It may sound like a silly question, but I think it is a question we should all consider, even more now that we've plenty of opportunities to be in touch with students and teachers from other countries. I also invite you to read this article from The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/opinion/brooks-the-relationship-school.html
What do you think of that approach to education? Would you like to learn in a similar classroom space? Would you like to have a more “familylike” relationship with your teachers? Why or why not? And what do you like about your school?
Wake up every morning, study, do homeworks..all this sort of things is now for us a daily routine: but even if more often than not school could be stressful for us students, I have to admit that I'm proud to do the "Rosmini school". One of the things I like the most of this school is that we have the opportunity to study many subjects in other languages and travel a lot.
RispondiEliminaAbout the article, I can say that I don't really share the method teachers use in the "New American Academy". It's hard to believe that in a room with 60 students and 4 teachers, where every group of students work on something different you can really learn something. Maybe, those students have the only advantage to have better relationships with the classmates, but I'm sure I wouldn't work in such a class.
This question is not so easy as it seems...actually people usually think about the negative sides of something that they have and rarely they stop to reflect over what they really like,most of all of a school!:)
RispondiEliminaHowever I would try to think about what I like of our school:
First of all I like the fact that it is twinned with other schools(f.e.China) and it also organizes exchanges and experiences in countries which have a different culture.
Another point that I like is that students have the chance to play an instrument or to sing in a chorus,which is very important for their formation. Besides there are a lot of extra-activities in the afternoon(f.e. theatre,sport,foreign languages or journalism...), which allow students to improve their faculties and their interests. Finally,in regard to the structure of the schoolrooms, I like the multimedia blackboard,which allows to organize alternative activities.
About the article I think it's not so bad the method that they use...I think that students in this way feel more at easy and maybe are more motivated! I also read that some teacher in Italy would try a method similar to the one described in the article: teachers speak not all the time in front of the students, but they work with the students and each of them bring material in order to create or enrich the lesson.
If I would wake up at the age of six and realize that my twelve years of school have been only a dream (nightmare! xD) I would like to start my long way of education in such a cool school, The New American Academy's one. I will keep saying that our school system is not working anymore. I know, there are people who say that now it is too late trying to change, 150 years of the sae method. That is the reason why I really think it is time for us to develope. I do not mean that it has never worked, because it has. But now we are living in a wold where we are always comparing ourself to “the foreign”. Some people do not have problem to open their doors to “the new” but some have. At any rate we do not have choise. If Italy does not want to grow up as a lonely nation, it has to make sure that future generation will be ready to face what there is outside.
RispondiEliminaPeople think that learning to play an instrument, to paint or to talk publicly is only a waste of time. It is not, you just develop other parts of your brain that you do not usually use and that can help you to see things from another point of view. I think that having alternative subjects to study makes guys happier to go to school, so they will put themself to the test more.
Another important aspect are the teachers. The relation between them and the students. Here in Italy just a few of them want to be on the same level of the students. The majority, anyway, want to show us how much power they have on us, they can do whatever they want. But, as I've already said, there are also those who try to hand out passion and knowledge to us. I appreciate more someone who teaches me less, a teacher who wants to teach me, than someone who just wants to fill me up with notions. It is not because I do not want to study. The opposite! I study more if there is a teacher who makes me understand that I do it for myself and who is able to make the subject more interesting.
Classrooms play a relevant role too. Sixty students in the same room, as it happens in The New American Academy, could be too many. Even though the teachers are able to preserve order, the possibilities to get districted are still millions and millions. Twenty students per class split up into groups all around common tables, rather than single desks, is a good compromise.
In conclusion I would say that now I do not like my school so much, because I can see better alternatives.
Oh what a question! It's not so easy to answer. Like Maddalena said, we usually think of the downsides and not pay attention to the rest.
RispondiEliminaPersonally about my school I like the numerous opportunities that it gives. For example, travel around the world and know different cultures, study history in English and learn new languages (Chinese, Arabic, French).
I also like the way some of my teachers teach. For example our history teacher uses different and alternative methods (interactive blackboard, pictures, talk a lot...), that stimulate us more.
For what concerns the article, I think that the method teachers use in the "New American Academy" has positive and negative sides.
I must say that I would like to try a day like that, but in my opinion a class with 60 students is a bit to confusing.
