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Xerox University M icrofilm s 300 North Zaob Road Ann Arbor. Michigan 44106 7 6 -1 2 ,5 3 1 STRANAHAN, Joan Kay, 1945- A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THREE SELECTED ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTS IN MICHIGAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity , P h .D ., 1975 Education, curriculum and in s tru c tio n Xerox University Microfilms t Ann Arbor, M ichigan 48106 A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THREE SELECTED ELEMENTARY AND SECONOARY ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTS IN MICHIGAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS By Joan Stranahan A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity in p a r t ia l f u lf illm e n t o f the requirements fo r the degree o f DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department o f Secondary Education and Curriculum ABSTRACT A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THREE SELECTED ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTS IN MICHIGAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS By Joan Stranahan This is a study designed to look a t th re e s e le c te d a lt e r n a t iv e environments in p u b lic schools in an a tte m p t to determ ine why these a lt e r n a tiv e s were c re a te d , what procedure each program fo llo w e d to get s ta r te d , how each program was d if f e r e n t from th e re g u la r sc h o o l, and what kinds o f th in g s were happening f o r the people involved in the a lt e r n a t iv e s . In o rd er to look a t these a re a s , in te rv ie w s were made w ith teachers from th e a lt e r n a t iv e s , a d m in is tra to rs from th e sch oo ls, and a random s e le c tio n o f 10 percent o f th e students in v o lv ed and t h e i r p aren ts. These a lte r n a tiv e s included one high school program c a lle d the Student Option B lo ck , from Edwardsburg, M ichigan; one m iddle school program c a lle d School W ith in a School from Okemos, M ichigan; and one elem entary program c a lle d th e Guided Open Classroom from D e lta Center in Grand Ledge, M ichigan. The procedure f o r c re a tin g a lt e r n a t iv e environments is o u tlin e d along w ith i n i t i a t i o n and im plem entation s tr a te g ie s . The i n i t i a t i o n o f a lt e r n a t iv e environments can come from te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , s tu ­ d en ts, o r p a re n ts , and how these group approach t h is , is discussed. Joan Stranahan In te rv ie w s o f tea ch ers, a d m in is tra to rs , students, and parents from the th re e a lte r n a tiv e environments are tra n s c rib e d In f u l l . Each o f these a lte rn a tiv e s are als o described and re ac tio n s o f the In terview s by the In te rv ie w e r are Included. The fo llo w in g questions are answered as re la te d to th e selected a lte r n a tiv e environments. 1. Why are a lte r n a tiv e environments being created as perceived by tea ch ers, a d m in is tra to rs , students, and parents? 2. What are the procedures f o r s ta rtin g a lt e r n a tiv e environments as perceived by te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , students, and parents? 3. What things are happening fo r the people involved in the a l t e r ­ n a tiv e environments as perceived by te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , stu d en ts, and parents? Also included are the conclusions re la te d to th e questions f o r the study and also re la te d to the procedure fo r c re a tin g a lt e r n a t iv e environments, general recommendations and s p e c ific recomnendatlons, new questions generated from the study, and personal r e fle c tio n s . This study can help school systems respond to the needs o f students, p are n ts , and teachers through the c re a tio n o f a lt e r n a tiv e environments. For teachers who are aware o f t h e ir own d iffe re n c e s , i t o ffe rs a safe way o f id e n tify in g students and parents who want something d if f e r e n t from the schools. For parents and stu d en ts, i t can help in understanding what i t means to be d iff e r e n t and how they can become Involved In an environment th a t responds to these d iffe re n c e s . This study describes how some school systems are accepting and responding to d iv e r s it y . V ediccUed to Dad and MotheA, RtchaAd and FtoAenca SuMAtztofifi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The w r it e r wishes to express her sin cere a p p re ciatio n to the many in d iv id u a ls who helped make th is study p o s s ib le . She is deeply indebted to Okemos Public Schools, Edwardsburg Public Schools, Grand Ledge Public Schools, and the many people who were d ir e c t ly involved in th is study. The in te rv ie w s gave much more to the in te rv ie w e r than th is study can express. To my Doctoral Guidance Committee members, Dale Alam, Chuck Blackman, Ben Bonhorst, Pete Cooper, B i l l Force, and John Suehr, I express my thanks fo r t h e ir r e fle c tio n s and in s ig h ts th a t helped me fin d more o f m yself. A special thought goes to my frie n d and chairman Dale Alam fo r who he i s , and to the special few who have touched my l i f e . . . PEACE. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I . INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ Statement o f th e Problem .................................................................. Need fo r th e S t u d y ................................ * ......................................... Purpose o f th e S t u d y .......................................................................... ............................................................. S ig n ific a n c e o f the Study ................... D e fin itio n o f T e r m s ..................................................* Questions f o r the S t u d y ................................................................ Design o f the S t u d y ......................................................................... I I . DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURE FOR THE CREATION OF ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTS ...................................................................... Environmental D escrip tio n ............................................................. .......................................................................... Primary Purpose Selected A c t iv itie s .................................................................. Use o f T i m e ................................................................................... C o n s t r a i n t s ................................................................................... E v a lu a t io n ....................................................................................... I n i t i a t i o n ................................................................................................ The T e a c h e r ................................................................................... The A d m i n i s t r a t o r ...................................................................... The P a r e n t s ................................................................................... The S tu d e n ts .................................. . Implementation .............................................................................. Environmental C la s s ific a tio n ......................................................... A c c o u n ta b ility . Summary ................................................................................................ . . . . . I I I . DESCRIPTIONS, INTERVIEWS, AND REACTIONS OF "THE STUDENT OPTION BLOCK11 AT EDWARDSBURG HIGH SCHOOL IN EDWARDSBURG, MICHIGAN......................................................................................................... Environmental D escrip tio n Interview s w ith Teachers, A d m in is tra to rs , Students, .......................................................... . and P a r e n t s ....................................................................................... In te rv ie w 1— E ric L i n h o f f ..................................... In te rv ie w 2— Mr. and Ms. L i n h o f f ...................................... In te rv ie w 3— Cindy Swlnehart ............................................... In te rv ie w 4— Jo e tta Swlnehart .......................................... In te rv ie w 5— Ms. Swinehart ................................................... 1 v 1 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 13 13 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 19 25 26 28 31 32 33 33 35 35 40 46 48 51 C h a p te r Page In te rv ie w 6— Jane H ig le y ......................................................... ......................................................... In te rv ie w 7— Ms. H ig le y ................................................ In te rv ie w 8— Jeanne Johnson In te rv ie w 9— Ms. Johnson ......................................................... In te rv ie w 1 0 --Tracy Lockwood................................................ ................................................ In te rv ie w 11--M ik e K lin g le r In te rv ie w 12— Vi Ross and Judy S i n g l e y .......................... In te rv ie w 13— Pat H arrington ................................................ ............................................ In te rv ie w 14— Gary C andelario ............................................ In te rv ie w 15— Dick F itz g e ra ld IV . DESCRIPTION, INTERVIEWS, AND REACTIONS OF "SCHOOL WITHIN A SCHOOL" AT KINAWA MIDDLE SCHOOL IN 0KEM0S, MICHIGAN . . Environmental D escription In te rv ie w s w ith Teachers, A d m in is tra to rs , Students ............................................................. and P a r e n t s ....................................................................................... In te rv ie w 16—Mary W a r d ......................................................... In te rv ie w 17— Mr. and Ms. W a rd ............................................ In te rv ie w 18— Chris Ferres .................................................... ......................................................... In te rv ie w 19— Ms. Ferres In te rv ie w 20— Dave J a r r e t t .................................................... In te rv ie w 21--M r. J a r r e t t .................................................... In te rv ie w 22—Mike G ilim an .................................................... In te rv ie w 23—Ms. Gilim an .................................................... In te rv ie w 24— Barb S i n g e r .................................................... In te rv ie w 25—Mr. and Ms. S i n g e r .......................................... In te rv ie w 26— Gus L o ................................................................ In te rv ie w 27—Ms. L o ................................................................ .................... In te rv ie w 28--Ron Robotham and John Waldo In te rv ie w 29— Glen Gerard .................................................... V. DESCRIPTION, INTERVIEWS, AND REACTIONS OF "THE GUIDED- 0PEN CLASSROOM" AT DELTA CENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN GRAND LEDGE, M IC H IG A N .......................................................................... Environmental D escription In terview s w ith Teachers, A d m in is tra to rs , Students ............................................................. and P a r e n t s ....................................................................................... .................................................... In te rv ie w 3 0 --Shelby Root In te rv ie w 31--M r. and Ms. R o o t .................................. In te rv ie w 32— Jason C ornell ................................................ In te rv ie w 33—Mr. and Ms. C o r n e l l ................................... In te rv ie w 34—Mickey H erbert ................................................ In te rv ie w 35—Mr. and Ms. H e r b e r t ................................... In te rv ie w 36—T e rry Nadeau .................................................... 55 58 61 64 66 68 71 78 81 84 91 91 93 93 95 102 105 110 113 119 121 124 127 133 135 139 146 150 150 151 151 153 159 162 165 167 172 v C h a p te r In te rv ie w 37--M s. Nadeau ......................................................... In te rv ie w 38— Mike Adams ......................................................... In te rv ie w 39— Mr. and Ms. A d a m s .......................................... In te rv ie w 40— Karla Skinner and Lyn Hoi 1which In te rv ie w 41--B ruce Mance..... .................................................... . . . Page 174 177 180 183 193 V I. A SUMMARY.................................................................................................... 197 Questions fo r the S t u d y ................................................................. C o n c lu s io n s ........................................................................................... 198 207 Conclusions Related to the Questions fo r the S t u d y ................................................................................... 207 Conclusions Related to the Procedures fo r C reating A lte r n a tiv e Environments ............................... Recorrvnendatlons................................................................................... General Recom m endations......................................................... S p e c ific Recomnendatlons to the A lte rn a tiv e s Included in the S t u d y ......................................................... New Questions Generated From the S t u d y ................................... .......................................................................... Personal R e fle c tio n s Appendix A. THE PILOT STUDY: DESCRIPTION AND INTERVIEWS FROM "THE K .I.D .S .S . ROOM" AT CORNELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN 0KEM0S, MICHIGAN .............................................................................. B. C. INTERVIEW GUIDES FOR TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS .......................................................................... INFORMATION AND THE FORMS USED IN "THE STUDENT OPTION BLOCK" ........................................................................................... 209 210 210 211 212 213 216 244 248 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 264 vi PREFACE This study is about re a l people who are a p a rt o f re a l schools. In order to keep th is a very re a l study, the names o f these schools and the people involved are being used. Permission from each school system was given to in te rv ie w people in the system and use the in terview s to communicate w ith readers about a lt e r n a t iv e environments. Each in d iv id u a l interview ed als o gave h is /h e r permission to use h is /h e r name and in te rv ie w to more com pletely present info rm ation p e rta in in g to th is study. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The d ire c tio n the schools in America have gone fo r many years is 1n tr y in g to fin d the one best way to s tru c tu re the classroom so th a t the maximum amount o f growth occurs f o r the students. This growth tends to be d e fin e d in the areas o f academics and lim ite d in the o th e r areas o f growth th a t occur w ith in a human being. In the 1960's the schools underwent a g re a t deal o f c r itic is m from educators and o th e r c r i t i c s , such as Sllberm an1 and K o h l,2 th a t caused the schools to begin looking a t what th ey were designed to do. In th e 1960's and 19 7 0 's th ere emerged many new methods o r approaches such as open-space schools, team te a c h in g , the platoon system, co n trac t teach in g , and In d iv id u a liz e d in s tru c tio n which have proven to be e ff e c t iv e ways o f dissem inating inform ation in the areas o f academics f o r teachers who choose to use these approaches. The 1972 Gallop P o ll also supports th a t most parents are s a t­ is fie d w ith what is happening 1n the schools. The p o ll shows th a t 60 percent o f th e Americans p o lle d were s a tis f ie d w ith the schools, 12 percent had no o p in io n , w h ile only 28 percent expressed d is s a tis fa c tio n 1Charles Sllberm an, C ris is In the Classroom (New York: Random House, 1970). 2H erb ert Kohl, The Open Classroom (New York: Vintage Books, 1969). 2 w ith the schools. This shows th a t the expectations o f most parents are being met, though th ere are a c r i t i c a l number who are unhappy w ith what the schools are try in g to do or how they are try in g to do i t . I t seems th a t we have to also look a t two other c r i t i c a l groups in evalu atin g the educational system, and they are the teachers and the students. As i t is now, many teachers are e x c ite d and e n th u s ia s tic w ith the new trends th a t were mentioned b e fo re , but th ere are some who fin d i t d i f f i c u l t , to say the le a s t, to accept a s p e c ific method o f teaching ju s t because a few educators b e lie v e i t is the "best way" to teach. As we look a t the number o f students graduating from the p u b lic schools and going on to c o lle g e , i t can also be assumed th a t the schools are meeting many o f the needs o f most o f the students. But what about those whose needs are not being met in the p u b lic schools, who are labeled as " fa ilu r e s " in the system ?--"the present a lie n a tio n and fr u s ­ tr a tio n o f the educational process by 30-40% o f the stu d en ts," as s ta te d by James Lewis, J r . 3 Can we continue to fo rce everyone to conform to the estab lished educational process or are th e re o ther ways o f looking a t schooling so th a t f a ilu r e becomes e x tin c t in the area o f education? While the educational needs and expectations o f most p aren ts, students, and teachers are being met, the schools must become responsive to whose who are d is s a tis fie d and may " ( in t h e ir search f o r s a tis fa c tio n ) in e v ita b ly d is tu rb the clim a te in the schools fo r everyone. 3James Lewis, J r . , A Contemporary Approach to Non-Graded Education (New York: Parker Pub!ishing Co. , 1969), p. 5!>. “Mario D. F a n tin i, Public Schools o f Choice (New York: Simon and Schuster, 19 73 ), p. 9. ” 3 To provide each school user w ith the type o f education he wants and needs w il l re q u ire a lte r n a tiv e s and choice. The estab lis h e d sequence in our schools Is obviously one a l t e r ­ n a tiv e . Others can be, Indeed are b ein g , developed so th a t p are n ts , students and teachers can choose the kind o f education th a t makes the most sense to th em .9 This d is s e rta tio n 1s an attem pt to look a t th a t process 1n education where p are n ts , stu d en ts, and teachers can have th a t choice. Statement o f the Problem The prim ary theme o f American education seems to be determ ining what everyone should know and In s is tin g on how they should lea rn i t . The schools must begin reco g nizing the d iv e r s it y w ith in our s o c ie ty and accept the f a c t th a t th e re Is no one answer fo r a l l people. There Is no one best way f o r a l l people to le a r n , and the assumption seems to be borne out by the wide v a r ie ty and d iv e r s ity o f schools being organized and operated a t th is tim e In the country. A p lu r a l i s t i c n a tio n , having d if f e r e n t kinds o f people w ith d if f e r e n t p e r s o n a litie s , va lu e s , b e l ie f s , behaviors, ta le n ts , s k i l l s , and l e a r n in g - lif e s ty le s , must be provided w ith a wide v a r ie ty o f d is t i n c t l y d if f e r e n t le a rn in g en viro n ­ ments, and g ive p are n ts , stu d en ts, te a ch ers, and ad m in is tra to rs the o p p o rtu n ity to shop around in a d iv e r s ifie d educational market place making decisions about t h e ir own best I n t e r e s t . 9 I t 1s accepted th a t people have d if f e r e n t need stru c tu re s and o fte n the schools recognize th a t people respond a t d if f e r e n t ra tes and to d i f f e r ­ en t methods but they continue to expect everyone to need the same th in g s . As long as we b e lie v e th a t everyone needs the same th in g s , f a i l u r e w il l be b u i l t In to the system. This d is s e rta tio n Is an attem pt to show how * Ib 1 d ., p. 10. 'R obert D. B a rr, "Whatever Happened to the Free School Movement?" Phi D e lta Kappan. March 1973, p. 456. 4 th ree school systems have responded to the d iv e r s it y w ith in t h e i r communities. Need f o r the Study I t 1s c le a r th a t the American Educational School System Is not meeting the needs o f a l l the people Involved 1n the schools a t th is tim e . In clu d in g th e te a c h e rs , students, and parents. There are many teachers who leave o r are asked to leave school systems because they look a t the educational process d if f e r e n t ly than most and fin d I t a g a in s t t h e ir p rin c ip le s to conform to the system when they d o n 't b e lie v e 1n what they a re doing. These teachers a re forced to e ith e r teach In p riv a te schools th a t support t h e i r b e lie fs o r term inate t h e ir teaching care ers. The b iggest In d ic a to r o f th e needs o f students th a t are not being m et*Is the la rg e number o f drop-outs each y e a r. " I f we continue to lose 8,0 00 secondary students each year and f a l l to provide new o p tio n s , we are g u ilt y o f p ro fessio n al m a lp ra c tic e ." 7 Another In d ic a to r 1s the vandalism th a t takes place w ith in the schools. Both o f these in d ic a to rs suggest t h a t th e re are a la rg e number o f unhappy people w ith in th e schools. Parents seem to show t h e i r d is s a tis fa c tio n w ith p u b lic education in a v a r ie ty o f ways. The reasons f o r parent d is s a tis fa c tio n are com­ p le x , but the most common in d ic a to rs are such things as th e fo rm u latio n o f c itiz e n s conm lttees, th e ra p id turnover o f school su perintendents, 7Leonard B. F1nke1ste1n» "Im plem entation: E ssential fo r Success,11 NASSP B u lle t in . September 1973, p. 41. 