New Middle School Coming to Fort Greene
According to The Local, Fort Greene will get a new 300-seat middle school starting in the Fall of 2010. The Fort Greene Preparatory Academy, as it will be called, will be located at 100 Clermont Avenue where PS 46 currently is. The academics will be structured around Socratic seminars and the arts. The goal of…
According to The Local, Fort Greene will get a new 300-seat middle school starting in the Fall of 2010. The Fort Greene Preparatory Academy, as it will be called, will be located at 100 Clermont Avenue where PS 46 currently is. The academics will be structured around Socratic seminars and the arts. The goal of the school is to be driven by student inquiry, said Paula Lettiere, the intended principal. We’re seeking to move away from traditional curriculum. This sounds like a pretty conscious effort to provide an alternative to the PS 20 approach that has turned off so many of the families that have moved to the neighborhood in recent years.
New Middle School Coming in 2010 [Local/NYT]
Photo by silk cut
*rob* – if a kid want to learn algebra, and does the work, then he should be able to take algebra and/or go to college. There would be some testing at first, but kids should not be locked into the trade system if they show they are prepared to try (which I understand was the biggest problem with the trade schools in the 50s and 60s).
But those that do not want to try, will never learn because they do not want to learn. Sitting in advanced classes makes them feel stupid, so they get angry and disrupt the class. Eventually they end up in ‘special ed’ of some kind, which merely pushes them further out of the system.
If we taught those kids to fix HVAC systems, auto repair, retail management, simple book keeping, home finance and even basic computer maintenance, my theory is that they would tend to try harder since there is something ‘in it’ for them.
I could be wrong – I’m not an expert. It still seems logical to me.
Denton, not sure about Aviation – when I started it was one of the worst schools in the entire system. Transit Tech is (by reputation – I’ve never met anyone connected to it) excellent in both academic and vocational education.
Unfortunately such options will be eliminated by precisely the type of people Knickerbocker mentioned, who believe that every single human being must take exactly the same path in life. That path means getting certain scores on certain tests from elementary school on through high school graduation, and then going to college. No other path to success is permitted!
quote:
Nevertheless, when it comes to public schools, most disadvantaged kids don’t see the need to learn algebra or Shakespeare, and they are right to feel that way.
okay, i agree with the shakespeare stuff. hated reading that garbage as a student. but not learning algebra? that’s just crazy talk. give any 8th grader the option of not having to learn algebra and 99% will say awesome! then what? we have a country where even more people are math and science illiterate? you know, the two fields that inarguably create the most innovation and sustainability.
*rob*
Denton: Yes, there are still a few, but they are rare.
I am suggesting a return to a full trade school system.
I admit I don’t fully understand the entire picture as to why the old system was eliminated, so please understand that my proposal is an attempt to open a debate and educate, not draw lines or start another ‘class warfare’ discussion.
Aren’t there still a coupla ‘trade’ schools around? Aviation? Transit?
As a parent in this district, I have to make a serious, but possibly incendiary proposal.
In the past, public schools were divided based on academic achievement, and there were trade schools for those who did not do well in traditional learning environments. This was eliminated in the 60/70s under the theory that every kid can go to college.
However, kids from different backgrounds learn better in customized environments. While this will mostly (and unfortunately) break down along racial/class lines, this rule is not applicable to every kid.
I grew up in NYC in the 70s and went to one of the most progressive schools here (still around – not naming names). There were plenty of rich kids (not me – I was on scholarship) some worked hard, some slacked off, but there were also many kids from less affluent families who busted their butts and are currently making more money then their rich classmates.
My point is that I think merit should be the guiding principle. People from all backgrounds can work hard and do well if they are ready to try. The slacking rich kids should have been tossed out, (but their rich parents paid for the rest of us to get a decent education, so its a tough call).
Nevertheless, when it comes to public schools, most disadvantaged kids don’t see the need to learn algebra or Shakespeare, and they are right to feel that way. If we taught kids according to their own goals, perhaps everyone would benefit since the kids would pay more attention, rather than having the teachers fight with the troublemakers (who are mostly just bored).
My point is that I think we need to reconsider implementing trade schools that teach 21st century skills.
And my question is: Are any of you other posters old enough to remember those trade school days? I’m really curious since most of my understanding of this issue is based on 2nd and 3rd party info.
Minard, please look at the “NY State School Report Card” for P.S. 8 at the nystart.gov website that RF linked to, and compare it to the “NYC Progress Report” available at schools.nyc.gov. Honestly, I don’t know how to reconcile them – please explain it to me.
Since you started off by refusing to entertain debate (“You cannot broach this problem with Heights parents who will chew your ear off…”), I won’t bother trying to argue with you on substance, but I do think your self-described rant is off the mark:
“The white parents in Brooklyn Heights don’t give a flying f– if the little Black kids from the project don’t learn a thing in their precious PS8.”
I can’t speak for the non-P.S. 8 parents but this is simply not true for the P.S. 8 parents, and it doesn’t even make sense. Who, anywhere, sends their kids to a school where they desire and expect their own kids to excel at the expense of their classmates? Most people who feel that way would send their kid to a private school or move.
Are you a parent?
“we might join in a group cheer that children in Fort Greene will have another educational option. And that there are people out there willing to work hard to provide it.”
Marlowe, it’s not the end, or even the beginning of the end, but only the end of the beginning. Now the *real* work begins, and it will be 5000 times as difficult.
As a teacher I’ll say that curriculum is but one necessary item needed for a successful school. Quality teachers and involved parents who value education are equally as important.
If a parent does not instill a value of education in a child the curriculum makes no difference. The best curriculum in the world is worthless without quality educators to implement it.
I’m a fan of rigor and traditional education with a focus on core disciplines, but regardless of your educational philosophical beliefs I maintain involved parents who instill a value of education in their children and quality educators are the key. The curriculum is almost secondary at that point.