What might a reinvented high school curriculum look like?

[Donna J.]

This article sounds a lot like homeschooling. :)

 

 

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The following was taken from the article: Reinvented the High School Curriculum by Marty Nemko

http://www.martynemko.com/articles/reinventing-high-school-curriculum_id1246

 

 

 

What might a reinvented high school curriculum look like?

Roughly ¼ of traditionally-required high school courses would become elective, replaced by required life skills courses as follows:

English/Language Arts

Of the four-years of high school English, roughly three are currently devoted to the study of literature. One year of that literature work would be replaced by this course:

Language for Life. Using common real-life situations, this course would develop students’ ability to make logical and well-presented arguments orally and in writing. The course would also focus on enhancing reading of crucial material such as newspapers and magazines, voter handbooks, consumer contracts, employee and product assembly manuals, and how-to books.

NOTE: Students entering 9^th grade would be able to test out of this course and in its stead take a more advanced course in research, rhetoric, and in written and oral persuasive communication. Debating, mediation, and brainstorming sessions would be often used as vehicles for teaching these skills.

History/Government

One year of the typically-taken four years of history/government would be replaced by:

Psychology for Life. Using common real-life situations and extensive use of role-playing, this course would help students develop new understanding and skills in such areas as conflict resolution, coping with anxieties, teasing/cliquishness, self-esteem, drug abuse, and sexuality.

Math

One year of the typically-taken four years of college-preparatory math (algebra, geometry, algebra 2/trigonometry and precalculus) would be replaced by:

Math for Life. Many students graduate from high school able to solve the problems in the Algebra 2 textbook yet unable to deal with more common real-world math problems, for example, to address the question, “Can I afford to buy a home?†This requires an understanding of how to set up this problem, calculate likely mortgage payments, estimate likely income (after taxes) over at least the first few years of home ownership, etc. The Math for Life course would use common real-life scenarios to teach crucial math understandings that are lacking in a surprising number of high school and even college graduates.

NOTE: Students entering 9^th grade would be able to test out of this course and in its stead, take a more advanced math course.

Science

One year of the typically-taken four years of science would be replaced by this course:

Information Literacy. The information explosion provides tremendous power to those who can harness it. This course would show students how to optimally use the Internet, libraries, and interviewing to obtain desired information.

Foreign Language

One year of the typically-taken three years of foreign language would be replaced by:

Career Exploration. Even after college, many people graduate unsure of what they want to be when they grow up. Part of the reason is that they are aware of only a small fraction of the thousands of career options available. Even fewer people have a good sense of what career would best suit them. It normally takes years to identify a well-suited career. High school is the time to begin the career exploration process. This course would not attempt to pigeonhole students into a career. It would expose them to a wide range of options, use various methods to identify each student’s strengths, weaknesses, values, and interests, and show them how to discover what careers might fit them. Non-college-bound students would be exposed to quality non-dead-end careers not requiring a college education.

Before recommending wide implementation of such a reinvented curriculum, a pilot test must be conducted with a random sample of students receiving a traditional curriculum and half receiving the high-relevance curriculum. The two groups should be followed to identify differences in 3R skills, attendance, crime, satisfaction with high school experience, college attendance, college completion, career attainment, and self-reported satisfaction with life.

CONCLUSION

School reform is going in the precise wrong direction. I believe we must reinvent the curriculum so it emphasizes the true basic skills—the 3Rs of course, plus life survival skills such as conflict resolution. Not only would students learn more and become more productive citizens, they’d be less likely to say, “Why do I need to know that?â€

[regentrude]

No, to me , this does not sound like homeschooling. At least not like the kind of homeschooling that meets our family's educational goals. It sounds like watering down education even more.

I see some of these courses as useful  for student who are unable to pursue a rigorous course of study and need remediation in basic skills. But as a general model - nope.

 

Take one year away from the already pitiful foreign language program? No thanks. I would want to extend foreign language and begin in middle school.

Less science, less history? No way. Who needs a year of class to learn how to find and use information?

 

 

[Connections]

I think what the OP might have meant is that homeschool provides the opportunity for students to acquire all of these skills without having to designate courses to learn life skills.

 

I may be wrong, but I did not think the OP was suggesting that we drop 4 years of the core courses and develop these courses on life skills.

 

I agree that dropping a 4th year of content in each of the core subjects in order to learn life skills is ridiculous.

 

 

 

 

[regentrude]

I think what the OP might have meant is that homeschool provides the opportunity for students to acquire all of these skills without having to designate courses to learn life skills.

 

Yeah, or you can call it parenting. My friends who send their children to public school accomplish this outside of school.

 

[Santi]

I definitely don't understand taking away a year of foreign language. Fluency in a different language can help you in life with not only jobs but just in terms of talking to more people, and from what I've seen school foreign language classes tend to be subpar in the first place.

 

The fact that people call a stronger education "the wrong direction" is exactly why I homeschool my kids. I don't see any of those classes having skills kids don't learn from the other classes/normal experiences.

[Connections]

Yeah, or you can call it parenting. My friends who send their children to public school accomplish this outside of school.

 

Agreed.

 

If our circumstances ever change and we decide to send a child (or all of our children) to school, I fully expect to "teach" these life skills anyway!

 

 

[quark]

I see some merit in some of the suggestions being used in a restructured or reinvented elementary or middle school curriculum in public schools. I would like to see my student being well equipped to use the Internet, develop good self-esteem, understand drug abuse etc way before high school age. Some of these problems are already prevalent in my local middle schools. Another vote for not reducing the number of years learning a foreign language.

[Corraleno]

Don't most large public high schools offer these courses already?  When I was in school those were the "vocational track" classes. Here are some course titles I pulled off the website for a local PS high school:

 

Personal Finance

Everyday Statistics

Business Computer Applications (Word, Excel, PPT)

Culinary Arts

Family Life

Career Pathfinder

Career Internship

Driver's Ed

Health

 

I don't understand how the guy in that article can claim this is "reinventing the curriculum" when these kinds of courses have been available for decades?  :confused1:

 

[Donna J.]

I think what the OP might have meant is that homeschool provides the opportunity for students to acquire all of these skills without having to designate courses to learn life skills.

 

I may be wrong, but I did not think the OP was suggesting that we drop 4 years of the core courses and develop these courses on life skills.

 

I agree that dropping a 4th year of content in each of the core subjects in order to learn life skills is ridiculous.

 

 

 

Connections,

 

Yes, this is exactly what I meant.  :thumbup:

[kiana]

As long as you can test out of all of the above or take them in middle school, I don't see an issue.

 

I would sure have hated to have to spend a year learning how to find information.

[Rosie_0801]

That Psychology for Life class sounds like institutionalised bullying to this introvert.