Authenticity in Education |
WHAT WILL CHANGE AND IMPROVE
Authentic Education will challenge traditional education foundations to create an environment more group oriented, more contextually driven, and more comfortable in class atmosphere and student, teacher, and parent relationship status. It will improve the environments in which students are taught and the platforms on which knowledge is acquired.
Class Size and Atmosphere
In traditional public school systems classes are typically over 20 students or over to one teacher. These large classes and traditional atmosphere instill the obedience that was so sought after when public schools became commonplace. The white walls (proven to lower students’ "acting out"), desks in rows, attendance (punishments for untimeliness), and the bell systems.
In today’s society, free thinking and independence are valued, both of which are nearly impossibly to teach students when the class size suggests a value of obedience and compliance.
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Authentic education platforms will challenge these values and regulations with new models that will encourage progressive thinking, independence, and a value in quality over quantity. Students will be encouraged to test and question information and social norms in order to conceive their own individual opinions and values.
Student, Teacher, and Parent Relationships
In an authentic education relationships between students, teachers, and parents will be transformed from authoritative figures and pupils to equals. The valuing of group work will grow relationships between students and their peers. Smaller class sizes will force students and teachers to know one another better, creating a less formal approach to teaching and a more soothing learning environment.
The professional relationships found between teachers and students, teachers and parents, and often even between students, is a product of the current public education’s instillation of obedience to an authority. A better relationship between parents and educators will be found by a closer tie between home life and school life. This will be possible by utilizing the core purpose of authentic education: the connection, experience, and application. Therefore, the learning environment will expand past school.
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It is necessary to apply the knowledge acquired at schools to situations outside the classroom.
Success in Schools by the Numbers
According to high school dropouts three of the biggest complaints about the public school systems are: the inadequate opportunities, the lack of individual instruction, and the absence of relationships between students, teachers, and parents.
81% of dropouts claim that if there had been more opportunities for the application of knowledge, such as internships, service work, etc. it would have made their educational experience more useful and relevant.
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75% of dropouts claim that if there been more teachers dedicated to students' individual interests and instruction it would have helped to broaden their educational horizons and further their educational career.
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71% of dropouts claim that if the relationships between students, teachers, and parents had been stronger it would have furthered their ability to make connections and applications to real world situations.
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