Wish list for education

Peter's rant response inspired me to say a few more words on the subject of ideal circumstances for education. No one who makes decisions about it would ever pay any attention, so why not?

I think that 25 % of teachers should be let go permanently, and another 50 % should be retrained; by students. It's probably stretching it to say that 25 % are OK, but I honestly think that the system probably destroys 15 % of those because they have to jump through ministry hoops constantly, and the hoops keep changing.

 There's interesting evidence that children learn best when they play. All the new early learning programs (kindergarten) use play based learning. I've also experienced time and time again, that if a student isn't engaged, it doesn't matter how smart they are. I think combining these premises would result in play based learning right through school, which would become more experiential as the students age. They should study the things that interest them and the essential skills they will need in life should be built into those experiences. Curriculum should be developed to suit each student.

Some part of the day MUST be spent doing something physical, preferably outside. Again, there should be enough selection that everyone can be doing something they enjoy.

The only testing should be at the students request and if they want to measure their skill levels. Other than that, the teaching team should be scored on how well the students engage. Don't test the students, test the teachers.

I think the team should be provided with whatever tools they need, but I don't think they should be paid more. I think that would only result in people being hired for the income, instead of a love of learning. However, EAs and ECEs should be paid better. All educators should have better preventative benefits, such as massage, etc.

Educational assistants and ECEs should never be under the direction of the teacher, but should be a real team. SWs, YW, etc should all be on the team and used as needed. I think that this is probably one of the most important parts of an ideal system. I know that lots of schools never really get to experience this and it's hard to describe how amazing it is when it works. I count myself very fortunate that I have no reservations about expressing my opinion about a student to any of the teachers or principal I work with. They often ask me what I think we should do and my opinion is respected and valued.

Now that I have that all sorted out, I'm tired.
Love, elly