5 the b i t t e r school board e le c tio n s , and th e large number o f school m illages th a t are lo s t . Without the development o f a lte r n a tiv e s w ith in our pub lic schools, our present system o f p u b lic education 1s l ik e l y to undergo even more serious disturbances. The conse­ quences to the growth o f c h ild re n , the a s p ira tio n o f p are n ts , the morale o f teach ers, and the fu tu re o f s o c ie ty w i l l be in c a lc u la b le .8 The concept o f a lte rn a tiv e s in the p u b lic schools has the p o te n tia l o f a lle v ia t in g many o f these problems and appears to be successful in some o f these areas. There is a need to compile inform ation on th is new trend to help people become aware of what is happening. The need als o extends in to how the a lte rn a tiv e s in the p u b lic schools work 1n the programs th a t now e x is t and how they can be used by others in response to the needs o f the people involved in the p u b lic schools. Purpose o f the Study The purpose o f th is study is to compile info rm ation o f selected a lt e r n a tiv e environments w ith in the p u b lic schools in the S tate o f Michigan. This info rm ation can then be used by o th er school systems who choose to o ffe r a lte r n a tiv e environments to b e tte r respond to the needs o f stu d en ts, p a re n ts , and teach ers. For teachers who are aware o f t h e ir own d iffe re n c e s , i t w il l o f f e r them a safe way o f id e n tify in g students and parents who want something d if f e r e n t from the schools. I t w i l l also give teachers a way to d e fin e what i t is th a t they r e a lly #F a n tin i, p. 10. 6 want to do. For parents and stu d en ts, th is study can help them understand what i t means to be d if f e r e n t and how they can become involved in an environment th a t responds to these d iffe re n c e s . " In d iv id u a ls experience d if f e r e n t home environments based on the values o f the fa m ily . These values and the values in the school s e ttin g should be in harmony f o r optimum le a r n in g ." * This study can help teachers and a d m in is tra to rs understand why a lte r n a tiv e s in the pub lic schools were created in o th e r systems and help them to see the need f o r them in t h e i r own system. I t w ill also encourage them to become aware o f how some school systems respond to the m in o rity o f students, p are n ts , and teachers whose needs were going unmet and g ive them a procedure to fo llo w o r a l t e r in o ffe rin g a lte r n a tiv e environments in t h e i r own schools. This study w il l include some o f the things happening f o r some people involved in a lte r n a t iv e environments (te a c h e rs , stu d en ts, p arents, and a d m in is tra to rs ). The purpose o f t h is info rm ation is to make people aware o f what can happen fo r others and what they might lik e to have happen fo r themselves. This inform ation can help people become aware o f how others are accepting and responding to d iv e r s ity . The procedure can give those who choose, the strength to recognize the problem themselves and respond to i t in a nonthreatening way. ’ H a r r ie t Murphy, "An A lte r n a tiv e Learning to Learn," in "Learning to Learn," An A lte r n a tiv e Learning Environment, Hemmeter Elementary School, Saginaw Township Conmunity Schools, January 30, 1975 (mimeographed). 7 S ig n ific a n c e o f the Study The s ig n ific a n c e s o f th is study become numerous when looking a t the c o n flic ts a r is in g 1n the schools today. The c o n flic ts seem to a ris e from the d is s a tis fa c tio n o f some te a c h e rs , stu d en ts, and parents. Although I t 1s a m in o rity w ith in each o f these groups who are d is s a tis ­ f ie d , the schools have an o b lig a tio n to respond to t h e ir needs. "That Is what sound p u b lic education 1n America means. Forcing everyone to conform to the e s ta b lis h e d process o f education does not w o rk ."14 This study w i l l give answers fo r some o f the educational problems we are faced w ith today. The ra tio n a le f o r the development o f a lte r n a tiv e s w ith in the pub lic school system In S e a ttle began w ith an e f f o r t to serve the needs o f students re je c te d by the re g u la r school fo r a v a r ie ty o f reasons. W hile th is was the o r ig in a l purpose, b e tte r understanding and Improved sense o f prospectlves have added the fo llo w in g elements to the r a tio n a le : • To o ffe r options to c h ild re n , p a re n ts , and teachers who are d is s a t is f ie d w ith the re g u la r school program. • To be a c a ta ly s t f o r change in th e d ire c tio n o f open­ ness and humaneness. • To r e lie v e th e re g u la r school o f r e s p o n s ib ility 1 t was not designed to meet. The key to the success o f S e a ttle ’ s a lte r n a tiv e education programs stem from t h e i r emphasis upon cooperation and coexistence w ith th e re g u la r school program, as serving as options w ith in th e system ra th e r than to the system, as has been the th ru s t o f the p r iv a te a lte r n a tiv e school movement.11 This study can a id in the process o f teacher growth. For those who have id e n tifie d same areas o f d is s a t is f a c t io n ,t h is study can help lDF an t1n i, p. 10. “ Michael £. H ickey, "Education by Choice," NASSP B u lle t in , September 1973, p. 19. 8 them understand what they m ight do to b e tt e r meet t h e i r needs and begin to fin d those parents and students who want the same th in g s . This in fo rm atio n can help them c l a r i f y what is im portant to them, how they can present th is in fo rm a tio n to o th e rs , and how they can e v a lu a te t h e i r own teaching environm ents. This study is a ls o s ig n if ic a n t in loo kin g a t th e d e c is io n ­ making process o f parents and students in the schools. Parents w i l l begin to be a p a rt o f th e decision-m aking process where a lt e r n a tiv e s e x is t , and t h e i r involvem ent becomes s ig n if ic a n t ly g re a te r in t h e i r c h ild 's education when th ey begin to look a t what they want f o r t h e ir c h ild re n . Perhaps the prim ary s tre n g th o f the a lt e r n a t iv e classroom concept re s ts w ith th e decision-m aking process. D ecisio n ­ making is the h ig h e st p o s sib le degree o f involvem ent and something th a t t r a d i t i o n a l l y schools have m aintained as " p ro fe s s io n a l" r e s p o n s ib ilit y . With a lt e r n a t iv e classrooms the p aren t en ters the decision-m aking process w ith fo rc e . Then once the d ec is io n is made th e le v e l o f involvem ent remains high as p arents In t e r a c t ve ry d i f f e r e n t l y w ith the schools. This is so in p a rt because a d ecisio n has been made and the n a tu ra l tendency is to v e r if y through e v a l­ u a tin g consequences. Also the p aren t had some in fo rm a tio n when the d ecision was made and continues to c o lle c t in f o r ­ mation as th e program progresses. Then a l l o f t h is 1s done w ith one eye on the d e c is io n th a t fo rces the p are n t in the fu tu r e . Id e a lly the fu tu re w i l l fin d th a t parents have more to choose from as teachers begin to d e fin e themselves more p re c is e ly . As t h is happens i t w i l l be p o s sib le f o r our young people to sample vario us options so th a t parents w i l l begin to in c lu d e th e c h ild In the decision-m aking p ro c e s s .12 12Dale V. Alam, " A lte r n a tiv e Classrooms," in "Learning to L e a rn ," An A lte r n a tiv e Learning Environm ent, Hemmeter Elem entary Schools, Saginaw Township Community Schools, January 30, 1975 (mimeographed). 9 As a d m in is tra to rs and teachers begin to see the need fo r a lte rn a tiv e s In t h e ir own system, th is study can help them see the procedure used by o th e r school systems in c re a tin g a lte r n a tiv e s and help them see what p arts they might adopt fo r themselves. While th is study uses only th ree school systems th a t have Incorporated the concept o f a lte rn a tiv e s 1n t h e i r schools, i t 1s a beginning 1n making others aware o f what Is happening 1n o th e r school systems and what could happen fo r them 1n looking a t the procedure fo r the c re a tio n o f a lte r n a tiv e environments th a t Is d efin e d . D e fin itio n o f Terms Learning 1s simply being. I t is a continuous process th a t occurs as one In te ra c ts w ith h is /h e r surroundings. The primary purpose 1s th a t purpose f o r which something e x is ts . The prim ary purpose in an educational program Is th a t which most a c t i v i t ie s are designed to accomplish. A lte rn a tiv e environments are programs where the prim ary purpose is c le a r ly defined and th ere is parent and student choice in program s e le c tio n . An environmental d e s c rip tio n is a d e s c rip tio n o f the environment prepared by the teacher to help communicate w ith p aren ts, s tu d en ts, o ther tea ch ers, and a d m in is tra to rs what the environment is designed to achieve. The Student Option Block is the high school a lt e r n a tiv e program described in th is study. I t is sometimes re fe rre d to as Option Block. 10 School W ithin a School 1s the middle school a lte r n a tiv e program described In th is study. I t Is o fte n re fe rre d to as SWS throughout the In te rv ie w s . The Guided Open Classroom 1s the elem entary school a lt e r n a t iv e program described 1n th is study. I t is sometimes re fe rre d to as the Open Classroom. The K .I.O .S .S . Room is the elementary school a lte r n a tiv e program used as the p il o t program 1n th is study. Questions f o r the Study 1. Why a re a lte r n a t iv e environments being created as perceived by teachers* a d m in is tra to rs * students and parents? 2. What procedures are follow ed to put a lte r n a tiv e environments In to e f f e c t as perceived by teach ers, a d m in is tra to rs , students and parents7 3. How is the selected a lt e r n a t iv e environment d if f e r e n t from the o th e r programs In th e school as perceived by te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , students and parents? 4. What things are happening f o r the people 1n the a lte r n a tiv e environments as perceived by teach ers, a d m in is tra to rs , students and parents? 11 Design o f the Study There are th ree a lte r n a t iv e environments selected fo r th is study. The program a t the elementary le v e l 1s The Guided Open Classroom a t D elta Center In Grand Ledge, M ichigan. The program a t the middle school le v e l 1s School W ith in a School a t Kinawa M iddle School In Okemos, M ichigan. The program a t the high school le v e l is the Student Option Block a t Edwardsburg High School 1n Edwardsburg, Michigan. There was a p i l o t study done 1n the K .I.D .S .S . Room a t Cornell Elementary in Okemos, M ichigan. The in te rv ie w questions were tes ted on 10 percent o f the stu d en ts, the te a c h e r, the a d m in is tra to r, and p a re n ts , and then the questions were a lte re d where necessary. The re s u lts o f the p il o t study can be found in Appendix A. These a lt e r n a t iv e environments were selected f o r th ree reasons. Each environment had been defined by the teachers in the environment as to the purposes o f the program and the a c t i v i t i e s In v o lv ed . Secondly, each program had the consent o f the parents fo r each student involved in the program. F in a lly , tim e , as a curriculum v a r ia b le , was conceived d if f e r e n t ly than the re g u la r school program. In order to gain info rm ation on how and why each a lte r n a tiv e environment was s ta rte d and what is happening in the environment, v is it a tio n s were made to each school f o r the purposes o f observation o f the environments and in te rv ie w s w ith the tea ch ers, a d m in is tra to rs , students, and parents. In te rv ie w guides were used to gain the Inform ation th a t was p e rtin e n t to th is study. These can be found in Appendix B. 12 Teachers from each environment were interview ed as w e ll as the p rin c ip a l from each b u ild in g . Ten percent o f the student population 1n each a lte r n a tiv e and t h e ir parents were randomly selected to be In terview ed. A ll in te rv ie w s were taped so th a t complete Info rm ation 1s a v a ila b le . This is a d e s c rip tiv e study w ith an environmental d e s c rip tio n fo r each a lte r n a tiv e environment, a sh o rt d e s c rip tio n o f each person in te rv ie w e d , the tra n s c rip tio n o f each in te rv ie w , and re a c tio n s o f the In te rv ie w e r. This Is re p o rte d , as com pletely as p o s s ib le , f o r each school program. The In te rv ie w s have been tra n s c rib e d and presented in f u l l so th a t every reader can draw h is /h e r own conclusions. The researcher has her own se t o f re actio n s and conclusion th a t a re entered a t the end o f each in te rv ie w and in Chapter V I. The remainder o f th is study is organized using the fo llo w in g format: Chapter I I : D escrip tio n o f the Procedure fo r the C reatio n o f A lte rn a tiv e Environments. Chapter I I I : D e s c rip tio n , In te rv ie w s , and Reactions o f "The Stu­ dent Option Block" a t Edwardsburg High School in Edwardsburg, Michigan. Chapter IV : D e s c rip tio n , In te rv ie w s , and Reactions o f "School W ithin a School" a t Kinawa Middle School in Okemos, Michigan. Chapter V: D e s c rip tio n , In te rv ie w s , and Reactions o f "The Guided Open Classroom" a t D elta Center in Grand Ledge, M ichigan. Chapter V I: Summary, Questions f o r Study Considered, Conclusions, Recommendations, New Questions Generated from Study, and Personal R e fle c tio n s . CHAPTER I I DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURE FOR THE CREATION OF ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTS A lte r n a tiv e environments can be created in any p u b lic school system w ith a minimum amount o f r is k to anyone. This concept 1s not to be confused w ith a lte r n a tiv e schools where an e n t ir e school adopts a s p e c ific method and then becomes a ch o ic e, or sp ecial needs programs where a problem 1s Id e n tif ie d and only people w ith th a t problem can attend. The a lt e r n a t iv e environments d e a lt w ith in th is study are programs in the p u b lic schools which e x is t r ig h t beside o th er a l t e r ­ natives or the re g u la r school program. The im portant points are th a t the primary purpose fo r the program is defined and th e re is paren tal and student choice f o r p a r tic ip a tio n in the program. This chapter w i l l attempt to describe the procedure fo r c re a tin g a lt e r n a t iv e environments by looking a t the process o f i n i t i a t i o n and implementation o f the con­ cept. This is the procedure used by the th ree a lte r n a tiv e environments described in th is study. Environmental D escription In looking a t the people in America, i t is safe to assume th a t most o f them wish to have " q u a lity education" fo r t h e ir c h ild re n . Host would be in agreement, u n til i t came to d e fin in g what " q u a lity education" means. F a n tin i says i t is "any education people fe e l i s , o r ought to be 13 14 ‘ good* education w ith in any school o r school sy ste m ."1 I f th is Is tru e * th e re w i l l be many concepts o f " q u a lity education" and because we l iv e 1n an open and fr e e system, th e re is a need f o r many d if f e r e n t kinds o f ed ucational environments to assure people o f g e ttin g what they d e fin e as " q u a lity e d u c a tio n ." These d if f e r e n t environments can e x is t in the same b u ild in g and become a lt e r n a t iv e environments when the people (te a c h e r s , p a re n ts , and stu d en ts) can choose in which one they want to be. Using t h is procedure, an a lt e r n a t iv e environm ent would have an environm ental d e s c rip tio n w r itte n by the te a c h e r to communicate to s tu d e n ts , p a re n ts , o th e r te a c h e rs , and a d m in is tra to rs what is going to happen In th a t environm ent. There a re f i v e im p o rtan t p arts to the environm ental d e s c rip tio n th a t e x p la in p re c is e ly what th e environment Is designed to do. These a re th e prim ary purpose, s e le c te d a c t i v i t i e s , use o f tim e , c o n s tra in ts , and e v a lu a tio n . Examples o f environm ental d e s c rip tio n s fo r the a lte r n a tiv e s described in t h is study a re included in Chapters I I I , IV , and V, and the environm ental d e s c rip tio n f o r the p i l o t program 1s included in Appendix A. Prim ary Purpose The f i r s t p a rt o f th e environm ental d e s c rip tio n Is th e prim ary purpose. This is th e one most im p o rtan t th in g th a t w i l l happen in the environm ent. Although many th in g s w i l l happen, i f nothing e ls e were to happen f o r the people involved in the program, th e concept s ta te d in the prim ary purpose should happen. The a c t i v i t i e s w ith in th e environment w i l l be designed to accomplish t h is one main purpose. f a n t i n i , p. 34. 15 Selected A c t iv itie s Selected a c t i v i t ie s Is the second p a rt o f the environmental d es crip tio n th a t w i l l take place 1n the classroom. These would be general so as not to be extensive but s p e c ific enough to see 1 f the general s tru c tu re o f the classroom 1s designed to meet the primary purpose. This section o fte n is what has to happen in the classroom to assure th a t the primary purpose can be met. I t may inclu d e the stru c tu re or the method o f in s tru c tio n as w e ll as s p e c ific things people w ill be doing. This section also Includes the decision-m aking process w ith in the environment, th a t 1s, what percentage o f the decisions the teacher w i l l make, what percentage the students w i l l make, and what percentage the teacher and the students w i l l share. Use o f Time Use o f tim e is the t h ir d p a rt o f an environmental d e s c rip tio n . This section is devoted to the time th a t w il l be s tru c tu red d i f f e i e n t l y than the re g u la r school program. In an elem entary school program where the students a re u s u ally w ith th e same teacher a l l day, th is section looks mostly a t the special classes or a c t i v i t ie s l i k e gym, music, remedial re a d in g , recess, e tc . I t may also look a t the p arts o f the day th a t the teacher co n tro ls and the parts th a t the student c o n tro ls . In the secondary school th is section o fte n takes on g re a te r importance. Where the school day 1s structured in to small blocks o f tim e , many a lte r n a t iv e environments need to re s tru c tu re tim e so th a t they have la rg e r blocks o f tim e. For example, i f th re e teachers wanted to do the same th in g , they may use a th ree-h o u r block o f time where the 16 students were In th a t environment f o r th ree consecutive hours* There are many ways o f using time d if f e r e n t ly than the re g u la r school program. C onstraints The fo u rth section is the c o n s tra in ts placed on the people In the environment. These are the "musts" or "must nots" th a t are designed to make the environment a place th a t both the students and teachers are com fortable and the primary purpose is not n eg lected . Every environment needs to look a t " c r it i c a l b e h a v io r," the behavior th a t could h u rt some­ one in some way, and s e t up c o n s tra in ts to assure th a t the environment is a good place to be f o r those who choose to be th e re . E valuation E valuation is the f i f t h section o f the environmental d e s c rip tio n . This is im portant because the e v alu atio n must be looked a t d if f e r e n t l y . The ev a lu a tio n must be co n sisten t w ith the prim ary purpose o f the pro­ gram so the evalu atio n to o l w i l l , more than l i k e l y , be d if f e r e n t than the re g u la r school program's, i f the primary purpose d if f e r s . A gain, th ere are many ways to look a t e v a lu a tio n and the question i s , are you ev a lu a tin g what i t is th a t you want to evaluate? The environmental d e s c rip tio n is a to o l t h a t can serve many purposes. As mentioned b e fo re , i t is used to communicate to parents and students what w il l happen in the environment. I t also can be used to conmunlcate to a d m in is tra to rs so they understand what the teacher is try in g to do, and to the o th e r teachers so they d o n 't fe e l threatened by a d if f e r e n t program. 17 The environmental d e s c rip tio n can a ls o be used as a to o l f o r s e lf-e v a lu a tio n by the tea ch er. To begin w ith , w ritin g the en v iro n ­ mental d e s c rip tio n encourages the teacher to look a t h is /h e r own b e lie fs and see i f they are c o n s is te n t. This can be checked by looking a t each p a rt o f the environmental d e s c rip tio n to see i f a l l p a rts are co n siste n t w ith each o th e r. Once the tool is developed th e teacher can use i t in e v a lu a tin g what is happening in the classroom. I t can also be used by the a d m in is tra to r as an ev a lu a tio n tool to give the teacher feedback th a t re la te s s p e c if ic a lly to the in te n t o f the tea ch er. I n i t i a t i o n A lte r n a tiv e environments emerge where someone wants to do something in education th a t is d if f e r e n t . I t may be parents who have d if f e r e n t expectations f o r t h e i r c h ild r e n ’ s education. I t might also be students who are d is s a tis fie d w ith the schools. Often i t might be teachers who are fru s tr a te d w ith what they are doing w ith stu d en ts, or a d m in is tra to rs who see a need fo r some d if f e r e n t kinds o f things happen­ ing 1n the schools. Any one o f these sources can begin the i n i t i a t i o n process fo r an a lt e r n a t iv e environment. The Teacher The teacher is o fte n th e person who is responsible fo r i n i t i a t i n g an a lt e r n a tiv e environment. There are many reasons why more o f them do n o t, but some reasons seem obvious. There is v i r t u a l l y no o pportunity fo r a person studying to be a teacher to experience any­ th in g d if f e r e n t in the schools than what has been happening f o r many 18 y e a rs . Host teacher education programs support the tr a d itio n a l ro le o f the teacher which Is apparent 1n the methods used In education classes and the types o f classrooms used fo r f i e l d assignments. Once teachers are 1n the schools th e re Is very l i t t l e o p p o rtu n ity to t r y anything d if f e r e n t because the p ro fession al ev a lu a tio n Is u s u a lly done by the a d m in is tra tio n w ith a c r it e r io n es ta b lis h e d by the system so th a t everyone looks s im ila r . T ra d itio n seems to perpetuate I t s e l f and w i l l continue u n t il teachers begin to id e n tify what I t Is th a t they want to do d if f e r e n t l y . There are some teachers who have decided to do things d i f f e r ­ e n tly and le g itim iz e d th is by beginning w ith an environmental d e s c rip ­ tio n and o ffe r in g t h e i r classroom as an a lt e r n a tiv e environment. This not only allow s them to a c t on t h e i r d iffe re n c e s , but also gives parents the o p p ortun ity to see 1 f they want something d if f e r e n t 1n education fo r t h e ir c h ild re n . I t also gives th e students a chance to experience a d if f e r e n t environment I f they choose. The A d m in istrato r The concept o f a lte rn a tiv e s can also be i n i t i a t e d by the a d m in is tra to r. The a d m in is tra to r must begin by g iv in g people support f o r what they are alrea d y doing and encourage teachers to t r y d if f e r e n t th in gs 1 f they so w ish. When teachers begin to Imerge as wanting to do something d if f e r e n t , the a d m in is tra to r can help them 1n w ritin g an environmental d e s c rip tio n to help them c l a r i f y e x a c tly what 1 t 1s they want to do so th a t I t can then be o ffe re d to parents and students fo r t h e ir choice In environments. 