Imagine if Steve Jobs had no time to tinker in his garage because he had to go to piano lessons… and SAT prep class… and art class… and was on a travel basketball team that had practice five days a week… and away games on the weekend.
Denise Clark Pope, author of Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students, is certain Steve wouldn’t have been able to juggle it all and still invent the Mac. It’s this glimpse at what today’s high school students—our next generation of leaders—will look like as adults that Pope tackled in her book.
Pope shadowed five intelligent, motivated students from diverse backgrounds at well-regarded California high schools for one year. She found students who weren’t learning and engaged by the process. They were overscheduled in and out of school, stressed, and had little to no time for free, unstructured play, tinkering, making mistakes, reflecting, and learning. They were simply “doing school” to get by, not engaging in depth with the material or even enjoying the activities they do. One student explained, “We are ‘robo-students’—just going page by page, doing the routine. School is lifeless.”
The takeaway is one that many non-traditional schools know well. “Doing school” successfully doesn’t ensure a student is educated and will prosper in college and career. In the real world, there are more important, deeper learning qualities, such as collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving, as well as character skills such as caring, compassion, and empathy that are necessary to succeed.
SCVi High School, which added 10th grade for 2011-2012 and will add 11th and 12th in subsequent years, offers a unique value proposition to ensure students are learning, engaged, inspired, and prepared for the real world. They participate in project-based curriculum that encourages creative thinking and leadership while meeting A-G subject area requirements. They explore, collaborate, create, and use meaningful assessment, and as a result, grow into confident, motivated self-learners.
SCVi High School has been granted candidacy status for the world-renowned International Baccalaureate® (IB) Middle Years and Diploma programs—a first in Santa Clarita Valley and highly regarded in the college applications process. SCVi has also been granted candidacy status for accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is taking next steps toward accreditation.
To learn more, visit www.scvcharterschool.org. To schedule a tour, call 661-705-4820.