Talking about the New American Academy I think it can be a good idea, it can have a great success as being a total failure. Personally I think I wouldn't like to learn in that classroom, in my opinion 60 students are too much, even though there wuold be 4 teachers, it would be too confusional. But I think one aspect of this New Academy is essential: the relationship between teachers and students. There are people who can think it is good have a familylike relationship in classes and other who don't agree. It is something personal and it is very difficult for a teacher to decide if s/he have to behave more familylike or strict, because sometimes when a teacher give the students the hand they take the arm. I think I had a good relationship with my teachers and I like as it is.
RispondiEliminaIn my opinion Rosmini is a good school: it gives you a lot of opportunities to travel and know different types of cultures, the structures are quite effective but then it all depends on the student's willingness to stake.
I think that the approach to education used by the New American Academy is not a successful way to teach. In my opinion there are high possibilities that in this way lots of children could not show their personality but hide it and follow their group.
RispondiEliminaIn addition I think that with the constant help of a teacher a child could not learn how to be independent and how to work alone. Much more with 60 students per classroom distractions are everywhere!
I think it is not a good thing to have a closed relationship with teachers because it could create problems like conflict of interests and favoritisms and so a bad learning.
I like my school because we can study lots of subjects in a foreign language and we have the possibility to travel not only in Europe but in others Continents too. Then we can participate at many projects and events; and study music, art, dance and foreign languages such as Chinese or Arab in the afternoon and for our choice.
From my point of view the method used by the New American Academy could really work, its principles are good, like have a closer and face to face relationship between the students and the teacher using a circlelike arrangement of the tables, the teaching of diction and public speaking, the fact that the teachers don't change...
RispondiEliminaI think I would appreciate to learn in similar environment, surely it would help me to open up and be more sure of myself.
Moreover I care it would be more easy to learn and talk with a teacher that you know for a long time, and that you know you can trust, as if he was a member of your family, you would be more motivated.
In my opinion this aspect lacks a bit in our school.
Anyway, the Rosmini school is good, because it allows you to get to know other cultures, places around the world; and also I think the language teaching is very effective, it helps you a lot.
We have to go to school for at least 13 years in our life. So we have to enjoy it because it is difficult to spend 13 years in a place that we don’t like. But it is also difficult to create a kind of school that satisfy everyone because we have different tastes.
RispondiEliminaI think that this kind of education described by the article is fantastic for primary school because children don’t like to spend all the day sitting at individual desks. They need to move, to interact and to learn how to go on with other students, to learn subject in a funny way. So it is a good idea that they seat all around big tables or areas “for teacher-led discussions”, that they do working groups on different activities and that they learn playing.
I agree with the article which says that “people learn from people they love, education is fundamentally about the relationship between a teacher and student” and I believe that teachers should be so able to teach, so that students enjoy listening to their lessons and like going to school. But when they grow up and understand that we have to learn to know and to live in a better way, I think that it is better our way of teaching with oral and written tests where the teacher explain. We need regular tests because otherwise we don’t study.
I like my school because we learn subjects in foreign languages, we travel in Europe and we can take part to some projects. In some subjects, like for example in English we try to lean in different ways and in Biology we also do same practices.
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RispondiEliminaStudents often complain about the school system and the methods, but it is necessary to look at the positive sides as well as the negative ones. What I like the most about my school is that students have the possibility to travel nearly every year and visit far away countries, getting to know better the language and the culture as well. We have the possibility to learn these languages even studying many subjects in English or German, like history in english. Besides the school offers many activities in the afternoon; in many classrooms there is a computer and a multimedia blackboard, and in the school building there are informatic laboratories etc .
RispondiEliminaFor what concerns the article, I reckon the method of the "New American Academy" is not that good: how can children learn in such a class? 60 children and four teachers in many groups working on different activities? I wonder what a chaos it should be. Besides, I don't think that the relationship between students and teachers should be "like a family": students are there to learn and study, so they need someone who can explain and teach. In conclusion, I prefer the "old system", maybe because I've grown up with this method, but I think that a class with an average of 20 students listening to a teacher explaining his/her subject (maybe integrating it with many activities) is the best way to learn (obviously then the exit of this method depends on what kind of teacher and students they are).