19 The a d m in is tra to r w i l l s h if t from a ll-a ro u n d educational handyman to th a t o f a co o rd in a to r, f a c i l i t a t o r , and con­ c i l i a t o r o f a school environment th a t w i l l allo w teachers and students the freedom and support necessary to maximize in d iv id u a l lea rn in g and achievement. 2 The a d m in is tra to r can now a c t as a supporter o f d iffe re n c e s w ith the s t a f f members and be a v a ila b le when one comes to him /her as a resource. The Parents A ll too o fte n , parents do not r e a liz e th a t they can I n i t i a t e a lt e r n a t iv e environments. The schools are said to e x is t to meet the expectations o f parents as w ell as the needs o f students, so parents can and must become involved In what the schools are doing w ith t h e i r c h ild re n . Two sources describe Michigan p u b lic school a lte r n a tiv e s where the programs were In i t i a t e d by p a re n ts .5 The fo llo w in g experience th a t M ario Fant1n1 went through exp lain s how parents can g et what they want f o r t h e ir c h ild re n 1 f they fe e l s tro n g ly about 1 t. Several years ago, when I liv e d 1n a predominantly m iddle- class suburb o f New J e rs ey , one o f my sons was having problems 1n school. A c tu a lly , he had been placed 1n f i r s t grade ag ain st the advice o f the teacher and p r in c ip a l, who f e l t he should re p e at kin d erg arten . Our p ro te s t ag a in st such re te n tio n was based on research evidence fav o rin g continuous progress. The c h ild began to complain about school and, a f t e r several weeks, d id not want to go a t a l l . Our sympathy and encouragement made l i t t l e d iffe r e n c e , and soon he began to bedwet. At f i r s t we thought 1 t was general crankiness; but th en , alarm ed, my w ife and I 2,,Educat1on by Choice," Appl 1 ca 11 on f or Ope r a t 1 onal Gran t Under Elementary and Secondary Education A c t, Public Law 8 9 -1 0 . T i t l e I I I , Submitted by Quincy P ublic Schools, D i s t r ic t #172, Quincy, pp. 17-20. I l l i n o i s , ’ "Learning to Learn," and Jesse Pinch, "P aren t-In vo lved Curriculum Change 1n a Public School" (Ph.D. d is s e r ta tio n , Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity , 1975). 20 discussed the m a tter w ith school o f f i c i a l s who repeated th a t the boy was not mature enough fo r f i r s t grade. We sought the advice o f the school psychologist. He seemed very sympathetic to our d e s ire f o r a noncom petitive c la s s ­ room environment fo r our son, w ith a more supportive teacher who would allow th e c h ild re n to engaged In a l l types o f a c t iv it ie s w ith ou t making them fe e l th a t they had to compete w ith one another. The psychologist f e l t my son would p r o f it from a "c h ild -c e n te re d " classroom 1n which com petition was not p a rt o f the classroom s tru c tu re . He went on to c it e studies In which c h ild re n given o p p o rtu n itie s to make th e ir own s e le c tio n o f foods did so w ith o u t In ju r y to d ie t . N a tu r a lly , a l l th is was music to my e a rs . I asked 1f teachers 1n my neighborhood school who th ere were any approached the classroom s itu a tio n 1n th a t manner. The psychologist said th a t th ere was one, but added th a t although th is teacher wanted to move In th is d ir e c tio n , she had r e a lly not pursued I t t o t a l l y , because no " o f f i c i a l" program had been launched to le g a liz e such teaching. N everth eless, I f e l t hopeful and approached th e school o f f i c i a l s ag a in , asking i f my c h ild could be tra n s fe rre d to th is classroom. The p rin c ip a l said no, re a ffirm in g th a t whatever she did fo r my c h ild , she would have to do fo r o th e rs . F u rth e r, she In d ica te d th a t a l l the teachers were the sa m e --a ll s ta te - c e r t i f i e d and a l l implementing the same basic program; she emphasized again th a t the problem was not w ith the program but w ith the c h ild . "Dr. F a n tin i, you simply must r e a liz e th a t your son is not ready f o r f i r s t grade." At th is p o in t, I lo s t my cool and r e p lie d , "No, i t is you and the school th a t are not ready f o r my son." R e alizin g th a t I had cu t communication w ith the p r in c ip a l, I appealed to the superintendent o f schools. He f e l t th a t very l i t t l e could be done a t the moment, although an exper­ imental program was being developed. Deeply fr u s tr a te d , concerned about the w e lfa re o f my s ix -y e a r -o ld , I had to make a decision e ith e r to put more pressure on him to a d ju s t to the program th a t had "turned him o f f" or to seek a lte r n a tiv e s . I decided to seek a lte r n a tiv e s . One was to In v e s tig a te o th e r p u b lic schools in the region th a t might have embarked on a more f l e x ib l e program. I c a lle d several professors a t Rutgers U n iv e rs ity who s p e c ia liz e d in the f i e l d o f "ungraded, continuous progress" ed u catio n, and they suggested a school about twenty minutes from my home in a neighboring m iddle- class town. I ta lk e d w ith the a d m in is tra to r o f th is school, and, indeed, he s a id , they were beginning a nongraded, continuous progress plan 1n which each c h ild could proceed a t his own r a te . This came close to the concept o f noncompetitive education I was looking f o r , and I s a id , " W e ll, I ' d lik e to e n ro ll my c h ild h ere." 21 The p rin c ip a l noted my address. "You are a t u it io n "You w i l l need to see the superIn* case," he announced. tendent o f schools. I t 1s out o f my hands. Feeling even more h o p e fu l, I agreed th a t the p rin c ip a l o f th e school could not determine th e fees and I went to ta lk w ith the superintendent o f schools. At th is meeting,which was q u ite c o r d ia l, th e superin­ tendent said he was very so rry he could not honor my request. I f he did so he would have to do the same f o r o th e rs , and th ere would, he knew, be too many people seeking to tra n s fe r t h e ir c h ild re n in to th is type o f school. On th is occasion to o , I lo s t my composure, exclaim in g , " I f they want i t , why c a n 't they have it? " At once, the superintendent re p lie d b la n d ly , "That would in te rru p t our whole a d m in is tra tiv e o rg a n iz a tio n ." The o n ly way, th e n , th a t I , as a p a re n t, could send my c h ild to a school which s a tis f ie d his educational needs was to move my e n t ir e fa m ily to a new town. That would e n ta il buying a house In the d i s t r i c t in which th is school was located. The costs alo n e , over $ 6 0,0 00 , made th is a lte r n a tiv e im possible. Another a lt e r n a t iv e I considered was to send my c h ild to a p riv a te school, a Montessori school nearby; but the I had no choice but to send my t u it io n was p r o h ib itiv e . c h ild to a school and In to a classroom 1n which he was being damaged and scarred. Moreover, our concern f o r our c h ild had by now exceeded normal p ro p o rtio n s, and he was s u ffe rin g from our p e rs is te n t w orry. On the one hand, we were concerned w ith his growth and development: he might b u ild up n eg ative a ttitu d e s toward school and us 1 f we put more pressure on him. On the o ther hand, w ithout school, we envisioned h is f a l l i n g fu r th e r and fu r th e r behind and becoming a chronic school problem, thus c re a tin g another whole s e t o f educational com plications. What were we to do In th is s itu a tio n ? We t r ie d some home tu to r in g , but because o f the ro le s th a t both my w ife and I p layed, t h is was not a c o n siste n t approach, and the problems grew. At th is p o in t, we again made an appeal to the school p sych olo gist. Me had fu r th e r discussions about the p o s s ib ilit y o f s ta r tin g a "noncom petitive" classroom, now somehow given the new t i t l e o f "open" classroom by the p sychologist. His major p o in t was th a t we c o u ld n 't s t a r t a new program I t suddenly dawned on us th a t th ere f o r ju s t one c h ild . might be o th er f i r s t grade parents who f e l t the way we d id . Me launched a se rie s o f k o ffe e klatsches around the to p ic o f a d if f e r e n t type o f classroom. Out o f th is series o f discu ssio n s, which the school psychologist atte n d e d , we emerged w ith a group o f parents who expressed enough I n t e r ­ e s t to s t a r t a f i r s t grade class based on the concept o f "open ed u ca tio n ." 22 An In te re s tin g problem now arose. We had fo u r f ir s t - g r a d e te a c h e rs , each one handling a d if f e r e n t group o f youngsters. Though we now had a group o f parents o f c h ild re n who p re fe rre d a noncompetitive classroom, the c h ild re n o f these parents were sc atte re d among the fo u r teachers. As f a r as I was concerned, th e re was, In pedagogical terms, a "mismatch" o f teaching and le a rn in g s ty le s . The fo u r teachers were try in g to do t h e ir b e s t, b u t, In essence, each was Imposing her own s ty le on a group o f youngsters— a s ty le which might make co n tact w ith some ch ild re n but not w ith o th e rs . Those c h ild re n f o r whom the te a c h e r's s ty le was not working tended to withdraw and, a t tim es , posed a problem f o r the school. The school's response u s u ally was to c la s s ify such c h ild re n as "slow" or " d is ru p tiv e " —we have such a c la s s i­ f ic a t io n system In our schools. For o th er c h ild re n , paren tal pressure a t home l i t e r a l l y forced the c h ild to a d ju s t to what­ ever s ty le the teacher had adopted, whether or not th a t s ty le was congruent w ith the c h ild 's le a rn in g s ty le . I now began to ra is e questions about whether we could match the s ty le o f teaching to the s ty le o f le a rn in g . O bviously, In th is s it u a t io n , h ir in g a new teacher f o r our twenty or so youngsters was out o f the question. We remem­ bered the one f i r s t grade teacher who was disposed to a more "open" s ty le . Our proposal would not ask fo r more money; 1t would simply ask th a t classes remain much as they w ere, since many parents and students did not express any d is c o n te n t. For those who did express need fo r an a lt e r n a t iv e , a s o lu tio n should be provided. Since one f i r s t grade teacher was h e rs e lf w i l l i n g , and looked forward to working In an open environm ent, we wondered why I t c o u ld n 't be done. We had a i l th e major p a rtfe s who coutd make I t happen. We had the parent group (th e ta x p a y e rs ), we had a w illin g teacher alrea d y on the pay­ r o l l ; we had a psychologist to lend support. F in a lly , a f t e r fu r t h e r n eg o tiatio n and under the ru b ric o f an "experim ental program," we were a b le to s t a r t an open classroom as an o p tio n . We discovered th a t many parents whose c h ild re n were in th is te a c h e r's class r e a lly p re fe rre d a more formal setup. Under our proposal, these parents also had a new c h o ic e ." The important p o in ts are th a t F a n tin l id e n t if ie d th a t h is son needed something d if f e r e n t than was happening In the school, found o th e r parents th a t supported his ideas and als o wanted th a t f o r t h e ir c h ild re n , found a teacher who wanted to t r y something d if f e r e n t in the classroom, and s ta rte d an a lte r n a tiv e environment in the pub lic school. The " F a n tin i, pp. 15-19. 23 teacher a t th is p o in t, would w r ite an environmental d e s c rip tio n w ith the aid o f the parents and see 1 f th ere are others who also want th is type o f environment fo r t h e ir c h ild re n . Follow ing Is a chronological sequence o f events leading to the c re a tio n o f an a lte r n a tiv e en viro n ­ ment created In Saginaw Township, Saginaw, M ichigan. INITIATION, PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE, 1974-1975 Henvneter A lte r n a tiv e LOG OF EVENTS February 15, 1974: Parent conference (Judy H aln, Martha F itz g e ra ld and Kaye Ross) w ith H a r r ie t Murphy, Curriculum C oordinator. Purpose: Discussion o f a progressive f le x ib l e le a rn in g environment a t Hemmeter School based on an e x is tin g f i r s t grade program. February 21 , 1974: Meeting w ith the th re e p are n ts , H a r r ie t Murphy— Curriculum Coordinator and Mrs. Ruth Ann L u n d g ren --p rin cip al o f Hemmeter to discuss a p o s s ib ilit y fo r th is kind o f lea rn in g environment. February 27, 1974: A second meeting in v o lv in g the same group as above. H a r r ie t Murphy o ffe re d the suggestion o f developing an A lte r n a tiv e . The parents agreed to describe the le a rn in g environment. March 19, 1974: The above group met again to share the d e s c rip tio n the parents had Id e n t if ie d . Dr. Dale Alam—M.S.U. was in v ite d to jo in th e discussion. Dale has experience 1n planning and Implementing a lte r n a t iv e programs. March 29, 1974: The same group o f people in c lu d in g Jan E b elt ( f i r s t grade tea ch er— Hemmeter) met to r e fin e the d e s c rip tio n o f the Hemmeter A lte r n a tiv e . A p ril 25, 1974 The A lte rn a tiv e Team (in c lu d in g the above people) met w ith Dave H in k ln , A s sista n t Superintendent and Dan McConnell, Superintendent, to re p o rt the plan and request approval. Approval was given. A ssistan t S uperintendent, Dale K lein could not a tte n d . 24 A p ril 27, 1974: A p ril 29, 1974: May 2 , 1974: May 8 . 1974: At the conclusion o f th is meeting a l e t t e r was d ra fte d to send to parents o f Hemneter school c h ild re n . The l e t t e r was sent to a l l parents w ith an in v ita t io n to attend an open meeting a t Hemmeter School to discuss the program. Dr. Dale Alam and Mrs. Lundgren met to discuss o th e r A lte rn a tiv e Programs and research d a ta . Inform ation on the A lte r n a tiv e was put on the s t a f f meeting agenda f o r discussion by Mrs. Lundgren. Open parent m eeting. A fte r the discussion some parents requested permission s lip s f o r admission. A second parent meeting fo r parents unable to attend f i r s t m eeting. Many kindergarten parents attended requesting kindergarten c h ild re n be Included. May 9 , 1974: Mrs. Lundgren and Dr. Alam reviewed the number o f a p p l1 cants. May 16, 1974: May 23, 1974: Mrs. Lundgren and H a rr ie t Murphy met to discuss progress, H a r r ie t suggested a second note be sent to parents fo r f in a l co n firm a tio n . Note was sent May 2 0 , 1974. The A lte rn a tiv e team met w ith Dave H inkin and Dale K le in . Purpose to discuss personnel posting and a b u ild in g change (two doorways between rooms and a p ro je c t room). Second meeting by A lte r n a tiv e team to assemble up to date inform ation fo r teaching s t a f f members a t Hemmeter. M a te ria l given to a l l teachers a t May 24 , 1974 meeting. May 31, 1974: P o sitio n posted by Mr. K inkin. June 10, 1974: Interview s o f candidates by A lte r n a tiv e team. S e le ctio n delayed due to m illa g e d e fe a t. June 14, 1974: A l e t t e r was prepared w ith u p -to -d a te inform ation to send to parents. Requested to hold l e t t e r due to m llla g e d e fe a t. F in a lly sent the la s t p a rt o f June. August 19, 1974: P eter Vance was h ire d fo r the Kindergarten teacher 1n the A1 te n ta tiv e . August 22, 1974: A l e t t e r was sent to parents w ith Inform ation about student and teach er assignments. August 26, 1974: Mrs. Lundgren and H a rr ie t Murphy met w ith teach ers--Jan E b e lt, P eter Vance and Pat T re ib to plan f o r program. 25 September 17, 1974: Mrs. Lundgren, H a r r ie t Murphy, Pat T r e lb , Pete Vance, and Jan E b e lt—met to plan fo r f i r s t parent m eeting. September IB , 1974: Pat T re lb met w ith Mrs. Lundgren and H a rr ie t Murphy requesting she as a teach er and her room not be Included In the A lte r n a tiv e d e s c rip tio n . She to ld her parents o f th is d ecision a t the parent meeting in the evening. The program w i l l now c o n s is t o f K in derg arten , F ir s t and Second Graders. Third and Fourth Grade students w i l l be Included in the fu tu re when a vacancy e x is ts a t Hemmeter and another teacher can be h ire d . Parents were given In fo rm atio n o f ev a lu a tio n components e n ta ilin g parent exp ectation s and d i s t r i c t e x p ec ta tio n s. September 23 , Two Michigan S tate U n iv e rs ity E .I.P . Shoemaker and Catherine Hunt agreed to work 1n the A lte r n a tiv e fo r t h e ir In te rn experience. In te rn s Pam September 26 , 1974: Dr. Dale Alam was a v a ila b le to a l l Hemmeter s t a f f members to drop In and In fo rm a lly discuss a lte r n a tiv e programs. During the f i r s t semester Jan and P e te r have spent considerable tim e implementing t h e ir id e a s . Constant p a re n t-te a c h e r convnunlcation has been tak in g place during re g u la rly scheduled conferences and Inform al chats. Mothers and fa th e rs have co n trib u te d t h e ir tim e , e f f o r t s and ideas and plans have resources to the program. Some o f the o rig in a l changed somewhat. A d d itio n al e v a lu a tio n w i l l take place in May to enable the team to do fu tu re planning. [Submitted by H a rrie t M u rp h y .]5 The Students Students seem to be the people who have the le a s t say in what happens in the schools. This may be understandable in the elem entary schools and maybe even the middle schools, but in th e high schools, students can become involved in the curriculum d ecision making process. They can organize themselves and communicate w ith teachers or the a tta in Is tr a to rs . This may or may not be acceptable depending on the 5H a r r ie t Murphy, "Log o f Events," in "Learning to Learn." 26 school system. There are some systems where students are a lre a d y members o f the curriculum decision-m aking committee. I f students are not accepted by teachers and a d m in is tra to rs as being capable o f having some say 1n c u r r ic u la r d e c is io n s , the student can go to t h e ir parents and i n i t i a t e a lt e r n a t iv e environments through t h e ir paren ts. I t does not m atter who I n i t i a t e s the a lte r n a t iv e environment, I f I t leads to the tea ch er, the teacher and p a re n ts , o r the teach er and students w ritin g an environmental d e s c rip tio n to o f f e r th is environment to a l l students or parents who want to choose 1 t. This plan c a lls fo r cooperation o f tea ch ers, p are n ts , and students in the development o f a v a r ie ty o f le g itim a te educational options w ith in our p u b lic schools. Choice is a key term in th is p lan . Each o f the p a r tic ip a tin g g ro up s--teach ers, p are n ts , and students (th e agents clo sest to the a c tio n )— have a choice o f the option th a t best supports t h e ir s t y l e . 6 Implementation A fte r the teacher w rite s the environmental d e s c rip tio n , the Implementation phase begins. The a d m in is tra to r may be approached f i r s t to l e t him /her know what 1s going to happen. At t h is p o in t, the admin­ is tr a t io n does not have to take a r is k because 1 f parents and students do not choose th is environment, i t w i l l not e x is t . The environmental d e s c rip tio n can also be presented to the s t a f f so they are aware o f what th is a lte r n a tiv e environment is about. This would be to assure them th a t the a lt e r n a tiv e is not b e tte r than what is alrea d y happening but d if f e r e n t , fo r those students who need or want something d if f e r e n t . *Mar1o D. F a n tin i, " A lte rn a tiv e s In the P ublic Schools," Today’ s Education. September-October 1974, p. 63. 27 The a d m in is tra to r, a t th is p o in t, must show support, not only fo r the a lte r n a tiv e but f o r each teacher Involved In the school. What must happen w ith the environmental d e s c rip tio n 1s th a t 1t must be presented to the p aren ts. I t 1s o fte n sent home to a l l parents who have the o ption o f p lacin g t h e ir c h ild in the a lt e r n a t iv e . This is follow ed by a parent meeting to e x p la in fu r th e r what is going to happen o r c l a r i f y any points th a t c re a te questions. One meeting might be enough but more than one might be necessary. Parental consent is then asked o f those who want t h e ir c h ild to experience the a lte r n a tiv e environment. This may be a decision made s t r i c t l y by the parents or the parents may choose to discuss i t and share the decision w ith t h e ir c h ild re n . No m a tter how they do i t , the parents must make a decisio n on what they want f o r t h e ir c h ild re n a t school. Even deciding th a t they do not want t h e ir c h ild re n in the a lt e r n a t iv e , they have made a choice o f what i t is th a t they want from the schools. Since p a re n ts , students, and teachers are brought to g eth er by mutual consent and not by chance, th e mismatches o f the past which led to fr u s tr a tio n fo r both teach er and student can be a v o id e d .7 Through th is implementation process which culm inates w ith parent ch o ice, Shaw comments th a t educational p ro d u c tiv ity should increase through the process o f students matching w ith a range o f d if f e r in g educational environments and teachers choosing the a lte r n a t iv e th a t best enhances his s ty le and t a le n t . W ithin th is com patible e n v i­ ronment, not only w ill p ro d u c tiv ity in c re a s e , but c o n flic ts between tea ch ers, parents and students should decrease." 7I b i d . , p. 63. "W illiam Shaw, "An E xplorato ry Study o f Diverse Educational Philosophies, Psychologies, Methodologies and Communication Networks o f Diverse Educational A lte r n a tiv e Learning Environments W ithin Public Schools" (Ph.D. d is s e r ta tio n , Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity , 1 9 7 5 ), p. 67. 