Education. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://www.infed.org/biblio/holisticeducation.htm Ministry of Education. (2009). The school curriculum: design and review. The New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/The-school-curriculum-design-and-review.html Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. (2009). Principles of curriculum design. National Curriculum. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/organising-your-curriculum/principles_of_curriculum_design/index.aspx#page1_p Richmond, K. (1971). The School Curriculum. Great Britain, Norwich: Fletcher & Son Ltd. Rosborg, J., McGee, M., & Burgett, J. (2007). The Perfect School. United States, US: Communication Unlimited. Tyler, Z. (2009). Is there a perfect curriculum? Crosswalks.com. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://www.crosswalk.com/626982/page0.html Read More