Education Proposal to Support Mental Wellness
Currently public education in the US is operating under an antiquated education system. Just because we added ipads (which btw was a terrible idea) does not mean that the education system is matching the needs of today’s youth. Making children of any age sit for 7+ hours (the majority of their precious childhood) a day learning questionable things is not working for mental health. Requiring children to sit in classes with in-person and online bullies is not working for mental health. Making teenagers into stressed out anxious people by having ridiculous artificial college requirements and expectations is not working for mental health. Making children who are not good at academics think they are worth less than those who are good at academics is #1 just not true and #2 is not working for mental health. There is a rather simple solution for children, teens and young people.
Proposal:
All districts should have an alternative online program offered with smaller (20 person max) in-person hubs (providing teachers for support) that anyone in the district could elect to attend (in person). For many districts the online program already exists but although the program is online, it would be completed in-person in a small group setting with a teacher for support.
Kids and teens can complete their basic classes half the day and do electives or hobbies that they actually enjoy half the day. Because let’s be real-- one great thing that COVID taught most of us is that when kids actually attempt to get their work done for the day at home, most of them can do it in 2 hours or less (unless they are in gifted or enriched learning of some kind, which in this case would be elective).
Part of the learning hub would be to celebrate strengths academic and otherwise. Every child is special with incredible gifts. We should be celebrating these. Expanding electives would be a part of this learning hub to help students find more hobbies and interests apart from a screen, and help make them more well-rounded, healthy, successful people.
The hubs should help the teens work towards a plan for post high school so that they have direction and a good chance at financial and emotional success.
The hubs would be smaller learning environments allowing for choice in which hub the student would attend. This would allow for an immediate solution to any bullying at school and provide an avenue to better match with a teaching style and personality. The electives chosen to pursue would also be a student choice (allowing for matching interests, skills, and preferences). They would be allowed to choose a hub in which their friends attend, allowing for positive social interactions, while providing a way to avoid bullying.
Many schools already have this model, but it is available only as an “Alternative Program” for students that have had significant behavior violations. This model would provide smaller classroom hubs within the same school buildings, with the same teacher, but rearranged in a way that fosters emotional wellness and educational outcomes.
But how does Special Education fit in? Because choosing the hub would be a choice certainly those who would like can stay in the exact same learning model. However, I hypothesize that many in Special Education would welcome the smaller learning hubs with additional flexibility and choices.
Currently public education in the US is operating under an antiquated education system. Just because we added ipads (which btw was a terrible idea) does not mean that the education system is matching the needs of today’s youth. Making children of any age sit for 7+ hours (the majority of their precious childhood) a day learning questionable things is not working for mental health. Requiring children to sit in classes with in-person and online bullies is not working for mental health. Making teenagers into stressed out anxious people by having ridiculous artificial college requirements and expectations is not working for mental health. Making children who are not good at academics think they are worth less than those who are good at academics is #1 just not true and #2 is not working for mental health. There is a rather simple solution for children, teens and young people.
Proposal:
All districts should have an alternative online program offered with smaller (20 person max) in-person hubs (providing teachers for support) that anyone in the district could elect to attend (in person). For many districts the online program already exists but although the program is online, it would be completed in-person in a small group setting with a teacher for support.
Kids and teens can complete their basic classes half the day and do electives or hobbies that they actually enjoy half the day. Because let’s be real-- one great thing that COVID taught most of us is that when kids actually attempt to get their work done for the day at home, most of them can do it in 2 hours or less (unless they are in gifted or enriched learning of some kind, which in this case would be elective).
Part of the learning hub would be to celebrate strengths academic and otherwise. Every child is special with incredible gifts. We should be celebrating these. Expanding electives would be a part of this learning hub to help students find more hobbies and interests apart from a screen, and help make them more well-rounded, healthy, successful people.
The hubs should help the teens work towards a plan for post high school so that they have direction and a good chance at financial and emotional success.
The hubs would be smaller learning environments allowing for choice in which hub the student would attend. This would allow for an immediate solution to any bullying at school and provide an avenue to better match with a teaching style and personality. The electives chosen to pursue would also be a student choice (allowing for matching interests, skills, and preferences). They would be allowed to choose a hub in which their friends attend, allowing for positive social interactions, while providing a way to avoid bullying.
Many schools already have this model, but it is available only as an “Alternative Program” for students that have had significant behavior violations. This model would provide smaller classroom hubs within the same school buildings, with the same teacher, but rearranged in a way that fosters emotional wellness and educational outcomes.
But how does Special Education fit in? Because choosing the hub would be a choice certainly those who would like can stay in the exact same learning model. However, I hypothesize that many in Special Education would welcome the smaller learning hubs with additional flexibility and choices.