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RispondiEliminaSometimes I wonder "what if I would go back to the elementary school?" so that I would not have so much to study but then I think "am I crazy? Why should I spend other 12 years on a school desk?". I think it is not because of my very little will of study but because of the teaching methods in fact I really hate to wake up knowing that I will probably be tested and that I will sit on a chair staring at someone who is trying to teach but who seems to do it only because he or she has! And these are the most of the teachers but there also are interesting and funny lessons when teachers try to be creative and make us enjoy and learning at the same time!
RispondiEliminaI do not also like teachers who tell me off because I put my bag on the desk or when I need to drink or eat, I mean I had to wake up at six o'clock so it is obvious that at 9 my stomach starts bubbling!
Something that I think would be very useful is improving the relationship between teachers and students as it is in other countries, unfortunately in Italy there are few theachers who try to talk with students and who make several activities to make us enjoy.
I would put as a basis of the school equality!
Another thing I would change are the classrooms, my bus is bigger than my classroom and it is really unbelieveble! Also a friend of mine faces a bad situation, in fact her classroom is in another school! In comparison the classrooms in "The New American Academy" are crowdy but they are also bigger whereas in our school we have to stay closed in a very little classroom even when the wheter is hot and it is impossible to breath in it!
But in conclusion I unfortunately have to say that even if we explain our ideas for the moment the italian school will keep on being this way because there are not so many people who trust and listen to us :(
I don't complain about my school so much, I mean, if you really do what the teachers say, bring your stuff on time and so on, your school preparation should be good enough. Obviously it also depends on the teachers' skills but so far it all seems to get more or less quite well. Let's move to the realtionships-quest. It would be really nice to have a family-like realtionship with teachers, without worrying about how to tell them like: "what's wrong with you?". However, I think it should be a balanced relationship, possibly within certain limits just to make sure the students don't take over. Besides, working with a larger amount of people is fun! You get to know even more people, you can do fancy activities as you're a crowdy class and then you don't hav to worry about the "question-time"! I mean you're like 45 people in there, so you get a low possibility they hit you! :D but as the number of students increase, so should the class size! Ours are really small, just to small to fit in 22 students or so! Summing up, we should give it a try and see if it works, it surely would be a great experiences for both teachers and students!
RispondiEliminaIn my opinion A.Rosmini is a very good school that gives you a lot of opportunities to learn different languages also in other contries. Every year all the classes have a journey in another country like Germany, England or Spain to learn the language and also the culture.
RispondiEliminaAnother thing that I like are the afternoon activities: at this school you could learn also languages that you couldn't find every day like Arabic or Chinese. Besides, normal subjects like history or art are studied in English and German:)
I read the article of The New American Academy and it was very interesting. From my point of view 60 students and 4 teachers in only a classroom could be a bit confusing. Sometimes it's even hard to be careful in a normal classroom, then I couldn' imagine a class with so many students and professors.
Personally I don't approve this idea; I think that I couldn't pay attention in a similar class.
I think that the approach of The New American Academy could really work well with a good organization and motivated teachers.
RispondiEliminaKeeping the same teacher would help a lot the students, learning from someone you know it's much better than learning from someone you don't know at all, and I think that having a family-like relationship would help the students and make their lives less stressing :)
the only negative aspect of this new school is the number of students, 60 students in a room are too many and this means a lot of chaos.
I have to say that I quite like my school but I think that Italian educational method should be improved and should be taken to a higher level in order to reach the quality of other coutries like UK, USA, ect. which are like years ahead!
We need a revolution to step into the modern era of the education!
Italian schools are boring, not really interested in their students and the majority of the teachers, to be honest, should change job.
I'm not refering only to Rosmini High School of course.
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RispondiEliminaI found the article fron the NY Times really interesting. It is important to try to improve the school system. Personally I quite like the Italian one, but sometimes I think that something shuold be changed.
RispondiEliminaUnfortunately we are not used to discuss a lot during the lessons. Some teachers are too worried that they are not going to finish the school programm by june. In this way they do not give much space to discussions. I believe that we should share oure ideas more often.
In my opinion "The new american Academy" gives its students this possibility. Obiouvsly it has to be well organized with prepared and helpful teachers.
