A New Structure to Public Schooling
The current public school system is set up as a streamlined factory for churning out a multitude of individuals that are all versed in the exact same knowledge and skill sets. We all start in Kindergarten and move through the 12 grades following basically the exact same curriculum throughout our scholastic careers. Sure, there is some variation to the difficulty track students are placed into, but all the subjects remain basically the same with very few exceptions.
When I was in Elementary school, each day of the week classes would go take one hour of music one day, an hour of art another day, an hour of physical education another day, science another day, and computer lab another day. This was an effective way to expose children to very basic forms of these subjects, and the classes were structured in a hands-on approach, much like how Dewey would have wanted the classes to be structured. It was such a minute part of the day, however. This did not provide children with an opportunity to evaluate properly if they were interested in said subjects. For example, I believed I hated music even after this period of sporadic exposure until I joined a band program in middle school. Now music is my life.
I believe it is important that the school system requires students to take at least one year of an artistic class when they are in high school so that they can better evaluate how they feel about it and if they would like to pursue music or painting or any other type of art. There is no difference between the “core” subjects and these other classes for many students once they get to the high school level. With the exception of English, which all people will be required to use proficiently no matter what vocation they occupy, the other subjects have just as much a chance to be relevant or irrelevant later in their lives.
I propose a sort of mix of the Jefferson and Dewey way of going about schooling. For the first few years we follow Jefferson where every student should take the general education that everyone should know such as history, English, science, arithmetic and basic algebra. After they are educated through middle school on these subjects we move on to a more student centered, hands on approach for the high school years. Switching to a more interactive style of teaching helps the children to be more engaged and has a positive effect on their ability to learn.
This time should have a more open curriculum schedule that allows students to sign up for courses in areas that more interest them. The reason for this timeframe is that this is the point where most subjects begin venturing into more specialized ideas that would only apply if you were to focus on it as your life. Only require classes like music and JROTC for one year so that they have to be exposed to these new types of courses, then fully open up the book for the student to make their own decisions.
I believe this approach will make schooling more enjoyable, engaging, and effective for everyone involved. The important part of this is making sure there is no locked track once a student chooses their classes at this point. If this setup to the education process is implemented, children will be better prepared for the world they are released to than with the current, factory style public school system we utilize now.
