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Dreams of a Post-modern high school.
Honestly, I keep having this recurring dream of the post-modern high school. I wrote the Ontario Minster of Education, Kathleen Wynne on her succesful re-election in the recent provincial campaigning against the Conservative Party leader and I included an early version of this dream in my letter. I have since expanded it and include it here.
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX:
THE POST-MODERN HIGH SCHOOL
Jerry Diakiw
I am disenchanted by the contemporary high school and I believe we can do better. Schools are so antiquated in many ways, so lacking in the kind of community that exists in some small towns or schools around the province. While our large urban schools meet the needs of some students, for too many they are vast spiritless places where far too many students are unhappy. Some students say they are bored, some feel like outsiders, some feel intimidated and most sense a disconnect between the school and the real world. They go through the paces because they understand there is no option if they want to get ahead. Too many fall through the cracks and drop out.
I have a recurring dream of a post-modern high school. My visions are about schools with close-knit, caring communities, schools structured in radically innovative frameworks, schools founded on relevant new curricula and where social justice and equity permeate all aspects of the school. There is a need for alternatives that are based on thinking outside the box.
I have spent my life in education dedicated to being a change agent and an innovator for a strong public education system, committed to social justice and equity. I can’t get my perceived failings of contemporary schools out of my system. I had a rewarding career as a teacher, principal and superintendent. I am now teaching in the Faculty of Education at York University, but I am most proud of my record as an innovator and change agent while working as a superintendent with the York Region District School Board. Examples include, the first international high school co-op program in North America with students placed for 4 months in Thailand and Costa Rica; the Reading Recovery program in York Region; Arts schools; a variety of anti-racist and multicultural initiatives, such a Black Student mentoring program, a Black student Saturday morning school run by parents and teachers; and a host ofscience and literacy initiatives. As Stephen Lewis wrote, ” You really are consistently creative”. I thrive on change, often to my regret. But it is in that spirit that I share my dreams of the “post-modern high school”.
I see three major components in the post-modern high school that need re-examination:
A. Alternative school structures,
B. Core family groups,
C. A relevant post-modern curriculum
A. Alternative school structures
There are five radical formats that seem possible. I argue any one of them is possible without extra funding.
1. The 24 hour high school,
2. The 4 year grade 11-14 high school/college diploma program located in community colleges,
3. The 6 year grade 9-14, co op program/apprenticeship,
4. Grade 7 and 8 Co-op/apprenticeship program,
5. Apprenticeships/Internships/Mentorships.
1. The 24 Hour High School
One type of school would be the 24-hour high school. Why do we package schools into day schools, night schools, and summer schools? Why couldn’t high schools operate like universities with the option to take courses all year, on campus, during the day or at night, by correspondence, or online, or at foreign campuses? Some of my full time York students take some courses during the day, and others at night, some online courses, and some on another campus, or even in other countries. By 24 hours, I simply imply that students can not only take credits at day and night school but also online 24 hours a day, working at their own pace, on their own time. With so many students working while attending school they may in fact work round the clock. What is essential for the success of the 24 hr. high school is the mandatory core grouping outlined below in section B.
A number of schools currently have highly successful innovative programs which fit in well with this concept, the jPod program at Alexander Jackson Secondary School and TIP (Thornlea Intensive Program) at Thornlea Secondary School are two examples of schools thinking outside the box and meeting the needs of an entirely new generation of learners.
2. The 4-year, grade 11-14 high school/college diploma program, located on a community college campus.
This program would acknowledge that a lot of students would be far more successful in the community college setting than the current regimented high school system. Many students in other provinces already have a somewhat similar option, such as CJEP in Quebec. Simply put, students would complete their last two years of secondary school credits in the first two years of community college and then whatever 2 year diploma program in the last two years. (They may not actually need to be chronological i.e. they may take a course on dental hygiene or tourism in grade 11 or 12). So, for example, a student would graduate with an SSGD and a Business Diploma after four years, just as my students in the concurrent program at York graduate with a B.Ed. and B.A after completion of 5 years. Of course, for some, they may tag on a three or four year diploma program instead of the two-year diploma program. I am convinced that many more students would obtain a high school diploma if it were in a format similar to our community colleges.
3. The 6 year grade 9-14,
Co-op/apprenticeship/internship program
This program would acknowledge that for many students a full day of school disconnects from the reality of the real world for too long. By promoting the idea that you can take longer to obtain your diploma by introducing far more real life experience such as working in vet offices, local shelters, hospitals and businesses for half days or for half weeks, would acknowledge the connection between schooling and the real world. This program could generate innovative new kinds of apprenticeship and internship initiatives. By officially acknowledging this option, it dissipates the stigma of graduating after 6 years of high school. It also acknowledges the reality that many students work many hours while currently attending school, unlike when many of us attended school. The expanded time frame also provides opportunities for international co-op, internships and Katimavik type experience, as well as varied opportunities with the Canadian Armed Forces.
4. Grade 7 and 8 Co-op/apprenticeship/internship program
Finally and briefly, I have always maintained that grade 7 and 8 teachers have a high level of predictability with regard to the students who are at risk of dropping out of high school three or 4 years later. For many of these students an early introduction to co-op programs would be of enormous benefit in developing a positive self-image and improving their self-confidence. While acting as a “supply” principal, after I retired, I was able to place two students with a couple of local old codgers in their local workshops with enormous success. (I called it my old codger program).
As the grade one Reading Recovery Program is one of the most successful drop out prevention program I know, I feel strongly that a major intervention at the grade 7 and 8 level with at-risk students would also decrease the number of drop outs later.