28 Environmental C la s s ific a tio n I t seems th a t some c la s s ific a tio n system may provide another way o f viewing the a lte r n a tiv e concept. A c la s s if ic a tio n system simply means th a t a school In te re s te d 1n e v a lu a tin g e x is tin g programs w ith some In te n tio n o f cre a tin g a lte rn a tiv e s can use one o f the systems presented here to see where they are and what Is m issing. Two systems w il l be presented. One 1s Id e n t ifie d w ith F a n tln l and the second w ith Blom. F a n tln i suggests th a t programs can be placed on a continuum th a t ranges from Free-Inform ed to Standard-Formal as seen In Figure 1. Blom never re fe rs to his system as a continuum, but many c h a ra c te ris tic s o f his system appear s im ila r to F a n tln l as seen In Figure 2. Perhaps the most n atu ral way to compare the systems Is to view the decision-m aking process. F a n tln i's fre e -in fo rm a l environment appears s im ila r to Blom’ s autonomous environment 1n terms o f d e c is io n ­ making by th e student. The same holds tru e as the teacher assumes decision-making power in Blom's a u to c ra tic environment and F a n tln i's stand ard -fo rm al. Both Blom and F a n tln l agree th a t the schools are t y p ic a lly a ffo rd in g students an abundance o f the a u to c ra tic o r standard-form al environments. W hile analyzing the two systems o f c la s s ify in g a lte r n a tiv e s * i t is obvious how the environmental d e s c rip tio n concept can e a s ily be applied w ith reference to e ith e r system and any a lt e r n a t iv e as a means o f c l a r i f ic a t i o n and communication. Purpose statements a re c le a r as are a c t i v i t i e s , tim e use and decision-m aking, e v a lu a tio n , and c o n s tra in ts . Free-Informal Open-Formal Modified-Formal Standard-Formal Learner-directed and controlled. Learner has com­ plete freedom to orchestrate his own education. Teacher is one resource. Learner has considerable freedom to choose from a wide range of content areas considered re le ­ vant by teacher, parent, student. Resource centers in major s k ill areas made a v a il­ able to learner. Opening of school to the coranunity and its resources Teacher is sup­ portive guider. Prescribed content Is made more fle x ib le through individualization of instruction; school 1s ungraded; students learn same thing but at d iffe re n t rates. Using team teaching, teachers plan a d i f ­ ferentiated approach to the same content. Teacher and programmed course of study are the major sources of student learning. Learner adheres to In s titu tio n requirements uni- formally prescribed: what Is to be taught— how, when, where, and with whom. Teacher is instructor-evaluator. Student passes or fa ils according to normative standards In s ti tu ti on-centered. Noncompetitive environment. Teacher-student planning. No student fa ilu re s . Curriculum is viewed as social system rather than as course of studies. Learner-centered Teacher-centered. Competi tiv e environments. School is the major instruc­ tional setting. Subject-matter centered. Figure 1. Alternatives on a Freedom-to-Prescription Continuum. Source: Mario F an tin i, "Alternatives Within Public Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, March 1973, pp. 447-448. A B C The learner Is view ! as i wind to be Molded by the expert teacher. Mastery of factual Information. Adult approval fo r a ll behavior. Systematic organiza­ tion of teaching and learning. Standardized testing. Authoritarian, D ictatorial, Autocratic External, Other Controlled Expectations— Rules, Regulations Learning Theory Sttmulus-Response Training Mental Discipline Conditioning D rill Memorization The teacher's task Is one of engaging the student's Interest through group planned experiences. The student Is given encour- agament, aid, direction In searching for solutions. Learning by doing, a recogni­ tion of student needs, Interests, and experiences. Using knowledge rather than absorbing It. Owaocratlc, Consensus, Compromise All knowing and truth arrived at by knowing, 1s Individual and subjective. Nan determines by conscious choice to accept or reject knowledge perceived on the basis of his own experience. Self knowledge 1s a key to a ll knowledge. Autonomy Croup Externally Controlled Laws, Expectations Internal, Self Control Values, Heeds, Conscience. Self-Established Goals Learning Theory Stlntamil-Response Trafnlng Mental Discipline Conditioning D1scovery-Nwaorlzat1on Learning Theory Drganlsarie Natural Unfoltant Perceptual Field St 1 w l us-Percaptf on-Response Discovery-Internal 1 ration Experience Inference Knowledge-Leanwr-Facl 11 tator Trans*1ss1on of Knowledge Knowledge-CurHeulum-Teacher-Learner Transalsslon of Knowledge Knowledge-Lea mer-firoup-Teacher External Motivation Threats, Rewards Student Passive Some Options Conformity, Emphasis on Nath. Science. History. Language. Caawetltlon Teacher Makes decisions Behavioral engineering, Reality 1s as defined and perceived by the authority power representative Slow to change People Meet the heeds of the institution External-Internal Motivation Group Expectations Rewards, Goals, Values, Heeds Student Active Selected Options Group teacher defined standards Emphasis on group decision waking, agreement, basic s k ills Internal Motivation Natural Growth, Needs, Values, Curiosity. Interest Student Active Many Options Individuality encouraged, Emphasis on self, Individual decision waking, dependency on total envlrowaant, Values Teacher and Students wake the decisions Group Guided Consensus, Reality Is as defined and perceived by the group Student makes most decisions Personal Meaning, Insight. Reality is as perceived by the individual learner Recognizes and allows change I f group Understands change as a natural-ongoing agrees process People meet the needs of the group and Institution Institutions and environments meet the needs of people U l o Product Orientation Process-Product Orientation Process Orientation, Education Is a process not an end product Acceptance contingent upon a b ility of student to adhere to the Institution's standards Sane Acceptance of Individual differences Acceptance Figure 2 . Teaching and L1fe-Learn1ng Styles Source: Frank S. Blom, "Alternatives In the Public Schools," Memos, Michigan, 1973, pp. 7-S. 31 A c c o u n ta b ility Over the past several years Michigan schools have been influenced by the S ta te Department o f Education's e f f o r t s to Implement an a c c o u n ta b ility model throughout th e s ta te . Reactions have v a rie d , but few Michigan educators have m aintained apathy. Many have reacted w ith f e a r , others anger, many w ith excitem ent. Just as reactio n s have v a rie d , so have programs w ith in the schools and as t a lk o f a lte r n a tiv e environments emerges, the question in v a r ia b ly comes up, "But what about a c c o u n ta b ilIty ? " The a lte r n a t iv e environments concept probably does more to respond to th e a c c o u n ta b ility th ru s t than any o ther suggested s o lu tio n , fo r i t accounts f o r d iv e r s ity and a m u ltitu d e o f re ac tio n s and responses. I t is not incom patible w ith the concept o f a c c o u n ta b ility . In f a c t , in many ways th e a lt e r n a tiv e environments support the concept o f accounta­ b i l i t y . Teachers a re accountable to s e l f f o r the purposes they accept and make p u b lic ; parents share in a c c o u n ta b ility through the d ec is io n ­ making process; a d m in is tra to rs evalu ate teachers using th e te a c h e r's purposes and not the unnotated in v is ib le c r i t e r i a th a t are o ften used in the e v a lu a tio n process. Students become accountable to s e l f by sharing the purpose o f the environment and being evaluated in terms o f t h e ir purpose ra th e r than the school purpose which is too broad to d e fin e . Just as the concept o f a lt e r n a t iv e environments is an attem pt to le g itim iz e d if f e r e n t kinds o f school programs, i t also serves to le g itim iz e e x is tin g standard school programs through choice. This 32 le g itim iz in g f a c t Is the s in g le most support system fo r the a c c o u n ta b ility concept. Summary In sunmary, Chapter I I has been an atte m p t to d e s c rib e the procedures f o r th e c re a tio n o f a lt e r n a t iv e environments through i n i t i a t i o n and Im plem entation phases. The concept o f environm ental d e s c rip tio n s has been d e a lt w ith in d e t a il because i t serves as the c e n tra l fa c e t o f th e concept, both in process as w e ll as co n ten t term s. Chapters I I I , IV , and V w i l l c o n s is t o f an environm ental d e s c rip tio n o f th e th re e s e le c te d programs included in t h is stu d y , b r i e f d e s c rip tio n s o f the people In te rv ie w e d , a taped In te rv ie w tr a n ­ s c rip tio n f o r each person in te rv ie w e d (w ith th e question in I t a l i c s ) , and a few re a c tio n s (1 n s c r ip t ty p e ) by the in te r v ie w e r . Although the teachers and acb n in istrato rs were th e im portant focus d urin g the i n i t i a ­ tio n stage o f these s e le c te d a lt e r n a t iv e environm ents, th e focus s h ifte d as each program began th e im plem entation stag e. The o rd e r o f the i n t e r ­ views in each ch ap ter r e f l e c t th e Importance o f th e people th a t are Involved in these environments a f t e r they were implemented. The student and p a re n t in te rv ie w s a re presented f i r s t , fo llo w e d by the teachers from th e environm ent, and l a s t l y , the a d m in is tra to rs . CHAPTER I I I DESCRIPTIONS, INTERVIEWS, AND REACTIONS OF "THE STUDENT OPTION BLOCK" AT EDWARDSBUR6 HIGH SCHOOL IN EDWARDSBURG, MICHIGAN Environmental D e s c rip tio n 1 WHAT IS THE STUDENT OPTION PROGRAM? Student option is an a lt e r n a t iv e to tr a d it io n a l le a rn in g . A student can gain c r e d it through f i e l d experience o r through academic s tu d ie s . I t gives the student more options to co n tro l his le a rn in g p a tte rn s . An in d iv id u a l d ire c tio n which w ill meet his In d iv id u a l is given the o pportunity to choose his course o f le a rn in g needs. WHY IS THERE A STUDENT OPTION PROGRAM? Learning is an in d iv id u a l process and many students are looking fo r optional ways to education. This program is designed to meet the needs o f th a t type o f student. WHO BELONGS TO THE STUDENT OPTION PROGRAM? Students who have p aren tal permission and who have f i l l e d out the a p p lic a tio n forms are e l i g i b l e fo r the c la s s . These students are under the d ire c tio n o f Ms. Vi Ross and Ms. Judy S in g ley . WHERE AND WHEN IS THE STUDENT OPTION PROGRAM? Edwardsburg High School the school hours o f 10 o ’ clock and noon. is not a v a ila b le during th is time period the student can s t i l l b e n e fit from i t on his own tim e. is o ffe rin g th is program every day between I f a d esired experience l More d e ta ile d inform ation and the forms used in the program can be found in Appendix C. 33 34 I . Purposes A. To c re a te an environment th a t w i l l fo s te r: s e lf-w o rth c r e a t iv it y s e lf d is c ip lin e responsible behavior c r i t i c a l th in kin g (q uestioning a t t it u d e ) acceptance, a p p re ciatio n or d iffe re n c e s s e lf discovery "helping" re la tio n s h ip s B. To c re a te a cooperative ra th e r than a co m p etitive environment C. To in d iv id u a liz e co n te n t, le a rn in g fo r in d iv id u a l growth Academic c r e d it Experience c r e d it In d iv id u a l goals se t by students— teacher assistance The Option Block hopes to b u ild tr u s t and help students lea rn by o f f e r ­ ing choices not contained in the t r a d it io n a l classroom environment I I . Proper Goals? A. S e lf-m o tiv a tio n B. S e lf-d ir e c tio n C. S e lf-e v a lu a tio n I I I . L ife -L e a rn in g Styles A. Shared d ecisio n s— Students and teachers share the respon­ s i b i l i t y f o r the why, what, how, and when o f le a rn in g . Student ev alu atio n is shared process between teacher and student. B. Student d ire c te d --T h e student makes most o f the decisions concerning the why, w hat, how, and when o f le a rn in g . Student ev alu atio n is c a rrie d on by th e student which is shared w ith his parents and frie n d s . IV . Importance o f Planning A. Options a v a ila b le B. Weekly plans C. Seminars D. Sponsor contacts ( f o r experience c r e d it ) V. C onstraints A. A ll school ru les are in e f f e c t B. D estruction o f school property w i l l not be to le ra te d C. No infringem ent on the rig h ts o f others D. Attendance required E. No tardin ess 35 In terview s w ith Teachers, A d m in is tra to rs , Students and Parents In te rv ie w 1— E ric L in h o ff E r ic i s a ju n io r in th e S tud ent O ption Block a t Edwardsburg High School in Edwardsburg, M ich igan . He has been w ith th e program f o r two semesters and enjoys th e o p p o rtu n ity to in d iv id u a liz e h is program. He i s a s c ie n c e - f ic t io n e n th u s ia s t and very c r e a t iv e in h is own w r it i n g . How long have you been in th e S tu d e n t O ption Block? I got in to i t a t the beginning o f the school year. How do you f e e l about school t h is year? L e t's see, I'm g e ttin g more involved in i t . in the cla ss . I'm g e ttin g more involved So you f e e l d i f f e r e n t l y t h is y e a r than you d id la s t year? h ere , I moved up in the middle o f taught by Ms. Ross. Last semester I ended up w ith two W e ll, l ik e when I f i r s t came up f i r s t semester o f my freshman y e a r , and o f course they had a l l kinds o f req u ired classes freshman year and I took 'em by a v a r ie ty o f teachers. Then when I got in to my sophomore y e a r, I took a l o t o f English classes which were periods in Option Block and the two periods r ig h t before lunch I had Ms. Singley and then th is semester I 'v e got two periods in Ms. Ross's room before lunch and then Option Block, so almost my e n t ir e day revolves around th a t wing. This semester I took a s c ie n c e -fic tio n class w ith Ms. C o llin s and I'm ju s t g e ttin g a l i t t l e more involved . Like next semester I'm going to take w ritin g fo r p u b lic a tio n s and the school newspaper. I took i t is to g e t more in volved . T h e re 're not th a t many so i t ' s ju s t spread out more. L ik e most o f my day revolves around the Option Block wing and the band room. here a l l day and then I go down th e re to the band room a t the end o f the day. But I'm branching out more. I d o n 't know what 1 t i s , b u t, w e ll, the only reason I'm running out o f English classes. I'm down Do you f e e l th a t O ption Block has had something to do w ith how you f e e l about school? I th in k so. My general fe e lin g about school because i t is a Yeah, d iffe re n c e . befo re. was i t seemed to me a way to g e t involved in the school and the so c ie ty in the school. I d o n 't know, i t seems to me, a g a in , one o f my main reasons I t ' s a d iffe re n c e from the classes I 'v e taken in years 36 What do you see as th e p rim ary purpose o f the O ption Blook? llh, I would say probably to l e t th e students fin d what 1 t 1s they want to do, lik e the ongoing classes Ms. S ln g ley has. L ike they decide one thing to s t a r t on a t th e beginning o f the year and then they work from th e re . W e ll, i t ' s not r e a lly a c la s s . A fte r aw h ile everybody's out fo r doing something new but f o r aw h ile the ongoing class was working on p a in tin g , and one g i r l now is studying photography and sh e's taking p ic tu res around the wing o u ts id e , and th e people in i t , and s t u f f lik e t h is . I t ' s r e a l l y to help the kids fin d themselves. Do you see t h a t as d i f f e r e n t than th e o th e r programs in the school? lik e math, but th a t is mostly Yeah, they c a ll them standard programs, to teach the k id s , I th in k , what somebody e ls e has decided i t is you have to le a rn . You lea rn how to add, s u b tra c t, m u lt ip ly , and d iv id e , because th e y 're t e l l i n g you what to le a rn . However, in Option Block you decide what 1 t 1s you want to le a r n , w ith in l i m i t s , you know. You I f you took a math c a n 't go in and say I want to le a rn to m u ltip ly . class you c a n 't go in and say I want to lea rn to m u ltip ly but not to add because i t ' s im possible. W e ll, w ith in reason, you decide y o u 're own th in g and in the standard class they t e l l you what to do. What kinds o f th in g s do you do d u rin g th e O ption B lock tim e? I'm in the U.S. h is to ry class Ms. Ross teaches. T h a t's one o f W e ll, the biggest ones in the Option Block Program, and she had to s p l i t 1 t in to two classes. I'm also ta k in g L a tin . Like I'm only about h a lf as f a r as one o f the re g u la r standard classes teaches but I'm moving a t a pace where I'm not h u rrie d . Of co u rse, i t might help i f I was h urried a l i t t l e b i t , but i t ' s ju s t a l i t t l e smoother. Do you do o th e r kinds o f th in g s b esid e s h is to r y and L a tin ? W e ll, as i t is a two-hour c la s s , you can only g et a h a lf c r e d it fo r each hour during each semester o r one c r e d it a semester so you get two c re d its a y e a r. But th e r e 'r e o th e r things lik e I worked on a committee. We have comnlttees th a t you d o n 't g e t c r e d it f o r . L ike th e re was a w hite elephant s a le and I signed up to work w ith the p ric in g committee, and i t ended up th a t I did almost a l l the p ric in g . There were a few people who helped me, b u t, fo r some reason, everybody was busy 'cause everybody e ls e is more involved w ith s t u f f o u tsid e the program. o f people to help move the ta b le s down here 'cause we held i t in the lunchroom. except fo r counting up the money, and, o f course, we had somebody else do th a t. i f y o u 're in te re s te d , you can go to the seminars, but you d o n 't have I d o n 't know, I'm on various com nittees. Most o f th e tim e, I did th e p ric in g and I was in charge o f g e ttin g a couple I ended up in charge o f doing p r a c t ic a lly the whole th in g 37 l i k e a guy came In who 1s a fr ie n d o f Mr. to go I f yo u 're not In te re s te d . But sometimes t h e y 'l l re q u ire some th in g s , 1 f I t ' s Im p o rta n t, l ik e th is tra n s a c tio n a l a n a ly s is seminar. We've had o th e r th in g s , Candelarlo who taught In A fr ic a f o r aw h ile and taught In C a lifo r n ia and now he's working In E lk h a rt w ith the County Mental H ealth Associa­ tio n . I t was re q u ire d , but I mean t h a t most o f the tim e 1 f something is re q u ire d , i t ' s something th a t catches almost everybody's In te r e s t anyway. Even though i t ' s re q u ire d , you can g et out o f I t . go to many o f them because not many o f them in te r e s t me, but each Thursday, as a general r u l e , A1 Diamond, a policeman from the S h e r if f 's Department, comes w ith e it h e r a seminar or a f ilm . U s u a lly I t ' s a f i l m , but t h a t's about a l l th a t we've got. A ll th a t w e're doing in seminars a t th is tim e o f the y e a r Is movies o r s t u f f l ik e t h is . I d o n 't How do you decide what i t i s you 'r e going to do> o r when do you make those d e cis io n s ? I c a n 't remember, At the beginning o f each nine week grading p erio d . I t ' s e it h e r a t the beginning o f the nine week grading period or the beginning o f the semester. T here's a c o n tra c t we f i l l out w ith a l l the d if f e r e n t p ro visio n s. Number one is you can take academic courses lik e math, h is to r y , lik e t h is . T h e re 're o th e r things you can take lik e an outside th in g , experience c r e d i t , f o r which you go out and work some­ p la c e , and, Instead o f g e ttin g paid fo r 1 t , you g et school c r e d it . Like I know one kid 1s g e ttin g experience c r e d it working a t a m otorcycle shop 1n South Bend. This is what he's in te re s te d In . T here1re some g ir ls I th in k t h e r e 'r e q u ite a few who go down over working in a h o s p ita l. and help teachers 1n th e elem entary grades, f i r s t and second grades. Everyday when you go in t o th e O ption B lock, do you know e x a c tly what i t i s you a re going to do o r do you sometimes make d i f f e r e n t d e c is io n s a f t e r you g e t there? Like the f i r s t h is to ry group W e ll, as a general ru le I t ' s se t up. meets Mondays and Wednesdays and the second group Tuesdays and Thursdays and then Friday Is c u rre n t events day. You've g o tta have an a r t i c l e from a newspaper, a c u rre n t event. O r ig in a lly , I was supposed to meet w ith Ms. Ross fo r L a tin on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, you know, i t ' s not always p o ssib le to meet w ith her every day. She's busy w ith a l l kinds o f things the N atio n al Honor S o c ie ty , and we u s u a lly get to g eth er f o r about a h a lf hour t o t a l tim e the whole week. So i t ' s p re tty w ell se t up, you know, the teacher w il l have c e r ta in classes c e rta in times o f the week c e rta in periods. come in , we have c i r c l e which Is when everybody gets to g e th e r and th e re 's a sheet run o f f w ith the d if f e r e n t classes th a t day and th in g s , lik e o cc as io n a lly somebody w i l l have a b irth d a y on i t or something l ik e th is . There 1s a c e rta in amount o f leeway as to what you want to do. Like the day before ye ste rd ay Ms. Ross said something about a paper I In case you fo r g e t f o r some reason o r o th e r when you f i r s t 'cause she's got the program plus she's sponsoring 38 I t was supposed to be a dream s itu a tio n . You make had to w r ite . up a dream and the choice I took was a tw o-year old s i t t i n g during a thunderstorm. I made a l i t t l e s h o rt, shock th in g , you know, l ik e about two paragraphs long and Ms. Ross says, "111 probably g ive you a lower grade because i t was so s h o rt." th a t, and I d id n 't get upset, but I was depressed, and, fo r some reason, everything t h a t 's gone wrong in th is school since I f i r s t moved up here kinda came down on me, and I d id n 't fe e l That was the day when Ms. Ross had a l l kinds o f tim e , but we d id n 't do L atin 'cause I d id n 't fe e l l ik e i t . So even though th e re 's a fix e d schedule, I t ' s possible to d e v ia te from i t a l i t t l e b i t . L