preparing the children of today for the assembly lines of tomorrow

[psocoptera]

Dystopic but apparently real charter-school plan

I would homeschool my kids without a second thought if this was the alternative.

Comments

[q10.livejournal.com]

how are those kids going to even survive college?

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

...maybe they'll feel at home in the military?

[q10.livejournal.com]

the mention of BU suggests that they plan to feed into higher ed institutions that are not military academies.

[rahirah]

That's seriously weird.

[tapas.livejournal.com]

Wow.

I have been thinking some lately about whether the fact that I do not value obedience (and thus do not teach or reinforce it) is going to be a problem for C when she hits school. Ideally, we would find a school whose core values include independent thinking and making good decisions, rather than obedience. I'm hoping that's less of a pipe dream than it sounds like.

[irilyth]

I'm guessing that this school is trying to be unusual; in exactly the ways that are creeping us all out, but that it's intentional, and intentionally different from the norm. In the way that "military school" (in the stereotypical media portrayal of a place where the parents threaten to send their unruly children) is a different and unusual thing.

I sure hope it's unusual, anyway. :^P

[uncleamos]

Don't worry, since they're only silent and not totally isolated (and not even totally silent anyway) they PROBABLY won't go insane.

And there is definitely nothing creepy about reciting mantras on command to everyone all day every day. Nope.

[q10.livejournal.com]

mantras that involve statements about your feelings and desires.

don't forget that part.

so either we're in ‘thought crime’ territory, or we're in a place where lying is mandatory. i'm sure that'll work out great.

[q10.livejournal.com]

so, on the one hand, we have slogans like this: ‘We share our knowledge with others because explaining what we know and justifying our thinking prepares us to transform ourselves, our communities, and the 21st century.’

but, on the other hand, asking teachers to explain and justify the policies is presumably not looked upon favorably. i'm just guessing here.

does that sound right? what am i missing?

[irilyth]

I dunno, it's possible that they encourage critical thinking, as long as you conduct yourself politely. It's not necessarily disobedient to question the need for obedience, as long as you do your questioning in an obedient fashion. :^)

[q10.livejournal.com]

but where in that schedule are they given the opportunity to have a long enough unscripted conversation to even raise such an issue, however politely?

[irilyth]

Perhaps they could work it into one of their assignments, or something.

[q10.livejournal.com]

ooh ooh! here's something from the linked document: ‘A quiet bus ride ensures the safety of all aboard the bus, eliminates the possibility of bullying or misbehavior, allows the bus driver to concentrate on driving, and adds valued reading minutes to the day even before students arrive at school.’

so apparently bullying always involves making noises and fifth graders are immune to motion sickness?

[prof-fran.livejournal.com]

Have they ever met a real live 5th grader?

I volunteer in a 5th grade classroom 1x a week and I gotta tell you--if those kids have to go more than 3.5 minutes without wiggling, talking/whispering, doodling, etc. the steam would pour out of their ears. And that includes the nice quiet girls...

[eastgategirl.livejournal.com]

According to this article (http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x2008361879/Proposal-submitted-to-create-Argosy-Charter-School-in-Fall-River), the school doesn't exist yet. As of last Thursday (12/13), there was community opposition to the plan (http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1922377710/Supporters-critics-debate-merits-of-proposed-Argosy-charter-school?zc_p=1). So what are the odds that it's actually going to happen? And if it does, that parents and students will think, after trying it out, that it works?

[jdh92.livejournal.com]

Gah. I'm trying to figure out if this is a bunch of marketing types who are so far in their own world that they don't realize how nuts they are, or authoritarians who are overly enamored of the idea of obedience, or just con men trying to make a buck off of desperate parents. Some combination of those is not out of the question either.