5. Apprenticeships/internships/mentorships
Apprenticeships and innovative forms of hands-on learning would permeate all of the above. While my personal experience with apprenticeship training is limited, I know one thing to be true, and that is that whatever programs are in place they must start earlier than they do now.
I met a young man, perhaps 18-20 years old, at my cottage this summer, who was helping out his friend on the weekend. He said he was a framer for a local construction company. I asked if he received his training through the apprenticeship program at the local community college . He explained that he learned on the job after he left school at 15. He shared with me that he earned $60 per hour non-union.I puzzle at why we can’t get young people like this man into formal apprenticeships earlier. I do sense changing attitudes of parents to what was once a stigma to hands on trades but still there must be an attempt to find ways for students to flow in and out of these apprenticeships. In European apprenticeship programs there is still the opportunity to move into the university-bound stream. I see the possibilities of young people working and training and schooling in myriad exciting ways. We need to expand our notion of these concepts.
Years ago, I went to the taping of a CBC pilot radio show my wife worked on at a down town theatre. On stage was an elaborate sound and lighting system. Two very young women seemed to be managing and directing all of this high tech equipment. At the party after, I asked them how long they had been working at the CBC. Their British accents were so thick I had trouble understanding them. They explained that they had been working at CBC since they arrived 6 months ago from England. I asked them how they were so lucky to get a job at CBC so quickly after arriving in Canada. “Oh no, we didn’t apply when we got here, we were recruited by CBC in Britain. There were no trained people here,” “How did you get your training”, I asked. “We were part of a BBC internship program” they replied.
I was stunned and wondered why we weren’t offering that kind of opportunity in Canada. Why were we going to the UK to recruit young people who could just as easily have been trained here. The next day I told a class about the event and about meeting these two young women. I asked how many of them would be willing to apply for a similar internship at CBC. Nearly every hand went up! It made me realize how badly we have missed endless opportunities in varied settings in Canada. The notion of an internship is not commonly used in our schools. The opportunities are endless, from fine art galleries and museums, law and government offices, research labs, event organizations and sports venues, as well as myriad environmental projects, quickly come to mind. We need to think outside the box.
B. Core Family Groups
For each of these radical formats, I see one common element and that is the core family or home grouping; a group of students perhaps 20, maybe up to 60 who stay together over extended periods of time with a core of group counsellors and therapists when needed. The primary function would be group support and guidance. I see these professionals working with students almost like life coaches, sharing and discussing everything from personal issues, sex education and current events; budgeting, investing, RRSPS; and family life; to course selection and career planning.
Many of us old timers still remember the sense of community we felt in belonging to our 9B or 9E class moving together all day through the same classes, then into 10B or 10E and on into grade 11 and 12. While we gained much in moving to the credit system, we did lose a sense of belonging. If we think about it, many of our life long friends came from those early grade groupings. Some schools have had success with a house system but it has not been as successful in large schools generally.
The groups I envision would fluctuate in size from perhaps 8 up to 60 depending on the nature of the topic. These sessions would be for credit to validate their importance.
C. Random Thoughts on the Post-modern Curriculum
In addition to these elements of my post-modern high school, I also have visions of a radical evolution of the curriculum. The history of “subjects” has evolved over the years. After all, there was a time when there were only three subjects taught in high school, Latin, Greek and Philosophy. We think of our current subjects as written in stone along with the Ten Commandments. The Coalition of Essential Schools, for example, offer a half day of Science and Math, and a half day of Language and the Humanities.
We need new conceptions of knowledge, new ways of knowing, As one example, Jerome Bruner writes that argument and story are two ways of knowing, “two modes of cognitive functioning, two modes of thought, each providing distinctive ways of ordering experience, of constructing reality.” Our current conception of subjects is basically structured around argument, the first of these modes.
In the recent Massey Lectures, Alberto Manguel picks up this point asking, “How do the stories we tell help us perceive ourselves and others. Can such stories lend a whole society an identity, whether true or false? Is it possible for stories to change us and the world we live in.” Re-conceiving many elements in the curriculum along a narrative mode, a radical renewal of the traditional curriculum emerges. For some time now there have been examples of narrative being used in innovation ways, from medical school to public schools . In my dream it is the role of narrative that emerges in innovative ways. To illustrate a simple example, by using Bill Bryson’s book “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, teachers can dramatically alter the way in which many science units can be taught through a narrative mode, resulting in more engaged and excited students . . . and more of them.
Whatever alternative modes of knowing emerge, my post-modern curriculum would be interdisciplinary. It would be theme and issue-based as opposed to subject oriented. Critical thinking, problem solving and creativity would lie at the core of each course. As well, we need a curriculum that better reflects our multicultural heritage and where taboo subjects like racism permeate the curriculum.
These are three elements of my post-modern high school: Alternative school structures, such as the grade 11-14 high school/community college; long term home groups with skilled counsellors; and an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum based on new modes of knowing and learning. These suggestions could go a long way to increasing the number of students who complete a high school diploma and provide a more satisfactory and engaging learning opportunity for many others.
Well there! I have finally put my “po-mo hi” on paper. I share these thoughts in the hope that there are ideas here that will stimulate debate and discussion about alternative models of meeting the needs of our students. It is time to think outside the box. Richard Rorty, the contemporary philosopher said, “it is not so important to find the absolute truth of anything as it is to keep the conversation going”.
Dr Jerry Diakiw,
Course Director, Models and Foundations
Intermediate/Senior Division
Richmond Hill Campus
York University
Tel 905 887 8261
jdiakiw at edu.yorku.ca
I had arrived early in Toronto for a meeting in the east end of city. Although I had not planned it, I visited the Kew Beach Library to search out a magazine article. I had lived in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto in the ‘forties and early ‘fifties. The library had been an important part of my life. Through my visit I learned just how much it had shaped my world.