ike U.S. h is to ry was o r ig in a lly supposed to meet a t 12 o 'c lo c k and c ir c le s ta r ts a t about a q u a rte r t i l l . W e ll, sometimes the c ir c le takes so, o f course, we w a it ' t i l c i r c l e 's over. I got klnda depressed about l ik e doing L a tin th a t day. ' t i l 12:30 D id you e v er g e t t h a t s h o rt s to ry back? D id a n y th in g aome o f i t ? I got about a 8 - o r so on i t , but yesterday she gave us an assignment which was something I was r e a l l y in te re s te d in . I t was th is th in g on self-im provem ent, and one o f the choices was e ig h t things you would l ik e to do to improve your body, and then f iv e things th a t you would r e a lly not want to see happen besides an accid en t o r illn e s s . That I was In te re s te d i n , and I s ta rte d on the second side o f the piece o f paper. So i t depends upon your In te re s ts a t the moment, r e a l l y . A l o t o f times the class w i l l go bad because th e teacher or students are in a bad mood. What do you t ik e b e e t about th e Student O ption Block? A c tu a lly , you d o n 't have to be doing something a l l the tim e. You can take about 20 o r 30 minutes and re la x because you know the classes meet every day o f the week and i t ' s supposed to average about h a lf the week. So l ik e in Ms. Ross's re g u la r cla ss es , th e y 're not se t up lik e the standard class because norm ally she uses a c i r c l e id e a , same as 1n Option Block, except th a t th e re 's work the whole p erio d . She keeps us w orking, and th e re 's no tim e to go back in the c o m e r. They've got the sofa and two ch airs and t h a t , and th e re 's no tim e to re la x during th a t cla ss . But when we g et in Option B lock, because o f the nature o f i t th e re 's tim e , you know. is open during lunch tim e. Most teachers lock t h e ir rooms up, but th e r e 'r e a couple o f kids who come down to Ms. Ross's room fo r lunch­ tim e because i t ' s q u ie t. When everybody gets through eatin g lunch they wander around the h a lls , but nobody ever comes down here unless th e y 're going to the l i b r a r y , and then they ju s t come r ig h t in and go over to the lib r a r y and th e re 's no in te rru p tio n r e a lly . I d o n 't know, i t ' s one o f the few rooms th a t So i t *e a r e a l t y n ic e p la c e to be? Yeah. lib r a r y 's th e re , but th e re 's the th ree doors fo r Option B lock, and, I t ' s cu t o f f from the r e s t o f the b u ild in g even though the 39 I'm not going to say a sanctuary* but i t ' s the same Idea. You can go there and I t ' s g e n e ra lly q u ie te r than the r e s t o f the b u ild in g * even during class tim e. You were saying e a r l i e r t h a t you g e t some r e a c tio n s from o th e r s tu d en ts. What kinds o f re a c tio n s do you g e t from s tu d e n ts o u ts id e o f th e Student O ption Block? W e ll, some o f them are kids th a t lik e the Id e a . They d o n 't work a l l the tim e. They'd ra th e r n o t. T h ey're ju s t in school. They get grade 8 o r a D o r what and th a t's a l l they want. Then th ere are ktds th a t make a good grade, you know* th e high scoring kid s* and fo r some reason* between these two groups* th e re 's an antagonism. Like the kids who d o n 't want to do anyth ing , they c a n 't get In to the program 'cause they w on't accept them. There's a form lik e about f i v e or s ix pages where they ask questions. Like one o f the questions 1s what kinds o f le a d e r­ ship things have you done? What kind o f things y o u 're Involved in w ith groups? One o f the requirements 1s an e v a lu a tio n w ritte n out by some­ body e ls e , you know, not a p aren t but another teacher or something lik e t h is . They check over th is and they d o n 't have to accept you In to the Option Block Program. So what i s the re a c tio n ? Like I t ' s they d o n 't lik e 1 t. Some o f the te a ch ers, not a l l o f them, but th e re 's a small percentage o f teachers th a t do not l ik e 1 t . d o n 't know but they say th a t one teacher has refused to give c r e d it to kids coming from Option Block. During the o p tio n al period they come and they say, "Can I do something independently" and he w o n 't give I t to 'em because he d o e sn 't l ik e the program and o f course th is makes the kids In Option Block mad. dies down u n t il the next tim e th a t a kid mentions Option Block to th is teach er. I d o n 't know, i t goes In cycles alm ost. I t builds up, but g e n e r a lly , i t I How do you f e e l about the types o f re a c tio n s t h a t you get? I d o n 't care what people th in k about i t because I'm the W e ll, I h aven 't witnessed any o f these re ac tio n s because nobody bothers me about i t . O ccasionally I ' l l hear a conment made by one o f th e teach­ ers. The band teacher said something one day jo k in g ly about Option Block k id s . kind o f person, as f a r as I'm concerned, my opinion is as good as any­ body e ls e s . Unless you can g e t f iv e people saying the same th in g around the same tim e I'm not gonna pay a tte n tio n to i t . makes a jo k e about th a t c la s s , 1 t doesn't bother me. Some kids get u p tig h t because they see i t as an a tta c k , b u t, you know, th a t. Some o f the kids in the group, th e y 're r e a lly defensive o f i t because th e y 're glad th a t they have i t . But th e y 'r e a fr a id th a t i f one person cuts I t down, then i t w i l l ju s t b u ild up in to a t i d a l wave, I th in k th a t as long as the people in the group are and w e 'll I f a teacher I'm not lik e lose i t . 40 ready to keep I t , th a t th e y ’ re ready to f ig h t to keep i t , then w e're going to have i t . jokin g about i t o c c a s io n a lly , or somebody t h a t 's a c tu a lly fig h tin g ag a in st 1 t. I t ' s going to take more than th a t to te a r the th in g down. I t ' s going to take more than one o r two teachers Eftik seems to have a a e a t understanding o£ the. Option Stock and what I t has done iofi him. The Involvem ent seems to r e a l t y be happening 6 or him. He is branching o u t. His comments speak &on themselves. In te rv ie w 2— Mr. and Ms. L in h o ff Mr. and Ms. L in h o ff a re th e p a re n ts o f E r ie L in h o f f who has been in the S tu d en t O ption BZoak f o r one yean. a lto g e th e r and Mr. L in h o ff works in s a le s . He wae a ls o ru n n in g f o r the school board a t th e tim e o f th e in te r v ie w . They have fo u r c h ild r e n How long has E r ic been in the S tud ent O ption Block? This is h is f i r s t y e a r in i t . How do you f e e l about h is e x p e rie n ce t h is y e a r in school? I th in k i t ' s taught him to speak up and I th in k i t ' s been good fo r him. E ric has always been in te re s te d in around him 1 f he were reading. I t ' s brought him out which I th in k Ms: in books, always re ad in g , never gets his nose out o f a book. He w ou ld n 't care i f the school f e l l I th in k i t s been good f o r him. is the b iggest th in g . I th in k the best th in g is i t ' s taught him to speak up. He's working w ith these o th e r k id s . T h e y're speaking up and now h e's speaking up. showed him th a t o th er people have f e e lin g s , and ideas about something and he's not a fr a id to say what he th in ks about something, and he always was b efo re. B efore, i t was anything not to c re a te waves, but now a l o t o f the tim e he comes home and says, "W e ll, so-and-so came out today in C irc le and said such and such, and I w asn't going to l e t him g e t away w ith th a t . So I said what I thought. him out o f his s h e ll th is y e a r. L a tin , which he never would have gotten i f we would have had to w a it fo r a class big enough fo r i t to be taught here. He had to do i t on his own, but Ms. Ross has been very good about i t . So, because I th in k everybody should have L a tin . him o u t. I t also gave him a chance to study I'm pleased I th in k 1 t kind o f rounded I th in k i t ' s brought I th in k the fa c t th a t he is a y e a r o ld e r en ters in to i t . He is Mr: s e lf-m o tiv a te d in the subjects th a t he lik e s and w i l l keep going a t i t a t his own pace. However the subjects th a t he is not too fond o f , he could care le s s . o p in io n , I l ik e th is p a r t ic u la r type o f open th in g . I th in k most o f the schools have been geared f o r the average In my 41 I lik e to see a program fo r I th in k you have to be very s e le c tiv e though, s tu d en t, so the advanced student has been penalized because th e system has to be geared fo r most o f the students. advanced students, to see them go on a t t h e ir own speed. We als o need programs fo r the slower stu d en ts, so t h a t , in a sense, when they come out o f these tw elve y e a rs , they have learned something instead o f having advanced students being bored, le t t in g them read 30 pages Instead o f f i v e , and being a week ahead o f the slower students. Then a l l th is time the slower kids are fru s tr a te d because they c a n 't keep up. Option Block does th is . i f you want the c la s s , as a whole, to show any success. have to have people in th e re who are s e lf-m o tiv a te d . There Is a prob­ lem where some o f the students in the program were not screened re a l w e ll, r e a liz in g th a t they c a n 't exclude anyone who r e a lly wants to a tte n d . There r e a lly are some students who can’ t f i t in to th a t e n v i­ ronment. As f a r as E ric Is concerned, I th in k i t ' s done a l o t fo r him. But he is another year o ld e r and th a t 1s p a rt o f w hat's bring ing him out. 1 might p o in t out th a t he w i l l be 17 in August and th a t 1s young f o r a ju n io r in high school. We have been to ld 1n some o f th e teacher I would say, y e s, but we look on him conferences th a t he is inm ature. I as a s ix te e n -y e a r-o ld . Most ju n io rs are 17. B ut, and I th in k i t ' s done a l o t fo r him. f o r a l l o f the kid s. l ik e the program I w on't say, however, th a t i t ' s I th in k you I th in k the What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o f the program? Mr: As f a r as I'm concerned, the prim ary purpose is to teach , fo r them to le a rn . They merely change i t around a b i t , take the desk away, l e t them s i t on the f lo o r o r in the lounge, o r o th e r th in g s . But as f a r as le a rn in g is concerned, i t is th e re . The th in g th a t i t does p erm it the student to do is to progress in an area th a t he is in te re s te d i n , a t the pace and the heights th a t he wants to reach. Now, what I th in k is wrong w ith the program is th a t p e rm ittin g him to do th is w ith the th in gs he is in te re s te d in , allow s him to n eg le ct the things th a t he is not In te re s te d in . T h a t’ s the l i t t l e p i t f a l l , as I see 1 t. I always thought i t was to l e t them progress a t t h e ir own ra te Ms: and also pursue subjects th a t they c o u ld n 't g e t. Mr: T h a t's tr u e , and I th in k i t teaches re s p o n s ib i1i t y . Do you see t h a t purpose as d i f f e r e n t from the r e g u la r school and r e g u la r classes? Ms: Yes, I th in k I do see a d iffe re n c e because, many teachers come 1n and teach and i f the students get i t , o . k . , i f n o t, th e y 's o .k . too. But here in Option Block I fin d th a t the teachers are in te re s te d . They want the kids to pursue what th e y 'v e chosen to study. we have good teachers In Option Block. I'm not saying we have bad I th in k 42 teachers 1n o th e r c la s s e s , but I 'v e run across some th a t fe e l they are th ere to teach 1 t and 1 f your kid c a n 't g et i t , h e 'l l g et a lower mark o r i f he does get I t , then h e 'l l get a h igher mark. the teachers In Option Block are w illin g to help and encourage the k id s . I d o n 't know whether i t works In a l l cases, but E ric has received a l o t o f encouragement from the Option Block teach ers. He, In re tu rn , has wanted to do his best fo r them. encourage him. In o ther cases teachers d id n 't I th in k th a t Mr: The thing th a t I th in k th is open or Option Block kind o f classroom does th a t a s tru c tu red class d o e s n 't do, is th a t in a s tru c tu red class In the 30 minutes o f math is assigned and you have 30 minutes o f math. open classroom or Option B lock, the stronger kids help the kids in weak areas. I th in k the open type th in g done p ro p e rly helps b u ild re sp o n s i­ b i l i t y and students progress much fa s te r in th a t type o f an environment than a stru ctu red environment. to ld "W e ll, we w i l l do th is and we w i l l do th a t" and everybody does i t a lto g e th e r. S tructured classes again tend to s tre s s progressing through the book as based on the average in the room. This is the hindrance th a t I d is lik e about stru c tu red classrooms. In a s tru c tu red environment they a re What do you see as the moat s i g n if i c a n t a re a o f growth f o r E r ic t h ie year? I see t h a t , maybe i t ' s his age, but I see th a t he has taken Ms: For me, more o f an in te r e s t in school. He never complained about going to school, but he ta lk s more about what happens a t school th is past y e a r and about what he's learned and discussions th a t have gone on, than he I th in k I t ' s showed him th a t he can open up and d is ­ ever d id b efo re. cuss. He d o esn 't keep i t a l l in and s tic k his nose in a book. T h a t's the s ig n ific a n c e th a t I see. I see E ric as being more resp o nsib le. Before he would come and Mr: t e l l you what he read in a book. Now he has branched out and sees th a t th ere is more to l i f e than reading books. He is becoming more and more aware o f what is going on around him. He has an awareness o f what kinds o f in te re s ts o th e r students have, th is type o f th in g . He considers him self an in t r o v e r t. But the way he discusses and voices his o p in io n , is uncomfortable w ith people he d o e sn 't know. Do you f e e l th a t E r ic i s branching ou t more now, though? I d o n 't see in tro v e rs io n about him except th a t perhaps he Mr: Yes, he is much more aware o f what is going on around him now. Ms: Everyone th a t I 'v e talk ed to has remarked th a t E ric is n ic e , easy to t a lk t o , easy to get along w ith . of an in tr o v e r t as he th in ks he is . I d o n 't r e a lly th in k he is as much 43 How do you th in k he f e e ls abo ut school, t h i s year? Ms: Other than choice o f subjects a v a ila b le fo r stu d y, I th in k h e's happy w ith school th is y e a r. He d o e sn 't fe e l th a t they o f f e r enough subjects th a t he would be in te re s te d 1n. Has he alw ays f e l t t h is way about school? Ms: He always has ju s t gone to school, and he has always had p r e tty good grades, excepting math has been tro u b le fo r him. That was because In 4th and 5th grade he horsed around and missed a l o t and had to r e a l l y study up through eig hth grade. ested In math. We would fin d out th a t he was reading another book beneath h is math book, and he never mentioned th a t he w asn 't reading the math book during the c la s s . As an outcome, I made him take math I th in k Option Block increased his enthusiasm, and i t i s n 't over. th a t he d id n 't have enthusiasm, but he has more because o f Option Block. He fe e ls th a t he has a ch o ice. He's become more aware o f o ther p eo ple's ideas. In high school he w asn 't r e a lly i n t e r ­ How was he p la c e d in the O ption Block? Ms: He wanted to take L a tin . Mr: He wanted to take Option B lock, p e rio d . F ir s t o f a l l , he wanted to take i t , he signed up f o r i t , and signed a c o n tra c t. Ms: The way he approached me w ith i t was, " I f you l e t me, L a tin ." He had alrea d y approached Ms. Ross w ith th is . I can take D id you have any p a r t then w ith the placem ent? Ms: No, he made the d ecision th a t he wanted to get in to i t . I knew about i t , had read about i t , but I w o u ld n 't say anything to the kids th a t would make them th in k th a t they had to take something or study something. They t r ie d to put him in to in d u s tr ia l a r t s , which is rid ic u lo u s because he c a n 't do anything w ith his hands. But they d id n 't have anyplace e ls e to put him, and we said th a t we p re fe rre d th a t he not have study h a lls . They allow ed him to take band, but he was allowed to choose what he wanted. L a tin is good, because i f he wanted to be a doctor or la w y e r, he would fin d i t h e lp fu l. suggested t h is , but I never said he had to . But they never had L a tin class e it h e r . He came home and suggested th a t he take Option Block. When I asked him what they o ffe r e d , he s a id , "W ell, I have a choice. You can go on your own. take L a tin ." imagine th a t she would have s a id , "Hey, E r ic , do you want to take Latin? " So, I s a id , "Yes, you l ik e to do?" He said a values class o r something l i k e th a t. We I ta lk e d to Ms. Ross and she said th a t I could I'm sure th a t he must have ta lk e d to h e r, because I can’ t I thought th a t would be good and then what e ls e would I always 44 suggested L a tin but we d id n ’ t push him In to I t . but I knew about 1 t. I ju s t d id n ’ t say anything. I t was his own d e c is io n , I 'v e always advocated the program w ith the proper guidance th a t Mr: allow s students to move along a t t h e ir own speed. A ls o , she thought 1 t was a good Id e a , and because she lik e d 1 t , idea. I thought I t was a good Ms: B ut, he had to come to us because we had to sign the c o n tra c t. Mr: We had to co-sign the c o n tra c t th a t he would do what he had signed I th in k he’ s p r e tty w e ll up fo r . e a r l i e r y e a rs , but not th is y e a r. I would question liv e d up to i t . Do you see your r o l e as a p a re n t change a t a l t because o f th e O ption Block? I d o n 't see my r o le changing. I w ou ld n 't t e l l him what to stu d y, but I would Ms: No, than anything e ls e . guide him. The only d iffe re n c e I see is th a t now he gets home an hour e a r l i e r than the o th e r k id s . Now he comes home and discusses what happened during th e day, p a r t ic u la r ly in Option Block. more about things th a t have happened than he did b efo re. T h a t's the only change I see my ro le as guiding more I see in my r o le . I fin d he ta lk s I do th in k th a t by the tim e the c h ild reaches the age o f Mr: As f a r as I'm concerned, I do not see any change in my p aren t. f i f t e e n , up to th a t tim e you are te a c h in g , a f t e r th a t tim e you are g uidin g. I i t Is th a t. become a guide. th in k th a t 1 f th e re is a d iffe re n c e in I'm not ta lk in g about d is c ip lin e , but I do th in k parents ro le as a the r o le o f a p a re n t, What types o f a c t i v i t i e s does he engage in a f t e r school o r on weekends? Ms: Reading, and the ex p lo re r u n it , boy scouts. He was not ever in te re s te d in th is or sports up u n t il th is y e a r. The only th in g he wanted to do was read. He lik e d the band, but not co m p etitive games or sports. Sot do you see a change in h is a c t i v i t i e s t h is y e a r a f t e r school o r on weekends? Ms: Yes, I d o n 't th in k he would have wanted to jo in the explorers had he not been in Option Block. Mr: I ' l l agree w ith you. Ms: There were people th a t he met in Option Block th a t were involved in i t and he heard about I t through them. ever got involved in i t (e x p lo re r scouts) and found out he could do something besides read. I d o n 't th in k he would have 45 Mr: In th a t regard* I agree w ith you. Do you g e t any k in d o f r e a c tio n s from p a re n ts who do n o t have t h e i r k id s in O ption Block? Ms: Yes, they say th a t they (th e k id s ) can leave school and be gone and no one knows where they are and o th er such comments. th in k I brought E ric up to know his r e s p o n s ib ilitie s and I d o n 't worry about him, and I d o n 't th in k I have any reason to worry about h im .1' T hat's what I t e l l people. I say, "W ell, I Mr: However, I might p o in t out th a t we are s t r i c t . We b a s ic a lly keep t ig h t c o n tro l, not as f a r as d is c ip lin e , but we are opinionated in c e r­ ta in areas and th e re 's no change fo r i t . Do you f e e l these r e a c tio n s from th e o th e r p a re n ts a re coming from a lack o f understanding? I th in k every program has problems. Option Block has I t s I th in k th e y 're coming from fir s t-h a n d in fo rm atio n . Probably they Ms: have a youngster in Option Block who is c u ttin g class and th e re fo re they th in k every kid cuts Option Block. I f anyone says anything ag a in st Option B lock, I th in k th a t e ith e r they have fir s t-h a n d knowledge o f t h e ir c h ild doing i t or they don’ t have the knowledge o f i t . hearsay. problems, but I c e r ta in ly w ou ld n 't se t m yself up as an a u th o r ity unless I had t r ie d i t . I w ouldn't venture an opinion on i t , but we fin d th a t up here lo ts o f people ven­ tu re opinions on a l o t o f things th a t they r e a lly d o n 't know what th e y 're ta lk in g about. went and talk ed to Ms. Ross and I made my own d ec is io n . I 'v e heard things s in c e , but we d o n 't experience any problems w ith our kids in th is open program concept. I had heard a lo t about i t , we had discussed i t * but I I f I d id n 't have a c h ild in Option B lock, I t ' s ju s t I th in k th a t what these people are concerned about is th a t a kid Mr: goes in to E lk h a rt during h is period in Option Block and works in a motorcycle shop as a mechanic. They see the kid and wonder where he's going. But the school keeps tra c k o f them. A couple o f th e kids go to N ile s fo r nurses' tr a in in g and others go the the county home. A lo t o f them do leave the premises, but the school keeps i t in c o n tr o l, and i f i t is obvious the kids a re using the time fo r o ther th in g s , i t is reported. The L in h o ffi b etiev e th a t th id i t tK u ty a good a tte K n a tiv e foK Bnic. He uku abZe to b u ild th e confidence, he needed in hunt e l f to make, the environment wohk f ok kim. 46 In te rv ie w 3— Cindy Swinehart Cindy i s a warm, o u t-g o in g person who i s a ju n io r a t Edwardsburg High School. She has p a r t ic ip a t e d in The S tud ent Option Block f o r two semesters and r e c e n tly was e le c te d v ic e -p r e s id e n t o f her c la s s . How long have you been in th e O ption Block? This school y e a r. How do you f e e l about school t h is year? W ell, do you