A couple years ago, I was working in an alternative school environment where our primary purpose was dropout prevention and reintegration of dropouts. We were built to do something different for students who either struggled to be successful in a traditional school or who needed a smaller setting, close-knit support system. Our goal was to be different for students who needed different. Our hours were 12pm-6pm. Our class sizes were between 7 and 15 students. Our students could complete half of their courses at their own pace online with teacher support within the school. Our motto was Educate, Empower, Engage, and that is what we strove to do. We did this for two years with increasing success, growing our graduating classes from 1 student the first semester to 8 at the end of the first year to nearly 20 by the end of the second year. Not too shabby for a school of 87 students, some of whom were true freshmen and just getting started. We were meeting the needs of the students were were created to serve. But then...
Seat hours! Rather than number of days, all students were now required to complete a number of seat hours. So much for our 6-hour student days. So much for being able to keep your morning jobs that help support your family. So much for being able to maintain an alternative schedule. It was really frustrating for us and the students. We didn't stop working to educator, empower, and engage, but we began to question our purpose as an alternative to the traditional high school.
This past year, I worked with some awesome, hardworking teachers in a traditional middle school. Very little about the students fit the traditional model, and yet we were tied to traditional schedules, and traditional methods. Again, I found myself asking the question "why?". What keeps us from meeting the needs of our students?
Now that I am back in an alternative environment and seeing the benefit of the schedule, small class sizes, and close-knit support system, I am wondering how long before the alternative we provide falls prey to tradition. Sadly, I know it is coming; experience tells me that class sizes will grow and/or schedules we change. And once again, I will be asking why? Is it that we don't want students who don't fit the traditional mold to succeed? Is it that we don't think those who need different environments deserve them? Or is it that we are just afraid of letting go of tradition because it is hard for us, the adults?
I recently read an article titled "When adequate is not adequate," and it really got me thinking about those three questions I posed just now. Equity is meant to balance the playing field, but for students who either never get picked for the team or who just don't like the rules of the game, is that equity adequate? I think we have to stop giving lip service to alternative models and methods, and using differentiation as a buzzword, and find ways to provide all students with an adequate education that may not look traditional and should not be approached with traditional rules.
Reference:
Evans, N. (2017). When adequate is not adequate. Journal of Law and Education, 46(2), 285-291.
