Schools get good grades for fresh learning ideas
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, February 6, 2003
With the WASL and certificate of mastery requirements just around the corner, making sure students who fall behind have every chance to catch up should be a part of our state’s basic education system. After all, the point of such tests and certificates is to bring all our children to a higher standard, not weed out any of them on a dreaded bell curve system.
School districts throughout Snohomish County deserve kudos for coming up with creative ideas to educate students. Some schools are reinventing themselves entirely. Some districts, like Everett, are finding ways to incorporate new ideas into their curriculum. It’s almost enough to make you want to go back to school and try it out for yourself — without the trials of being a child or teen again, of course.
Most kids probably wouldn’t share that enthusiasm when faced with the prospect of summer school or a longer school day. But the district’s plan to lengthen the school day for kids who need the extra help and cut back on summer school time is a matter of common sense. Catching a problem and correcting it early spares everybody grief down the educational road — especially the student who would otherwise have to endure failing a class, falling behind peers and waiting until summer to try to learn the material all over again with a deflated sense of self-confidence weighing him down. Correcting the problem along the way will do much to alleviate a load of discouragement later.
Offering online computer classes as an option for high school students is another great idea. Some Everett students have taken online courses in the past, but not through the district. The new plan would allow the district to monitor the student and make sure the program is working. It also allows kids to learn a subject and gain computer familiarity and confidence at the same time.
All sorts of kids — from the traditionally solid student with difficulty in one or two subjects to the potential dropout — can benefit from these new strategies. Recognizing that everyone learns at a different pace and in a different style, and accommodating those needs in a cost-effective way, isn’t "dumbing-down" our education system. Just the opposite. It’s a matter of making sure all students have the same chance to learn the material and skills they need to keep our communities and economy thriving for years to come.