want to know something? R e a lly , la s t year I remember one time th ere was a re p o rt card and I had 53 absences. This time I got my re p o rt card and I only had s ix , and those were accounted f o r 'cause I was s ic k . s is te r would have q u it school except t h a t's why she came back. She lik e s Option Block. I ju s t l i k e Option Block a l o t . My I'm not kid d in g . So you r e a l l y do f e e l d i f f e r e n t about school now? Yeah, a l o t d if f e r e n t . What makes th e d iffe r e n c e ? I guess I'm going to say my number one is Ms. Ross and Ms. S in g le y . W e ll, They're r e a lly neat. T h ey're r e a lly what helps the program a l o t . They have a l o t o f hassels, to o , w ith so many kids and ev e ry th in g . I l ik e i t to o , because I can do what I want to do and when you take a stru c tu re d c la s s , you know, you have to do what the teacher says e x a c tly when he wants i t , and you c a n 't r e a lly go down and get m a te ria l you want when you want to 'cause y o u 're in c la s s . I t ' s ju s t one o f those th in g s . But there (Option Block) you can go to the l ib r a r y , you can go ta lk to some­ body e ls e you know, you can go out in to the community, and do what you want. But you g o tta be doing I t , t h a t's the im portant th in g . You s a id you have to be doing i t . Who a re you accou ntable to? W e ll, i f you d o n 't do i t , a l o t o f things w i l l happen. You d o n 't g e t c r e d it. I t ' s not gonna help the program a t a l l , and t h a t 's one th in g we d o n 't want to lose is the program, fo r sure. accountable to would be Ms. S ingley or Ms. Ross, you know. Or i f y o u 're outside in the community working on a p ro je c t probably to your sponsors. I guess who w e're I f you a re ou t in the f i e l d doing work, o r i f you a re in the classroom doing som ething, who a re you do ing i t f o r . Mainly fo r m yself. My h is to r y , you take a re g u la r h is to ry c la s s , you s ta r t way back when Columbus discovered America and you go a l l the way 47 I do the h is to r y th a t I want to know a b o u t, when I want I 'v e r e a lly done a l o t o f th in g s , l ik e in my h is to r y c la s s , to here. W e ll. to le a rn i t . I study Russian h is to r y . T h a t's what I 'v e been d oing, and I compare i t to o u rs, and i t sure 1s a l o t d i f f e r e n t . know, I do what I want to do, what in te r e s ts me. T h a t's what I lik e about i t , to o . I c o u ld n 't b e lie v e i t , and you What o th e r k in d s o f th in g s do you t a k e ? W e ll, I have ongoing experiences. We went on a n atu re h ik e , but we looked f o r mushrooms and s t u f f , to o . We found th in gs th a t we could work w ith . board, and I d id some macromd in th e re . I t ' s r e a l l y in te r e s tin g . I w rote poems and put them on the I 'v e done decopage. Ju s t a l i t t l e b i t o f e v e ry th in g . What do you l i k e to do b e a t i n th e re ? My h is t o r y , b e lie v e i t or n o t, my h is to r y . When do you make d e c is io n s as to what y o u *re g o ing to do? Every n in e weeks we c o n tra c t. When you go i n , do you go i n th e r e knowing what you a re g o in g to do o r do you d e c id e a f t e r you g e t th e re ? When do you make th o s e kinds o f d e c is io n s ? W e ll, i t ' s kind o f a l i t t l e b i t o f both , you know. L ike I ' l l go in th e re knowing I g o tta do my h is to r y . and I g o tta g e t busy and f in is h t h a t . And I g o tta go to my c r a f t s c la s s . I guess I go in th e re knowing what I have to do, and I g e t i t done. Other times I go in th e re , and I know what I have to do, but I end up spending a l l my tim e on one th in g , and I d o n 't g et i t done. But then th e r e 'r e tim es when I ju s t go in th e re and happen to do w hatever I do. U sually I know w h a t's g o tta be done. i t . I t ' s ju s t g e ttin g around to doing I t ' s going to be due p r e t t y soon What do you see as th e pz*imary purpose o f th e classroom ? I th in k i t ' s r e s p o n s ib ilit y , I t ' d be r e s p o n s ib ility and g e ttin g along w ith p eo ple. S o rt o f I t ' s not n e c e s s a rily th e work. to be re s p o n s ib le f o r what you do and when you do i t and why. A ll th a t s t u f f . lik e le a rn in g how to g et along w ith them b e t t e r . t h a t . T h a t's what 1 t i s . w ith d if f e r e n t p eo p le,'c au se we have a l o t o f d if f e r e n t people and d if f e r e n t l i f e s ty le s in th e re . holds th a t a g a in s t anybody. T h a t's w h at's good. As soon as you leave I t ' s not r e a l l y work th a t you have to do, i t ' s the environm ent. I t teaches you how to g e t along in an environment I t ' s r e a l l y amazing because nobody Just n ea t th in g s l i k e le a rn in g 48 those doors 1n th a t whole a re a , everybody Is back In t h e ir own l i t t l e place where they belong. I t ' s r e a l l y nice though in Option Block. You d o n 't have the same f e e lin g w ith those people when you leave the Option Block? Oh, yes. Those people I do. people who probably w ouldn't dare go in those doors. Probably i f they would they would fin d out about themselves. I t ' s ju s t the o th er people. There are Do you g e t any re a c tio n from people t h a t a re n o t in O ption Block? I ju s t had one a few days ago. Yeah, as a m atter o f f a c t , about, “Yeah, I do th a t in Option B lo ck," a p ro je c t, and th is one g i r l goes, "Oh, Option Block, I says kinda q u ie t, "Yes, we do." th e re ." But I t ' s r e a lly hard when you get some negative reactio n s from people who have never been th e re . They r e a l l y ju s t d o n 't even know. A l o t o f the people th in k th a t you ju s t g et away w ith anything. You d o n 't do nothing. But i t ' s not l i k e t h a t , a t le a s t not fo r me, 1 t I s n 't . I t ' s so s tu p id . You d o n 't ever do anything in I t ' s r e a lly hard fo r me. I was ta lk in g I enjoyed Cindy*& comment, * * lt teacher you how to g e t along I n an environment w ith d i^ e n e n t people.** Although a he ha& expeAienced othen. env. In te rv ie w 4— Jo e tta Swinehart J o e tta is a seventeen y e a r -o ld g i r l who has spent th re e semesters in the Student O ption B lock a t Edwardsburg High School. J o e tta dropped out o f school in her ju n io r ye a r and re tu rn e d when O ption Block was c re a te d because th a t gave h er an a l t e r n a t iv e to th e r e g u la r school program. How long have you been in th e O ption Block? This w il l be my second y e a r. Am I r ig h t? D id you come back to school a f t e r th e O ption Block s ta rte d ? Were you o u t o f school? W e ll, la s t year I q u it school fo r a w h ile , and then I came back. Then I was 1n Option Block. How do you f e e l about school? 49 W e ll, I d o n 't lik e school. next ye ar f o r two classes to graduate, but th a t w on't be so bad. only f o r two hours. But th is year I d o n 't l ik e i t . boring. I d o n 't l ik e i t a t a l l . I t ' s ju s t dead and I have to come back I t ' s Does O ption B lock make any d if f e r e n c e ? Yeah, th a t helps o u t. One thing I l ik e about Option Block is everybody is open, and I lik e i t when people are open. h e s ita te . You know what I mean? open and, I me up. The come in the Option B lock, i t helps loosen me up a l i t t l e b i t . Even lik e my a r t or draw or p a in t. you know, weave a basket o r ju s t do d if f e r e n t s t u f f l i k e th a t. You d o n 't have i t in th ere and, d o n 't know, when I go in th e re lo ts o f times i t helps boost re s t o f my classes a re , you know, th e y 're dead, and when I c la s s , a l l you can do in th ere is you can work w ith c la y I get t ir e d o f th a t a f t e r a l l year In Option Block everybody is more I d o n 't l i k e them to i t ' s ju s t dead. I d o n 't know, I ' d r a th e r , long. What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e O ption Block? The one most im p o rta n t th in g th e te a c h e rs would want to have happen i n th ere? W e ll, f i r s t , they lik e everybody to g et to g e th e r, you know, and one Like my h is to ry c la s s , thing in th e re you le a rn r e s p o n s ib ility , too. i f I was in a stru ctu red classroom, lik e my h is to ry p ro je c ts . You have an assignment everyday, and I probably w ouldn't do 'em as much. I have a c e rta in date to g e t everything i n , Like in th e re [O ption Block] I th in k i t teaches you you know, sometimes I h av en 't done i t th is y e a r. r e s p o n s ib ility . L ik e , in th e re , you know, i f you want c r e d it. d if f e r e n t th in g s . How do you see i t as d i f f e r e n t than the r e g u la r scho ol, i t ' s your r e s p o n s ib ility to g et your s t u f f done I t teaches you a l o t o f I w ou ld n 't W e ll, fo r one th in g , I th in k the tea ch ers, Ms. Ross and Ms. S in g le y , are ju s t l i k e a best fr ie n d . My s tru c tu red classrooms now, lik e Ms. , 1s s tru c tu re d , and you have to be because you have to have I t seems w ith Ms. Ross and ty p in g , you know. But l i k e some o f your o th e r classrooms l i k e math and h is to r y , th e re ’ s th a t block th e re . Ms. S in g le y , th e y 're more open. There's th a t warm fe e lin g th e re . Like in Option Block you can study what you want, you know, whatever you want, and in another classroom, you have a c e rta in assignment, and you get 1 t done by th is date and you go over a work sheet o r some­ thing everyday. book, a t e s t , and in th e re [O ption Block] you can study what you want. You can do whatever y o u 're in te re s te d in , and then you d o n 't have to w rite i t o u t. You can ju s t g ive a seminar on i t or you can w r ite i t out. You d o n 't have a c e r ta in date. W e ll, you have a c e rta in d eadline th a t everyth in g has to be done, but you d o n 't have a th in g l i k e , everyday you have a worksheet. I t ' s the same ro u tin e th in g , a w orksheet, read in your 50 What k in d s o f th in g s do you do i n th e O ption Block? I 'v e got h is to r y , and I 'v e got c r a f t s . Like in c r a fts class W e ll. w e 'll take d if f e r e n t hikes and s t u f f . Like we were studying d if f e r e n t plants th a t you could go out and fin d and then e a t. So t h a t's what w e're doing. We're going to take another t r i p , we can fin d . b efo re, and i t ju s t d id n 't make i t . and now I can read what I want. I t ' s my re s p o n s ib ility to g et i t in and i t ' s one thing I 'v e noticed I 'v e lacked l a t e l y , my r e s p o n s ib ility to get things in . You have to d is c ip lin e y o u rs e lf. and then I ' l l do music on the s id e . I th in k , and see what I had a stru ctu red class In h is to r y , you know, I had 1t I t was ju s t th e same thing everyday, I got h is to ry and c r a fts How do you make d e c is io n s on what i t i s you ’r e going to do when you go in to O ption Block? W e ll, l i k e I had to have h is to r y , so I put th a t down and I and I love music. I r e a lly wanted to le a rn . I thought o f th e things th a t I lik e c r a fts lik e d th e most th a t When you go in everyd ay, a re you r d e c is io n s a lre a d y made on what you’r e go in g to do? W e ll, u s u a lly I know, lik e my h is to r y , a c e rta in tim e. So, go in and do my c r a f t s . We do have c e rta in days sometimes f o r c r a f t s , as but u s u a lly I know what a l l long as I have 1 t done before the d e a d lin e . I can go in and I can read th a t a day or I could I know th a t has to be done by I have to do so i t any tim e , I can do So when do you make th e d e c is io n s on what i t is y o u ’r e going to do? When I g e t in th e re . When you th in k about O ption B lock, what i s i t you t ik e b e s t about i t ? W e ll, I th in k I l i k e I t because you can make up your own mind on what you want to do in th e re . th e re 's a l o t o f openness in th e re . close to them. W e ll, th e y 're ju s t lik e a best f r ie n d , and I guess th a t's what I r e a l l y l i k e . You're close to them, and th e y 're ju s t l ik e a best frie n d and you can ta lk anything over w ith them. Other teachers 1n the school, I d o n 't fe e l th a t way about. I t ' s not lik e the stru c tu re d classroom and Like the tea ch ers, you fe e l re al How were you p la c e d i n th a t environm ent? W e ll, I was 1n Ms. Ross's room and she mentioned i t one tim e. I t was a r e a lly good Idea 'cause me and V ir g in ia were having tro u b le w ith our h is to ry class and i t was, you know, a ro u tin e th in g , g e ttin g I thought 51 anything out o f i t . get something out o f i t . So Ms. Ross talk ed about g e ttin g In Option Block Program. So I was in her class a t the tim e , and we ju s t talk ed about i t . I f we were going to have to take i t we wanted to Do you g e t any r e a c tio n from s tu d e n ts who a re n o t in th e O ption Block? No, I u s u ally d o n 't. Now, some teachers t h e y 'l l say I t ' s a good program and i t ' s good fo r the student th a t wants th a t kind o f program th a t c a n 't do i t in the s tru c tu re d . But, you know, they l i k e the s tru c tu re d . But u su ally I d o n 't g et any comments from people. Joe-tCa'a comments on what th is pAogAam means to heA, show t h a t I t does o^eA. some th in gs $oa people t h a t th e AeguloA school pfiogham d o e s n 't. The j$act t h a t I t caused he* to come back to sch oo l, afite/L q u it t in g , builds a stAong case ion. a lte A n a tlv e pAogAams to betteA meet th e needs o$ a l l stu d en ts. In te rv ie w 5— Ms. Swinehart Ms. S w in ehart i s th e mother o f Cindy and J o e tta who a re both i n th e Student O ption B lock. She i s a q u ie t woman who speaks w ith g r e a t excitem ent about the S tud ent O ption B lock. How long have Cindy and J o e tta been in the O ption B lock Program? Have they been in d i f f e r e n t le n g th s o f tim e? No, l e t me th in k . They’ ve both been in the same length o f tim e. So, i t ' s been a y e a r and a h a l f f o r each o f them? Yes. How do you f e e l about t h e i r experien ces in d iv id u a lly ? I know both o f them are taking W e ll, they both enjoyed the c la s s . h is to ry and a r t and then they are ta k in g what they c a ll casual tim e— during which tim e J o e tta plays the g u ita r and I'm not too sure what Cindy does. As f a r as J o e tta , has kept her 1n school. to graduate. We knew she w ouldn't and th a t was the only class she took a t the beginning o f the y e a r. They to ld her she would have to take more or drop o u t, so then she took on more classes. She f i l l e d up the re s t o f her day. Cindy enjoys most o f her c la s s e s , but th a t is the one she enjoys the most. Cindy has done re a l w e ll. She got an award in th a t p a r tic u la r c la s s , and she was very t h r i l l e d about i t . Of course, so were we. Cindy works very hard on her rep o rts and things she has to I know th is ye ar she d id n 't have enough c re d its I th in k th a t t h a t's the one class th a t 52 have fo r th a t c la s s . They seem to enjoy th a t c la s s , I suppose because i t is more casual and i t ' s more re la x in g . How do you as a p a re n t f e e t about t h e i r exp erie n c es knowing t h a t they r e a lt y l i k e w h a t’s happening? I'm in fa v o r o f i t because they do enjoy th e c la s s . I fig u re th a t they must be g e ttin g something out o f th a t c la s s . They are doing q u ite w ell in i t as opposed to the o th e rs. Cindy does p re tty w ell classes. keeping her in these fo u r years. th a t one reason as i t ' s helped keep her in school. J o e tta d o esn 't care much fo r school and i t ' s been a stru g g le I 'v e been in fa v o r o f th e class fo r in a l l her D id you p la y any r o le in t h e i r placem ent in t h is program? You mean signing papers? You d id have to s ig n p ap erst th a t was the o n ly r o le you p la y e d in i t ? Yes. What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e Student O ption B lock3 th e one most im p o rta n t th in g t h a t teach ers want to have happen w ith studen ts? I th in k i t gives the student a l i t t l e more freedom and a l i t t l e more say in what goes on. they can voice t h e ir opinions and not be c a lle d down on i t as they might be in t h e ir o th e r classes. The teachers g iv e them more freedom in voicing t h e ir opinions and take in to co n sid eratio n what they want to do and not ju s t what the school wants done. I th in k th a t th is is what they enjoy th e most because So you see t h is as d i f f e r e n t than the r e g u la r school? Yes, because i f they d id n 't have i t , i t would be lik e going from one class to another and I f you voiced your opinion they might not lik e i t , and you would have to keep your opinion to y o u rs e lf. I f th e re was some thing in p a r tic u la r th a t you wanted to do in th a t c la s s , you might not get the go-ahead. You'd have to s tic k to what was being taught in th a t c la s s . Here you can go in d if f e r e n t d ir e c tio n s , have d if f e r e n t outlooks and d if f e r e n t p ro je c ts th a t you are in te re s te d in and a ls o more fr e e time to do them than in o ther classes. What do you see as the most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth f o r J o e tta s in c e s h e ’s been p a r t o f the S tud ent Option Block? The main th in g w ith J o e tta is being able to voice her o p in io n . lik e s to speak her mind and not be to ld to keep q u ie t, and they d o n 't care to hear i t . The teachers in th is class w il l agree or n o t, they are s t i l l w illin g to l is t e n . I th in k J o e tta has l is t e n , whether they Jo e tta 53 enjoyed th is about the class and is more re la x e d . You have so much time to do th is and to do th a t and take your tim e and d r i f t along w ith i t . There is not as much pressure as in the re g u la r c la s s . She also Hkes to come and go as she pleases and in th is way i t has helped her because she has stayed in th is c la s s . She does things she enjoys doing in the c la s s . She t e l l s me th a t you can do a r t , music, re p o rts , e tc . Of course, she has to take h is to ry and s t u f f l ik e t h a t , but th e re are things th a t you can develop in what you want to do, and she's enjoyed t h is , I th in k , because, you c a n 't take th is in any c la s s . When she s t a r t e d Student O ption B lock d id you f e e l th a t she d i d n 't f e e l good enough about h e r s e lf to v o ic e h e r o p in io n and do these th in g s th a t she wanted to do? I d o n 't th in k she did because before she went in to Student Option No, Block, she had re g u la r classes and she had a problem in school because she was always voicing her opinion and wanting to do what she wanted to , whether the teachers lik e d i t or n o t. This was a l o t o f her problem. 1 th in k when she got in the Option Block she could t a lk to the teachers as a frie n d and pal and be ab le to say what she f e l t ra th e r than hold i t in . pride in th is class than the o th e rs . way because she’ s a very stubborn g i r l sometimes. This has helped her as she's been ab le to be h e rs e lf and not have to hold back. She can be h e rs e lf and show what she can do and what kind o f a person she i s . I th in k t h a t 's why she's enjoyed th is class so much. She has more I th in k i t has helped her in th is What do you see as the most s ig n i f ic a n t a re a o f growth f o r Cindy? Cindy, t h a t 's hard. Cindy is easy going and u s u a lly gets along w ith a l l her teachers. She is more in te re s te d in school than J o e tta . Maybe being able to express h e r s e lf, as she's another one th a t lik e s to be heard and voice her opinion. What she is saying is im portant, not ju s t thing th a t the to h e r, but to o th e r people. I th in k th a t th is is one teachers do 1n the c la s s . They make the students fe e l th a t what th e y 're saying and doing is im p ortan t, not only to themselves, but to them too. With Cindy, she's more aggressive in studies than J o e tta and good in ju s t about everyth in g she does. She lik e s school more than J o e tta . Jo e tta d o esn 't care fo r i t , and I thought she was going to q u it in September. Last year she d id n 't do much a t a l l , and she d id n 't have enough c re d its to graduate th is y e a r because o f i t . The only cla ss she attended la s t ye ar a t a l l was Option Block. That was the only th in g she kept going to . Other than t h a t , she skipped school, and we had q u ite a few problems w ith her. But th is y e a r , she stayed w ith 1 t and is going to church now. is much more s e ttle d now, and she r e a liz e s now th a t an education is important and what you do w ith your l i f e 1s im p ortan t. We're ve ry g ra te fu l because she was going 1n the wrong d ir e c tio n and now t h is has turned her back. She cares more about going to school. She attends school so I d o n 't have to worry about th a t and make sure th a t she's in This has been a big tu rn in g p o in t in J o e tta 's l i f e . She 54 lis te n and not ju s t shrug I t o f f . They've been l i k e good frie n d s her cla ss es , or how she dresses. She has more respect f o r her teach ers. With Ms. Ross and Ms. S in g le y , she's always went to them w ith her problems, i f things a r e n 't going w ell a t home. a help to Jo e tta because she knows she can go to them and th a t they w il l to her and th is has been what was needed to keep her in school. This has done more to keep her in than anything. She is a l i t t l e re b e llio u s about school. help to her in keeping her in school and being her frie n d s . W ith J o e tta, y o u 're B a y in g th a t o u ts id e o f school her a c t i v i t i e s have changed? Do you see any o th e r changes f o r e it h e r J o e tta o r Cindy in t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s o u ts id e o f school o r on weekends? I th in k th a t those two teachers have been a tremendous I th in k th is has been is out th is y e a r , she is going With J o e tta , about th re e -fo u rth s o f her tim e is taken up w ith church. Mike goes w ith h e r, my younger son, and they go Wednesday n ig h t, Friday n ig h t, Sunday morning and Sunday n ig h t. Anytime anything comes up in-betw een, they go. A fte r school to help in B ib le School. Church takes up most o f her tim e. She spends time w ith two o r th re e g ir lf r ie n d s , but they are involved in church to o . So most o f her outside school a c t i v i t ie