Kids First, Students Second
Re-defining the purpose of school
In my Twitter feed, a teacher commented on the difference between the high school schedule and the college schedule. In college, students choose four classes each semester, and attend each class a few hours a week with plenty of time left for reading, completing assignments, and/or experiencing adulthood.
In high school, students attend school all day taking seven to eight classes a year followed by after-school activities and athletics with little time left for reading, completing assignments, and/or experiencing childhood.
High school is the new college, middle school is the new high school, and elementary is the new middle school. Somewhere along the way, we have decided that the more we cram into education, the more our students will succeed.
Somewhere along the way we decided that academics are more important than mental health.
We decided that students are more important than kids.
Our priorities have shifted from educating children to educating students.