I like my school because it offers us many opportunities to learn foreign languages. If a person is interesting in these kind of subjects, our "liceo" can be the right one. Certainly it is not all perfect, but I think that every school has got its problems.
at first I want to say that education is a very actual topic and fondamental for our future but for the society too.
RispondiEliminaThe school is the first step to the society that a child makes, it has to be well organized and effective for the children that would became adults, would make differents professions and be in turn educators and teachers. in my opinion educated people are the base of an efficent, working society.
Personally, I don't like very much the idea of school that the article offers us, I think that 60 children are too much in a classroom, every child needs his spaces and personal attention from the teacher.But perhaps it's only because I am used with the italian methods. I agree that children need to stay together and exchange opinions but noi in this way.
despite these, I find the discussion a good way to learn how to express an own mind and accept other's opinions too.
I like my school even if I think that in the last years the school didn't help students to grow up in life.
The school is the first type of society in which a child lives: he has to get on with his classmates and with the teachers, he has some work to do, he has to respect some rules...like in a small society on his own; I would say, that a child at school learns how to live in his future society.
RispondiEliminaOf course, it is not easy, in particular the relationship with the teachers: it changes during the years, because at the beginning they are more like parents, then they began to be always more “far away” from children. If think that a good relationship with a teacher can change our way of learning: if we feel good in class we listen more and we have more energies. Otherwise, we only wait for the bell to ring!
A teacher has to be able to listen to us and to help us when we don’t understand something and, because of this reason, I think that the type of school suggested in the article is a very good one because it creates a good relationship between teacher and student . On the other hand I wouldn’t like to study in a school like that: 60 students in a class are too many because there would be too much noise, too much confusion! I think that smaller groups of students in smaller classrooms are much better, in this way, students and teachers can create their own environment. I agree with the idea of one teacher because she or he would have the possibility to know her/his students very well but we also need to change sometimes or six hours with the same person would be impossible to stand.
In conclusion, I think that the school system of the article can have some positive but also some negative aspects and that we should try to apply the positive ones to improve our own school system.
I do not really now what can i say about my school... I do not really agree with studying Math for all the 5 years.
RispondiEliminaWhat is more i think that the hours we spent on foreign languages are not too many at all.
What about:Instead of studying french or spanish why do not we colud decide foreign languages as Finnish and Swedish. It is only an oppininon,a silly oppinion.
Very last thing:I think that in our school music MUST BE a subject that everybody MUST study...Eliminate Math is the solution!
I must say that, besides some aspects, I like my school. Going to school is an opportunity of knowing people, their thoughts and of learning every day something new. Yeah of course not everything's perfect, but if one has the will to learn and gives the best of him/herself, school turns out to be also fun.
RispondiEliminaTalking about what I like about my school, I can mention the subjects, which give a good base for university, and the relationships with my classmates and teachers. I'm happy to have my classmate and stay in a fixed classroom because we know each other in a better way and so we can help who has special needs, but I think that having also classes with other students isn't a bad idea because one can get to know other people and, in this way, other pieces of world.
The relationship between teachers and students is very important. I think that the approach of the New American Academy could be successful only if the students have a really good motivation and predisposition towards what they study. For example, I saw how the teachers'approach in Australia is different from the Italian one. Teachers there are more informal, they have a sort of "familylike" relationship with their pupils, but the obtained result was a relaxed atmosphere where was mostly difficult to teach and learn, because it was easier to be distracted. For this reason I think that it should be balance: one should recognise who is the teacher and who the students, without having a sort of dictatorship in force.
An other aspect which I'd like to be a bit more different is the school organization, which is always a bit lacking. I think that a school should have more spaces to discuss about actual themes and about what happens all over the world. We'd need more time to practise our speaking abilities, not only during foreign languages' classes.
Something else I'd need to have in our school are the Camps (Girls-Boys camps, leadership camps) which are fun, and there people can socialise and learn something some about life.
I find Mr. Waronker's idea as a good one, we should try to change some things about our school system as well. I like how he tried and he's succeeding, we should probably "steal" some of his experiments and make something newer and different to attract students so that they're challenged to give the best of themselves without being shy or afraid of not come out well, because everybody has special attitudes which just need to shine under the right light.