s a re w ith the church and helping on Sundays. Sometimes they go to th e old fo lk s home, v i s i t and sing w ith them. Now Cindy's a c t i v i t ie s are confined s t r i c t l y to her boy­ frie n d . She d o esn 't do much o f anything unless i t is w ith Ken, or working, which she has ju s t s ta rte d in the la s t th ree weeks. So between her job and her b o y frie n d , t h a t 's her a c t i v i t i e s . She does work hard on her p ro je c ts o r reports fo r school, e s p e c ia lly Option Block. She takes a g re a t deal o f p rid e in making sure everyth ing is Of course, Cindy has always been a g re a t one fo r neat f o r th a t c la s s . I 'v e seen her w r ite a re p o rt, g et h a lf way through neatness in school. s h e 'll s t a r t a l l over. She prides h e rs e lf on t h is , and mess i t up, and where J o e tta is the I only o p p o site. But she has improved th is y e a r. wish the improvement had come a year ago, because now she has to take a h a lf-y e a r o f school next ye ar to graduate. I'm hoping she w i l l . She is always saying how she hates to go to school, but she's signed up fo r the cla s s e s , and unless she changes her mind th is sunvner, I'm sure s h e 'll come back th is f a l l . Do you see any changes i n your r o le as a p a re n t because o f the Option Block o r the th in g s they have done in i t ? No, I d o n 't th in k so. We deal w ith th e g i r l s ju s t as we always have. Do they share d i f f e r e n t kind s o f th in g s w ith you? No. As f a r as a fa m ily , the kids always f e l t very clo se to us. They go a l l out fo r anything s p e c ia l, l i k e , a b irth d a y , an n iv e rs a ry , o r any holiday or anything s p e c ia l. They s tic k to gether fo r something lik e t h is , but otherwise they go t h e ir own separate ways. When i t comes to 55 the fa m ily being c lo s e , I th in k we a re . There are always times th a t you d o n 't show how much you a p p re ciate i t or show how much you c a re , but I th in k th a t is ty p ic a l o f many f a m ilie s . But when the time comes, th e y 're always th e re . We never have to worry about t h a t. Do you g e t any re a c tio n s from p a re n ts who do no t have t h e i r c h ild re n in Option Block? I d o n 't know, because I have never ta lk e d to any o f the o th er parents. Sot th e y 'v e found themselves and f e e l good about them selves, too? I th in k th a t I th in k the Option Block and the teachers has been a i f they r e a liz e th e y 'v e got one good te a c h e r, th is means a l o t to them. Yes, they do. tremendous h elp . frie n d a t school Because they know th a t the teacher is going to l is t e n , not because they have t o , but because they want to . These two teachers are th a t way. are very n ice people. They've helped s tra ig h te n out Cindy and J o e tta , keeping them on the s tr a ig h t and narrow. I know th e y 'v e helped my g ir ls a l o t . I 'v e met them and they in the form o f a Or h elp in g them f i n d them selves. I know e s p e c ia lly J o e tta d id n 't fe e l th a t way a t a l l . Yes, helping them fin d them selves, to make them fe e l good about themselves. She d id n ’ t have any confidence I th in k th a t being in touch w ith these teachers and ta lk in g anything. w ith them has helped her a l o t to express h e r s e lf. They've been a big help to h e r, in h e rs e lf o r fe e l th a t she was worth I know. M i. SuxinehaAt i 4 obviouMty ve/uf ptwud ofa Cindy and J o e tta and i& exctted about uihat ka& happened them i n the Student Option Stock. In te rv ie w 6— Jane Higley Jane is a t a l l , a t t r a c t i v e g i r l who has a g re a t d e a l o f con fid ence in h e r s e lf. She i s a ju n io r in th e Student O ption B lock a t Edwardsburg High School i n Edwardsburg 3 M ich igan . She has been in t h is a l t e r n a t iv e program f o r two semesters and has been a b le to pursue many o f her in te r e s ts in w r it i n g , c r a f t s > and music. How long have you been in O ption Block? I s ta rte d when I came back to school th is year in September. How do you f e e l about school t h is year? 56 W e ll, as a ju n io r a t the beginning, you know, you can r e a lly le a rn a l o t i f you want to . But ju s t these la s t couple o f weeks here I'm g e ttin g p re tty bored. I guess maybe because I'm a ju n io r . For the most p a rt I'm r e a lly In te re s te d in school and I l i k e to le a rn . How do you f e e t about th e O ption B lo ck, o r t h a t p a r t o f school? I t can be taken advantage o f very e a s ily . I th in k i t ' s a good program fo r someone th a t 's mature enough to handle i t . I le a rn a l o t in th e re . I ’m contracted fo r c r a f t s , but before th a t I d id c a re e r packets, some experience c r e d it , and I have learned a l o t in th e re . advantage o f i t sometimes, to o , but everybody does once in a w h ile . I t r y not to because I know t h a t 's what makes i t look bad and i t is a good program. I 'v e taken How d id you decid e to be a p a r t o f S tud ent O ption Block? I d id n 't r e a lly understand 1 t when I signed up a t f i r s t , but when they explained i t to me, i t ju s t sounded l ik e a r e a lly d if f e r e n t way to break up the monotony. about y o u rs e lf. The big th in g a t the s t a r t o f th e ye ar was s e lf-c o n tr o l and s e lf - d is c ip lin e w h ile le a rn in g and you can le a rn what you want to . The curriculum here [Edwardsburg High School] is r e a l l y lim it e d , and i f you can fin d someone to teach you something e ls e th a t you want to le a rn , you can go and le a rn i t . I t would be more in te re s tin g and you can le a rn more What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose3 the most im p o rta n t th in g th a t people want to have happen in th e re ? Responsible decision-m aking r ig h t along w ith the education. A l o t o f k id s , m yself in c lu d ed , d o n 't r e a lly th in k f o r them selves, and in th ere you have to , to make i t . You r e a l l y g o tta decide what you want to do and then you g o tta do i t . You c a n 't ju s t f l o a t around, you know. For a l o t o f o th er people i t looks l i k e a skip c la s s . You ju s t go th e re and s i t around and do whatever you want. But you d o n 't. You have a g o a l, and you have to reach th a t or you d o n 't make the grade. How do you see i t as d i f f e r e n t than the o th e r programs in th e school? R eally the only d iffe re n c e is th a t in the o ther classes the teacher decides what goal y o u 're going to reach, and he pushes you towards i t . You d o n 't r e a lly need any s e lf-m o tiv a tio n because you have a teacher up th ere m o tivatin g you. You m ight get more s tru c tu re d . more formal education. You get a broader view o f any one s u b je c t. In Option Block you can concentrate on ju s t one aspect o f any one c e rta in s u b je ct. h is to r y , you might want k in d -o f-a -b ro a d e r, general view . Someone else might r e a lly concentrate on lik e c i v i l war or something. T here's nothing wrong w ith t h a t , but you c a n 't do th a t in the re g u la r classroom. I t depends on the in d iv id u a l and the su b ject I guess. Like I t ' s l i k e a 57 What kinds o f th in g s do you do d u rin g th e O ption B lock tim e? Right now I work on my afghan, I have been reading magazines (you can learn a l o t from magazines from the c u rre n t events and s t u f f ) and b e fo re , lik e I mentioned, c a re e r packets. T h ere's a source you can send out to and get th a t kind o f inform ation f o r a c a re e r. A ll th is in fo rm a tio n , you put i t to g eth er and you leave i t in th e re and i f anybody ever I might want to be a nurse, they can go through th ere and decides, get a lo t o f info rm ation on i t to help them decide o r to t e l l them where they can g et more in fo rm a tio n . (She la u g h s .) keep on reach a c e rta in p o in t, and you know th a t class is o v e r, th e re 's nothing e ls e to le a rn , sets up a whole chain o f events toward something you want to learn about. You lea rn about th a t and something e ls e gets your in t e r e s t . I t ' s l ik e a chain re a c tio n going o f f in d if f e r e n t d ire c tio n s . le a rn . But in Option Block wherever you work, whatever you I never learned th a t in elem entary. M o s tly , you ju s t In o th e r classes th e re 's a l i m i t , you know. You learned th e sta te s and c a p ita ls . le a rn in g . 1 I s th e re something you l i k e to do b est? I l ik e music. and I play 'em. People come and l is t e n . They can jo in in and I r e a l l y lik e th a t. I lik e to b rin g my g u ita r and I w r ite songs and ly r ic s I l i k e the people. T h ey're r e a lly g re a t. T e l l me more about t h a t. I f you see someone who's r e a lly down, you d o n 't ju s t walk by them In o th e r classes you know th e people and you can t a lk to them, you know, "Hey Joe, you got a piece o f paper?" But in h e re , i f you see someone across the room y o u 're fre e to g et up and go over and t a lk to them. in the h a l l , because you h av en 't got any tim e. You have got tim e to go over th ere and i t d o esn 't r e a lly m a tter i f you got something e ls e y o u 're supposed to be doing because i f th a t person fe e ls bad, th en , you can go over and do something l ik e th a t and catch up l a t e r . Like i t ' s more In spontaneous, you know. You can make a l o t more close frie n d s . o ther classes th e y 're l ik e good acquaintances, not r e a lly frie n d s . Do you g e t any re a c tio n s from studen ts who a re no t in the O ption Block? No, I'v e heard a l o t o f people say th a t everybody looks down on you because y o u 're in Option Block. Some people say, "Oh y o u 're in Option Block, t h a t 's n ic e ." Nobody r e a lly cares. So one teacher I have th in ks i t ' s a g o o f-o ff c la s s . He happens to be a super "red" teacher anyway. He always says, "Down w ith basket w eaving.'1 He jokes about i t . Most o f the o th er teachers th in k i t ' s a good id e a. So, does th a t te a c h e r g iv e you f e e lin g s about th a t? 58 'cause i t ' s ju s t ty p ic a l o f th a t p a r tic u la r tea ch er. The o th er No, i t d o esn 't r e a lly because I know. or n o t, teach ers, and e v e ry th in g , you know. They know th a t some students take advantage o f i t , but I th in k they l ik e to th in k o f the b e tte r side o f i t . I th in k , see i t in a broad view . I d o n 't r e a lly care I f he knows I t depends on the student I tik e . J a m '6 Chain Reaction Theory iokeAe one in te a e & t area & parks anothe/t and another. Tki& typ e o p p ortun ity to pursue the&e i n t e r e i t i . She &eem6 to be aioaAe o£ th e type o& d e c is io n * th e *4 making £or ke/uel& and how ik e &eet& about th e ie dzci&ion&. program doe& g iv e th e in d iv id u a l. th e In te rv ie w 7— Mrs. H ig ley Mrs. H ig le y is the mother* o f Jane H ig le y who is now e x p e rie n c in g th e Student O ption B lo ck. Ms. H ib le y i s a te a c h e r in one o f th e elem entary schools in Edwardsburg and a ls o works in h er classroom w ith a stu d en t from the O ption B lock e a rn in g e xp erien ce c r e d it . How do you f e e l about J a n e 's exp erien ce in Student O ption B lock t h is year? I th in k th e re have been a l o t o f independent things th a t she's organized. She's done some surveys and some w r itin g s , and I 'v e noticed th a t fo r Jane I t ' s i t ' s made her fe e l th a t she's very capable o f organizing th in g s . made her very sure o f h e rs e lf and has helped her fin d out what kind o f a person she is . Block. I know she's kept busy, c o n s tru c tiv e ly , during Option How does she f e e l about her e xp erien ce in O ption Block? How does she l ik e school? W e ll, she fe e ls i t was b e n e fic ia l to h e r, d e f in it e ly . Does she f e e l d i f f e r e n t l y about t h is y e a r because o f the O ption Block? Uh huh, and I w asn't in fa v o r o f i t because I ju s t fe e l th e re are so many academic things th a t you should take in high school. This is my one f e a r , th a t c h ild re n are using th is and w ill not take things th a t w i l l b e n e fit them more. But, o f course, our whole curriculum is guided more to independent things ra th e r than the types o f things we to o k , you know, so much language and science and th a t kind o f th in g . But Jane is s t i l l g e ttin g t h is . Her a t t it u d e towards school th in k i t ' s been due to some o f the things she's been doing in Option Block. She has had a much more p o s itiv e a t t it u d e toward the changes in our school. We've got some problems, and she says th a t they surveyed is much d if f e r e n t . I 59 and In te rv ie w e d , and they s t a r t working o u t. She's got some co n s tru c tiv e Ideas about changes th a t should be made, not rebel types of Id e a s , but f t has given her an o p p o rtu n ity to r e a lly e v alu ate the workings o f the school, teachers and cu rricu lu m . She ju s t seems to be coming out a much more p o s itiv e person. She's w ritte n many a r t ic le s fo r the newspaper though I have not read a l l o f them. The teachers asked me yesterday i f I had seen a l l the things th a t Jane had w r itte n . I h a d n 't but she was t e l l in g me about some o f them, and I guess No, they a re q u ite in -d ep th and people a re enjoying them. This is her outgrowth o f Option Block. Did you have any p a r t in her placem ent in the O ption Block? No, uh uhn. So i t was h er id e a . D id she have to have yo u r s ig n a tu re in o rd e r to g e t in t o i t ? I g ive my opinio ns. Uh huh, but I g ive my c h ild re n p re tty much complete freedom in what they do. I t sure seemed th a t she was g e ttin g a l l the academic things th a t she would take anyway, and next y e a r, I d o n 't know i f she's going to take i t next year o r n o t, but I know she was th in k in g th a t she's going to have much more fr e e tim e. S h e 'll be a s e n io r next y e a r, and she's a lre a d y decided to go on w ith the independent bio log y. S h e 'll be in her fo u rth year in b io lo g y. She w asn't going to do th a t so I know th is i s n ' t being used as ju s t a way to do n o th in g , b u t, w ith some o f the c h ild re n , I fe a r i t might be. What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e O ption Block? I was not c le a r on what the prim ary purpose was. My f i r s t encounter w ith i t was when a g i r l appeared a t my door and said she was to work w ith me during Option Block. We were a l i t t l e upset because the teachers here had not been prepared. We d id n 't know what our ro le was. We were given form s, summaries, the g o a ls , and we h ad n 't any advance warning o f i t . Now I w asn't r e a lly sure ju s t what i t was you were to achieve. to improve t h e ir own f i e l d o f in t e r e s t , whatever i t may be. For the I kids th a t I have working h ere , the summaries are in depth enough. know the in s tru c to rs ask th a t we sp e cify th e types o f things th ey've been doing and how we fe e l th e y 'v e improved and they keep p re tty close tabs on them, th e ones th a t we have. So I th in k i t ' s kinda l i k e , some o f i t is c a re e r o rie n te d type o f th in g , but ju s t independent study tim e. You improve on your own in te r e s t le v e l w ith a s s is ts from people lik e m yself in the f i e l d th a t they want to be in . I th in k the sole purpose is g iv in g the c h ild re n time How do you see the purposes d i f f e r e n t than th e r e g u la r school o r the o th e r programs a t the High School? 60 More freedom o f ch o ice. fin d to do in the Option Block. You have to have i t approved, but anything they would fe e l h e lp fu l to them Is acceptable. I guess the sky's the l im it In what they can What do you see as th e most s i g n if ic a n t a re a o f growth f o r Jane? S elf-c o n fid en c e f o r h e r, in the things th a t she's been doing. Even in th e g i r l 1 work w ith , I have thought I 'v e noticed I t . She's so much more sure o f h e rs e lf than when she came in September. i t to the Option Block in th a t i t ' s given her tim e to be here and to fin d th a t she's ab le to do things th a t she d id n 't th in k she could do befo re. She's not a fr a id to g e t up in fr o n t o f my class and lead them in d if f e r e n t e x e rc is e s , and she’ s learned various methods o f ta lk in g w ith the c h ild re n , the d if f e r e n t types o f c h ild re n , and d ea lin g w ith t h e ir problems. She's become much more aware when to step in and when not t o , and she fe e ls q u ite secure, as a person. I account What types o f a c t i v i t i e s does Jane engage in a f t e r school and on weekends and on h e r own tim e? Reading. Reading and w r itin g . She's always w ritte n s to r ie s . Do you f i n d th a t s h e 's engaging in d i f f e r e n t a c t i v i t i e s now than when she was j u s t in th e r e g u la r school? No, No, c r i t i c a l since she was a very young c h ild . I d o n 't th in k so. than what she was, but Jane's p re tty much been s ta b le ever Just th a t she's improved. She's much more Do you see your r o te as a p a re n t change a t a l l because o f the Option Block? I th in k she's in biology c la s s . inasmuch as 1 say I'm not com pletely sure o f what she is doing No, only every m inute. know e x a c tly w hat's going on. There's no change 1n the ro le as a parent except i t makes me r e a liz e th a t your co n tro l over your c h ild is lessen­ ing. You have to t r u s t them more, th a t th e y 'r e making good use o f t h e i r time and I'm sure she is . Just the various th in gs I have seen and heard about, I know she is in te re s te d and keeping busy. I 'v e wondered about i t but I know she is . I see the work and I Do you g e t any k in d o f r e a c tio n f o r o th e r p a re n ts who do n o t have t h e ir s tu d en ts in the O ption Block? I mean I d o n 't. I d o n 't see o ther parents. No, I'm too Involved r ig h t here w ith my own classroom and a t home. I d o n 't have any chance to see I d o n 't have any contact any parents and frie n d s and things lik e th a t. w ith anybody e ls e . We happen to be a very la rg e fa m ily , a very c lo s e ly k n it fa m ily , and we ju s t d o n 't s o c ia liz e . 61 Mrs. H lg tc y brought ouX a cannon apprehension o f parents which I s th e p o in t a t which p arents have to t r u s t th e d ecisio n s o f t h e i r c h ild re n and a llo w them to expedience some th in g s fo r them selves. She sees t h is ty p e o f th in g happening because of, th e S tu d en t O ption Block and Is w it t in g to work o u t hed own apprehensions because she can see th e p o s itiv e th in g s happening f o r hen own c h ild . In te rv ie w 8 — Jeanne Johnson Jeanne is a q u ie tj s o ft-s p o k e n g i r l who g ra d u a te d from h ig h scho ol i n January 19?S. P r io r to t h a t ehe s p e n t one sem ester in the S tu d e n t O ption B lock a t Edwardsburg High S ch oo l. About two months a f t e r g ra d u a tio n she came back to th e S tu d e n t O p tio n B lock because th e re were some th in g s th e r e she found she needed. How long were you a s tu d e n t i n th e S tu d e n t O p tio n Block? L e t's see* one sem ester. How d id you f e e l a b o u t s c h o o l? I have to say something. The f i r s t semester I l e f t I went to F lo r id a , and I got in to a l i t t l e b i t o f tr o u b le . R ig h t then I was ve ry a p a th e tic and I j u s t wanted to g et o u t. the S enior B lues. e a r ly . went in th e h o s p ita l f o r th re e months, and I came back to Option B lo ck, and th ey took me r i g h t 1n. Block. The kids were g e ttin g in to p ro je c ts more, you know. There was more o f a fe e lin g o f togetherness th e re . I t . The The kids were s a y in g , They had s ta r tin g something and try in g to make something out o f i t . ju s t c o u ld n 't b e lie v e teachers seemed to be coming to g e th e r w ith good th in g s to do. "Yeah, l e t ' s do i t ! " The change astounded me. I c o u ld n 't b e lie v e the change In Option j u s t a whole sense o f fu tu re about 'em l i k e , they were r e a l l y I had I I Do you have any id e a o r any f e e l i n g o f where i t came fro m t w h eth er i t was coming from th e k id s o r th e te a c h e rs ? I n o tic e d i t was the k id s . They were more concerned The kids more, about which ones were messing-up and wanted to g et r id o f those k id s . B e fo re , i t was everybody th a t was messing-up. concern o f the kids who were g e ttin g the teachers going. I t was ju s t a t o ta l What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e O p tio n Block? I t kinda reminds me o f a one-room school house, you know, th e d if f e r e n t ages. To g e t those people to g e th e r, sharing t h e i r problems, more o r le s s , in t h e i r s tu d ie s . Some kids r e a l l y have problems in th e r e , and so t h e y ' l l go back, s i t on the couch, and t a l k i t o u t, and then th e kids w i l l go in to in d iv id u a l s tu d ie s and s t u f f . I th in k i t ' s a good 62 I would s i t In the s tr a ig h t classroom you ju s t c a n 't do th a t. You go i n , tdea. you might have something on your mind, but you c a n 't share i t w ith the teach ers, you know, and I t messes up your s tu d ie s . When I went in th ere I was ju s t too a p a th e tic , but when I came back, down and t a lk w ith th e teachers and s t u f f and i t r e a lly helped me o u t. I th in k i t s saving a l o t o f kids I th in k I t ' s helping a l o t o f kid s. from dropping out a l o t . I know a l o t o f the kids in th e re th a t ju s t w ouldn't be making i t . T hey're good frie n d s o f mine and they were heading towards dropping out o f school, but they got in to th is and th e y 're ju s t fr e e . They need t h a t. T h e y're more independent type people and th is is the kind o f class th a t allow s them Independence. You're s e lf -r u le d in th e re . T here's kind o f a law o f order th e re , b u t, l i k e , a c ir c le and they t a l k . Then they kinda break up and go in to t h e ir d if f e r e n t groups and s t u f f . But i t ' s t o t a l l y d if f e r e n t than the stru ctu red classroom. Where e ls e could you ju s t s i t and t a lk and bring out anything? Somebody's bound to pick up the conversation and c a rry the b a l l , you know. I r e a lly l i k e i t when they get to g e th e r in the morning and form I t ' s ju s t d if f e r e n t 1n th a t way. What kinds o f th in g s d id