Darragh Johnson’s did does a nice job in today’s front page WaPo story on the insight of children. (“Fear of Climate Change Scares – and Inspires – Kids, Fears About Environment Pushing Kids to Act – Some to Therapy.”)
I recall well that it was Columbia’s Bryant Woods Elementary School students who inspired the adults in our Thicket Lane Cluster to start and maintain a recycling program in the early 70s. They also led in the observance of, and deepened the meaning of Earth Day.
In our column, “All Aboard” this week we note that Patrick Kane’s “Boom Town” class exercises in Reston elementary schools over the past 20 years have demonstrated the ability of fourth graders to do a better job of planning functional settlement patterns than groups of adults or professionals.
Norman Leahy did a great job of putting his finger on the need for Fundamental Change in schools and in education in his Blog post “School’s Out Forever” last Thursday. Our program for Fundamental Change in education outlined The Shape of the Future would accommodate many of the ideas put forward in the comments for flexible schooling. The revenue flow to support Dooryard preschool, Cluster lower elementary, Neighborhood upper elementary plus and Village high and Community continuing education could be allocated to accommodate mixed ages, work and learn, service and learn and other approaches that match student needs.
The key is Fundamental Change. When the “professionals” got hold of the Columbia schools that are part of the Howard County “system” the original insights and innovation went out the window as we document in The Shape of the Future.
EMR