Well, I think that studing in such a school could be really interesting, but what I'm not sure about is if this kind of experience could really help a student to be ready for the "buisness world". When you start to work, you don't always find a lovely, friendly environment where everyone is willing to help and follow you. Surely school is also the place where we have to learn, and to be able to do it we need a guide to trust, follow and take as example. So, in the end, I'm not really sure of what the best choise is. A good idea would be live two life and experience both the bethods, but I know it's not possible... Thus, I come to the conclusion that, like often happens, the best thing to do is to look for a balance between the two opposites. I do like my school, but I wouldn't mind sitting, instead of at my one desk, in a group and discuss with my classmates and the teacher - like in the Phillips Exeter Academy. Also, I would find really interesting studying interdisciplinary subjects: culture is important, but it doesn't make our life. I also love the idea of teachers working together, more like a team -it really would help avoiding dangerous weeks with a test for each day and maybe help creating a more relaxed and livable environment. Sure, it can't always be a dream-like experience, but no harm trying :)
RispondiEliminaI ,actually ,enjoyed reading of someone who is finally trying to change school's structure. I don't mean I don't like how the schools are run in Italy or in foreign countries, but I think it's time to change something; the old methods aren't proper anymore. The time are changing, we live in a society where it's difficult to find a job and the technology is taking over, so why don't we learn practical things that we will really need in our life?
RispondiEliminaSaying this I don't mean that learning math or latin or biology is wrong, but we should cut some hours of them in order to intruduce some practical learning.
Regarding the relationship between students and teachers I don't think that the correct way is create a too friendly connection, teachers are always teachers that is people who should help us to grow and they should not stay to our level, the students should respect them and them should not give too much familiarity to the students because it will backfire sooner or later.
In my opinion, however, it's good that teachers and students create an harmonic link, I like when the teachers give us their e-mail address giving their willingness, that means that they trust us.
Of my school I like the use of a smartboard and a computer in our class, even though some times is so slow and the DVD player doesn't working :),like I said before it's important to be technological!!! I'm pleased that we have not to wear an uniforme and probably having the same teacher for three or five years helps to establish an " harmonic connection" and a positive environment.
I believe that change class every hour it's good, so the students don't fall asleep or get bored too much, if they move they keep themselves awake:)
For the kids who attend elementary school it's important to see their teachers working together, exchange opinion and so on, as in the American Accedemy do. The kids will understand that cooperating with others is good and they will copy it.
What I like about my school ? I think that there are several things that I like of it. For example the journeys and the courses in the afternoon, or also the possibility to study to play an instrument for free. But the things that attract me most are those little changes that make me school more interesting. Many people hates school, with its “ancient regime” and such boring classes. Personally I agree with them; I think that to teach something is not necessary to sit down and take notes about what a teacher is saying, even if most of the times this is what occurs at school. By saying this, I don't mind school to be a fancy environment or either to learn without books and teachers. I only want to say that those little things like watching a film, making group works, …, in a word doing alternative teaching will improve student's will to learn and maybe they'll remember better the things they do. I think that Shimon Waronker would share my opinion, though I don't share his. As also my classmates said, 60 students and 4 teachers in a class would produce only a big noise and make a row. Maybe the idea in itself is not bad; maybe only changing the position of the desks or something like that would be a starting point for a little revolution in school. With this I don't want to give the idea I look only at the negative aspects of school, because in many years of learning as a student I understood finally that school is necessary for my mind to evolve and for my personality to be more open-minded.
RispondiEliminaI don't despise going to school, I have to admit it (except from the days in which we have written or oral tests), above all because I please my school too.
RispondiEliminaI just hate the early get-ups!
By the way, I think the best thing about school has to be being with my friends (which make it well worth while) and having a lot of nice trips and activities.
My school is always clean too, and there's always good food for the break!!
In conclusion I wouldn't want to be at any other school than mine:)
Reading the article I thought that the approach of The New American Academy could be a quite good one, but it could also be a disastre without a good organization and motivated teachers. In addition, having a more family like relationship between students and teachers would help to have a less stressing day, but I don't know if it would work properly in some classes, especcially in ones of 60 students.
RispondiEliminaAnyway, I quite like my school, and most of all I like that we have 'fixed' classmates so I can know them better every day.
I have to say that the Italian educational method is old and quite boring because it's always the same - teacher speaking, students listening - exept for some exceptions, and it should be improved.