Learning at an Edge: Engaging Unique and Discerning Learners in Alternate Education Programs
Date
2019-05-21
Authors
Smith, Cara
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Abstract
In Elliot W. Eisner’s (2001) article “What does it mean to say a school is doing
well?” (p. 370) we are asked to imagine what we might pay attention to in schools if we
didn’t rely on standardized testing to give us information about success. He wonders
whether we should be less concerned with, “... whether [students] can answer our
questions than with whether they can ask their own” (p. 370). Many changes in the new
BC curriculum reflect the work of Eisner and other curriculum thinkers who were looking
for more diverse and creative markers of school success. They believe that the
development of creative expression, critical thinking, collaboration, voicing self determination, and reflective self-evaluation are more indicative markers of success than
standardized test scores based on prescriptive curricula. As an alternate schoolteacher, I
see that, despite movement towards these ideals, we still have a long way to go to get past our reliance on traditional markers of success in the education of vulnerable students.Alternate school students often learn in a very different way and on a very different schedule than their peers, but are still learning and developing in sophisticated and meaningful ways.
Inertia in the organization and managing of schools means many of those at the
extreme ends of the learning spectrum, and those dealing with personal health, family,
and social issues, will continue to be pushed to the edges of the education system. While the direction in the new BC curriculum starts us along a path to move past standardized
assessment and a rigid curriculum, we still rely on language, attitudes, and assumptions
that academic learning is really all that youth can expect from their schools. Students who
continue to be pushed to the edges of our school systems prove that work still needs to be
done. Schools need to analyze and re-evaluate where the most vulnerable students are
being failed by the school system. Alternate education programs (AEPs) that are well
designed are able to re-engage learners who may be close to leaving school early. By
looking closely at the ability of these programs to build teacher-learner relationships that
create trust; to value teachers as agents for change; to turn diversity into strength; and to
create classroom environments that are responsive to the needs of those who are the most difficult to engage and motivate you can find lessons of the success from which all
schools can learn.
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Keywords
alternative education program,, alternate schools, vulnerable learners, inclusion, marginalization, risk environments