Blog Post 9

        In my experience and reflection, good schools have certain objectives that they consider to be important. They look to the students, teachers, parents, and community in some way or another in order to find what they need. More often than not, a good school strives to find the best way to teach each student as an individual and not a test score. Good schools look to what students create and discover to determine how well they are doing. I believe that good schools should be fun for students, not because they are easy, but because they are excited when they can see themselves succeed. The teachers and administration at good schools want to see the success of students and strive to make that a reality.
        I think that good schools recognize parents as an essential key to the student's success. I believe that teachers, parents, and students should spend more time discussing how the student is doing. Whether that is in the form of more parent-teacher conferences, or simply adding a weekly or biweekly session as part of the format of the school. The idea of a parent-teacher conference would be shifted at the school that I would create. I would make the standard a parent-teacher-student conference. While I do see the value of not having a student present on certain occasions, I feel that the time would be much more constructive if everyone involved in the situation was present. If there was a time that student felt comfortable talking to both their parents and their teacher, it could strengthen the relationship of student and teacher.
        I think that overall, good schools need to focus on the student and that student's specific needs in the classroom. The field of education currently struggles to see that there are a variety of ways to look at a student. Because I am personally a bad test taker, I know that when I am viewed for (standardized) test scores, my skills and capabilities are being greatly undermined. If there was a shift in how we look at students, I believe we would be able to see the best qualities and the true potential that every student has. A good school would look to art projects, poems, or any assortment of work or academic accomplishments that a student wants to share. If I were to make my own school, students would have tests and quizzes, but I would ask teachers to maybe look at different ways to test students. If there were options that they could choose from or pick which type of test is taken for a higher grade, there would be less pressure for students. I would want my students to be able to choose their best work or test in a way that suits them so that I would be able to see the absolute best work from each and every student.