you do i n th e re o r do you do now? I have to ta l amnesia about th a t tim e. They took me in my class and I help I do a l o t o f reading and Mostly a r t and helping out. There's a g i r l her w ith p u ttin g up th in gs on the w a lls . w r it in g , m ostly poems and s t u f f . Yeah, Option B lock's been a l i f e saver fo r me since I got out o f the h o s p ita l. When I f i r s t got o u t, I d o n 't know, r ig h t in and they kept me very busy and th a t helped a l o t . nervous, and they s a t me down. They gave me something to do, kept my fin g e rs w orking, kept me ta lk in g . They could have ju s t re je c te d me r ig h t on th e spot because the problem began w ith drugs. A l o t o f people d o n 't want to mess w ith somebody whose had th a t problem, but they welcomed me r ig h t back. I wish now I would have been a l i t t l e b i t more p a tie n t and stuck w ith Option B lock, because I c a n 't b e lie v e the changes, lik e the newspaper th a t th e y 're p u ttin g o u t. b e a u tifu l what th e y 'r e accomplsihing. I was very I th in k i t ' s When you l e f t d id you graduate from school? Uh huh, yeah. So, what would have kept you around? I was having a l o t o f problems. The reason f o r my apathy was I was I c o u ld n 't g et in to my schoolwork anymore. doing a lo t o f drugs. Nothing would have kept me around r ig h t a t th a t tim e. I was ju s t try in g to fin d an escape from things so I took o f f fo r F lo rid a f o r , I d o n 't know. The la s t th re e months were kinda blank fo r me. 63 So your d e c is io n f o r coming book to O ption Block i e v e ry d i f f e r e n t than the reasons you took i t the f i r s t tim e? The strange thing is they found out about me, and they c a lle d me and to ld me to come in and th ey'd s i t w ith me. They'd have me s i t in the c ir c le and i t was l ik e a group therapy alm ost. And I s ta rte d b ring ing myself out more and before I knew i t I was ju s t happy again* you know, I was fo r the f i r s t tim e in two y e a rs . going through w ith draw al. always th ere to t a lk to me, you know, and I ju s t fe e l w ouldn't have been th e re , aching to get out so they ju s t gave me a good escape. I wanted to go back and th e re were people I t was a rough road a t f i r s t . I was alone a t home and I d o n 't know. l i k e i f they Y ou're sa yin g , f o r you, what i s im p o rta n t i s th e p e o p le , th e tim e they spend, th e o a rin g t h a t goes on. Do you a ls o see t h is happening f o r people who a re in th e r e g u la r s c h o o l. I f they would tak e the program. They would expand I t could happen, a l o t more. Right now th e y 're ju s t l i t t l e book worms, you know, but you g o tta remember th e y 're human beings. program lik e Option B lock, and they lea rn to l e t out what th ey've learned and not ju s t walk around l i k e some kind o f dope . could bring th a t o u t, in a program l ik e t h is , i t would be b e a u tifu l. Get them to know th e y 'r e human beings w ith fe e lin g s and emotions. would be a b e a u tifu l th in g . A s tru c tu red classroom teaches you, but i t d o e sn 't teach you how to r e la t e to o th e r people. be b e a u tifu l to g e t people in to things lik e th a t. I f you b rin g them in to a I th in k i t would i f they I t . . Are th e re o th e r th in g s about the O ption B lock t h a t you f e e l r e a l l y s tro n g ly about? I t ' s kinda crazy sometimes, lik e a big I r e a lly lik e the atmosphere. fa m ily , you know. T hey're not super sweet. T hey're ju s t re g u la r people and i f yo u 've got a record p la y e r on too loud th e y ’ re going to t e l l you to shut i t o f f . fe e lin g s there but you d o n 't have to fe e l yo u 're n o t, which Is what I r e a lly lik e . You d o n 't have to put on. I f your a sloppy dresser you’ re a sloppy dresser. not. You’ re accepted fo r th a t. There's no pressure to change. ju s t what you want to be. I t ' s r e a lly easy. T h e re 're no h u rt l ik e you have to be somebody I f y o u 're not y o u 're I t ' s Jeanne. has some in s ig h ts in to t h is program th a t others do not have because o£ her expediences both i n and o u t ofi th e Student Option Stock. She saw th e "Meetings togetherness" t h a t developed over tim e because o£ people working to g e th e r toward a common cause. The importance o£ each in d iv id u a l became c le a r . She could see a p lace f o r people who Minted something d i ^ e r e n t foom what th e schools now o ^ e r e d . She found t h is to be a p lace f o r , n o t only those who wanted c r e d it fo r g rad u atio n , but a ls o a p lace fo r people who need people o r people 64 who want to took a t them&etveA and wfteAe th ey f i t t -into th in g s . Jeanne needed th t& w v ln o im c n t rfoA d i& i& iw t Aetuon* than m o6t people, and -&ee6 koto each In d iv id u a l can g e t happening to ken. She canei a gneat deaZ $on th e Option Stock and hat> been known to ta k e th e te a d e m h ip when c o n f lic t anta e a . In te rv ie w 11— Mike K lin g le r Mike i s a seventeen y e a r o ld who has been in the S tud ent O ption Block f o r one sem ester. He re tu rn e d to school t h is sem ester a f t e r dropping o u t f o r th re e sem esters. M ike i s an independent person who l e f t home and i s now li v i n g a lo n e . He i s a q u ie t, c o n s id e ra te person who i s v ery e n jo y a b le to be w ith . How long have you been in th e Student Option Block? This semester is my f i r s t semester, about sixteen weeks. How do you f e e l about school because o f the Student O ption Block? Does i t change how you f e e l about school a t a l l ? Yeah. breaks the monotony o f s it t in g in a classroom. I t gives me kinda a break during the day. Something d if f e r e n t , 69 Do you l i k e school? Some classes. Some c la s s e s , you know, you got to s i t th e re and lis t e n to them preach, take a l l the notes and ev eryth in g . Some teachers are so o ld -fas h io n e d . Some teachers w i l l make the class a l i t t l e in t e r e s t ­ ing, do d if f e r e n t th in g s . School can be o .k . Do you f e e l d i f f e r e n t about th e O ption Block tim e o f school? No, not r e a l l y . the m iddle school and work w ith kids down th e re . I know I have to be th e re on tim e and I go down to How do you f e e l about th a t? I t ’ s an experience. I t i p my hat to the teachers down th e re . I t *s n o t something you want to do fo re v e r? No. I t ' s more work than I ever thought. How d id you decide to tatce O ption Block? I had one o f Hs. Ross's classes and she asked W ell, school, and I wrote a bunch o f s t u f f on th e re . She said I ' d l i k e i t and I should take i t . So I took i t to see what i t was l ik e and I lik e d i t . us questions about What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose> the most im p o rta n t th in g th a t they want to have happen in th e O ption Block? Learn r e s p o n s ib ility , some h a s s le , but not too much. They make us r e a l l y want to make i t th ere. i f we d o n 't make i t th e re , we catch 'cause, l i k e , What kinds o f th in g s happen in th e re th a t w i l l le a d to one le a rn in g r e s p o n s ib ility ? W ell, l i k e , you d o n 't have to be somewhere a l l the tim e. They give you, l ik e , the h is to ry cla ss es . They only have two classes a week, an hour long, so you should be ab le to make them. There are ju s t classes a week, so you do make same th in g f i v e days a week. i t . You d o n 't have to go through th a t many the How do you see i t as d i f f e r e n t from the r e g u la r school? I t ' s more relaxed and you say more what you want. Everybody's equal. L ik e , they d o n 't stand up and preach down a t us. They s i t r ig h t there w ith us l i k e in a c i r c l e and t a lk w ith us. instead o f one to t h i r t y . I t ' s more one to one, 70 What kinds o f th in g s do you do i n school o th e r than going to th e m iddle s ch o o l? Not much r e a l l y . I'm down th e re th re e days. You c a n 't do too much In the other two days, so I read books, and do re p o rts , and c u rre n t e v e n ts , and s t u f f l i k e th a t. What do you l i k e b e s t about th e O ption Block? I got my choice o f what I want to do in th e re . L ik e , next semester I'm gonna do t o t a l l y d if f e r e n t th in g s . See what th e y 're l i k e . How do you make d e c is io n s about what y o u fr e go in g to do? W ell, t h e y 'll g iv e you a l i s t o f things th a t a re a v a ila b le . d o n 't lik e something on th e re , you can t r y and fin d something y o u rs e lf. You ju s t have to g et a sponsor, and every th re e weeks you g e t a h a l f ­ page o f paper and have them evalu ate what you've been doing the la s t th ree weeks. I f you How do you go about e v a lu a tin g ? Do you g iv e them a paper o r do you s i t down w ith them? I t ' s a re g u la r form th a t Ms. Ross made o u t. We give them a paper. I t says, "How o fte n do we come down there?" "What do we do w h ile w e're there?" "Are we th e re on time?" the school and d riv e our own c a r. They always ask about our attendance 'cause o f the re g u la r school. We have to keep th a t. And make comments on i f we've learned anything o r what we've gained by doing 1 t. " Is our attendance good?" We leave What k in d o f r e a c t io n do you g e t from stu d en ts who a re no t i n th e O ption Block? They ask what i t ' s l ik e . They ask me i f I th in k they should g e t in . How does i t make you f e e l ? Do you u s u a lly have much o f a re a c tio n ? I say i t can be good. Try i t . You might l ik e i t . I-t'a cJteaA t h a t Hike ^eeJU im p o rtan t to him&et^ u)hen he i& tJieated a& an in d iv id u a l cu> he. 4e was th e most s i g n i f i c a n t are a o f grow th, and I d o n 't know i f you have a n y th in g more to say on th a t o r n o t. I have to do i t in school," I th in k , is re a l growth. I th in k a t t it u d e more than anything e ls e . That i s n 't saying very Mr: much, but I th in k you know I c a n 't e la b o ra te on th a t any more than I have. I t ' s ju s t th a t she's a d if f e r e n t person than she was when she s ta rte d o u t, and the whole th in g is a t t it u d e . name o f the game. In eduatlon t h a t 's the Knowing how you f e e l about h e r e x p e rie n c e , how do you th in k Mary f e e ls about t h is school year? Ms: W e ll, she d id n 't lik e i t fo r a long tim e , and around Christmas she was ta lk in g about dropping out o f i t , but I guess she decided, or someone helped her d ec id e, th a t she h ad n 't given i t enough chance, so she d id n 't drop out in the middle o f the y e a r, which she had the option to do i f she wanted to . Then a month o r so ago she was ta lk in g in terms of try in g the Block to see what i t was l i k e . I t ' s hard f o r Mary to make frie n d s and she expects more out o f people, a re , e s p e c ia lly a t th is age. T h ey're very changeable. She's very lo y a l, but she's been h u rt q u ite badly. discussing a s itu a tio n where one g i r l said she was rep eatin g something th a t one o f Mary's frie n d s said about Mary to another g i r l . You know, one o f those th in g s . Mary was very upset about i t . W e ll, we talk ed i t out. What was i t she decided? to her th a t she take the two g ir ls and g et them to g e th e r. I know, you [M r. Ward] suggested I th in k , than they r e a lly Just la s t n ig h t she was Mr: W e ll, we decided th a t whenever we have a s itu a tio n l ik e t h a t , i t ' s b e tte r to have a co n firm atio n and deal w ith i t , than to go around f e e l ­ ing so rry fo r y o u rs e lf because fe e lin g so rry fo r y o u rs e lf won’ t solve anything. So, she's decided t h a t , h e r e a fte r , s h e 'll g et the two g ir ls together and fin d out what r e a lly happened. 99 So a f t e r Christm as tim e d id she decide she lik e d th e SWS program b e t t e r o r was th e re a change in what was happening? I d o n 't know 1 f she decided th a t she lik e d i t b e tte r . I th in k she Ms: ju s t decided to s tic k 1 t o ut. I th in k t h a t 's c lo s e r to what r e a l l y happened. Mr: le n g th , some doubts, but I remember ta lk in g to her about i t a t some and she decided to stay probably. One o f our fa m ily expressions is th a t she had the horse broken and now she could rid e i t , so she might as w ell stay w ith i t . I th in k she had Do you know what kinds o f th in g s she was unhappy w ith ? Ms: One was the noise. She's q u ie t. She was unhappy w ith the noise. She was unhappy w ith a c e r ta in group th a t never wanted to do anything and ju s t fo o led around. We t r ie d t o , or a t le a s t I t r ie d t o , t e l l her th a t there were the same people in the re g u la r classroom, only th ere w eren 't as many o f them, so i t w asn't as obvious and the noise was something th a t she probably could manage by asking her teachers fo r a q u ie t place to go when she wanted to be q u ie t. So she has a con­ tinuous pass to the IMC. So when she's working she can go and work. What kinds o f a c t i v i t i e s does she engage in a f t e r school o r on th e weekends? Ms: Not very many. Away from home she's been taking swimming lessons. She tr ie d g i r l scouts, and they w e re n 't very serious about the badges. They ju s t wanted to horse around and she was in te re s te d in the badges, so in s u b s titu tio n fo r t h a t , she has learned to sew. Because o f where we l i v e , i t ' s not easy to get to gether w ith g i r l s , and she has p rac­ t i c a l l y taught h e rs e lf. Mr: T h a t's why I'm laughing. When you said not very many, compared to the number o f things th a t the boys have done, i t ' s r e a lly q u ite a few th in gs. She has done b e a u tifu l work w ith the sewing machine, and she's s e lf-ta u g h t. She has her records and reads a l o t . When I was th a t age, a l l I d id was read, Ms: And she lik e s to help cook. Mr: Yeah, she cooks. She's in te re s te d in about everyth ing around here and she p a rtic ip a te s in most o f i t . The f a c t o f the m atter i s , I had a s in g le membership a t the Oak Park A th le tic Club, and th e g ir ls are in te re s te d in the p la c e , and th e y 'v e been down there th re e times now. Mary talked us in to g e ttin g a fa m ily membership because th e r e 'r e a l l kinds o f c r a fts and a c t i v i t i e s . 100 Have you seen a d iffe r e n c e i n th e types o f a c t i v i t i e s t h is y e a r than la s t year? I was going to say, the d iffe re n c e I see is in how she goes about Mr: doing her work. She ju s t does a more mature job than she did b efo re. Things s t i l l bother her when they go wrong, but she d o esn 't ju s t come unglued lik e she used to . S h e 'll come in and say in a very calm manner th at she needs h elp . She has a tendency, when she's very fru s tr a te d to q u it , but t h a t 's very normal. But she's seeking help now ra th e r than throwing i t a l l 1n the a i r and walking away. Ms: And she w i l l say, " I have a problem I want to t a lk which is new. to you ab o ut," Do you see your r o t e as p a re n ts changing as a r e s u lt o f the SWS program? I d o n 't th in k so. I d o n 't know, but Ms: I ju s t see i t as a continuing process and we are ju s t continuing to do what we have been try in g to do w ith a l l the c h ild re n . We've attem pted, very s e rio u s ly , to a llo w the ch ild ren as much freedom o f choice as they were growing up, as was p ossible. Dad is e s p e c ia lly good in p o in tin g out a lte r n a tiv e s to them so th a t they d o n 't l i m i t themselves to a s in g le choice. ' s i t on a c h a ir o r s i t on the f l o o r . ' help make the d e c is io n . I t ' s a s itu a tio n where they have to I t i s n 't them as a fa m ily whenever th e re 's I remember one o f my fe llo w executive d ir e c t o r 's Mr: W e ll, they d o n 't a l l have co n tracts y e t , but now the boys have contracts w ith us. We pow-wow w ith a decision to be made. w ife was here one n ig h t fo r d in n e r. Before d inner was over we had a decision th a t had to be made and l a t e r on she was t e l l in g B i l l , "They I c a n 't ex p la in have some kind o f a system they use to solve problems, i t , but i t works p r e tty good." But we do go through the process to ­ g eth er, and the o b je c t is to g et them to the p o in t where they have as much r e s p o n s ib ility as is necessary fo r t h e ir d u tie s . So th a t they g et in the h a b it o f decision-m aking f o r themselves. Because o f my back­ ground, and lea rn from them a "no." Sometimes i t ' s kind o f a p a in fu l process, but I th in k th a t b a s ic a lly , she has th a t in her background. more mature. There are e ig h t o f them [c h ild r e n ] a lto g e th e r, and she's had the o pp ortun ity to watch the whole group go through th is as they grow up. Then whoever is number one, in any given ye ar th a t they leave home, takes the m ajor r e s p o n s ib ility . She knows t h a t 's coming, and she has r e a lly only one b ro th e r to go b efore s h e 'll be number one, so t h a t 's a l l b u i l t - i n . I w i l l a llo w them to make a poor decision and s u ffe r fo r i t I th in k she's come to g rip s w ith i t b e tte r since she's i t , ra th e r than g ive I t seems to me th a t the schools have changed t h e i r ro te s a t i t t l e to go along w ith your l i f e - s t y l e . 101 Mr: I th in k the School W ithin a School f i t s our l i f e - s t y l e very w e ll. I th in k t h a t's a good p o in t. Our exp ectatio n o f what c h ild re n Ms: learn a t d if f e r e n t ages, I th in k , is much d if f e r e n t than the e d u c a to rs '. Mr: L e t's say the cu rricu lu m , which may not be done by the educators. One never knows. Ms: I guess i t is u s u ally done by the book company who put out the basic reading m a te ria ls and so fo r th . Much o f what Is expected is beyond the c h ild in t h e ir growth p a tte rn . I t d o e sn 't h urt them to be fru s tra te d and s tr iv e f o r a higher g o a l, but sometimes the goal is impossible f o r them to achieve a t c e rta in ages. went to a conference fo r our o ld e s t son when he was in second grade. The teacher was ju s t p u llin g her h a ir out because he r e a lly d id n 't care about what i t was th a t she was try in g to teach him. And she chided Howard because we w e re n 't p u ttin g the pressure on Chris a t home. I remember, Howard Mr: And i t i s n 't easy when y o u 're both school teachers because a school teacher expects a h e ll o f a lo t from you, and you get so i t ' s worse to go to a conference when y o u 're a school teacher than when yo u 're n o t, because o f a l l the heavy s t u f f they la y on you. We knew we had a kid who c o u ld n 't t i e his shoes. His l i t t l e b ro th e r was tying his shoes fo r him in the t h ir d and fo u rth grade. Ms: He had these g reat big hands and muscles, and he ju s t c o u ld n 't bend his fin g e rs . He c o u ld n 't cut w ith scissors and, you know, make the l i t t l e le t t e r s and what n o t. He could get a l e t t e r on a page. That would be about i t . We had the experience o f going through th a t once and, o f course, r ig h t now he's working on a m aster's degree in economics. He's in customer services a t the U nited N atio n al Bank o f C a lifo rn ia . Mr: He was a s s is ta n t manager a t the Beverly H i l ls bank and now he's in downtown L.A . But you see a l l along i t was p red icte d th a t th is poor l i t t l e bugger c o u ld n 't make i t , things. W e ll, we now have experience. We know th a t we were r ig h t and they were wrong. So w e're more able to id e n t if y w ith the School W ithin a School because now, a t 50 years o f age, we know th a t kids can d e v ia te from the norm and be very d if f e r e n t . They can s t i l l be successful. 'cause he c o u ld n 't do a l l these Have you had any re a c tio n s from p a re n ts who do n o t have t h e i r c h ild r e n in SWS? Ms: No, not d ir e c t ly . We d o n 't know very many o f th e parents because w e're ju s t so involved w ith our jobs and our k id s , but before Mary opted to go in to i t , when she was over a t C o rn e ll, a f t e r she decided she was 102 going to t r y i t . she came home one day and s a id , " I hear th a t you d o n 't learn in SWS." So we went over the philosophy o f SWS, and I pointed out to her what Mr. J a r r e t t and a couple o f teachers said a t the meeting I 1 s a id , " I d o n 't th in k you have to worry about lea rn in g or attended. not le a rn in g , i f you want to le a rn . You're probably hearing th is from people who r e a lly d o n 't want to le a rn , and th e y 're looking f o r ways to escape i t . " So e v id e n tly i t b o lstered her confidence. T h a t's r e a lly the only comment I 'v e heard. Mr: I th in k I 'v e heard two, and in both cases they involved boys. assumed they involved boys in both cases. One person's son was in School W ithin a School, and he w asn't a l l too happy because his son was p re tty much playing around. So th a t caused me some m isgivings a t the tim e. The o th er was a boy, and he w asn't doing very w ell w ith the School W ithin a School. Both parents lik e d the idea o f a School W ithin i t s e l f . They were saying a School. They w e re n 't condemning the school th a t t h e ir kid was takin g advantage o f i t instead o f buckling down and g e ttin g to work. They found i t ju s t a swell place to go and have a good time and th a t did concern me. I I remember when a fr ie n d 's daughter s ta rte d , she was in the f i r s t Ms: year o f i t , and the mother was l i v i d . She f e l t her daughter was the la s t one who should be allow ed a l l th a t freedom, u la to r , and she's sm art, and she found many ways o f avoiding r e a l i t y and buckling down and le a rn in g something. I f something came up th a t she wanted to avoid she asked to go see Mr. J a r r e t t . th a t she was spending a l o t o f time in Mr. J a r r e t t 's o f f i c e . The mother went over to see him fo r some reason and when he to ld her th is she says, " A ll r i g h t , take her out r ig h t now. She needs to have s tru c tu re . She needs to have someone to keep t h e ir thumb on her because she's th a t way." But i t w asn't the SWS, ag ain . I t was the in d iv id u a l. 'cause she's a manip­ I t turned out I t i * d e a r t h a t th e ach oo t waa abte to n.e*pond to th e exp ectatio n * o£ the* e p a re n t*. They have a unique l i f i e - i t y t e and th e ach oot wa* ab te io cm environment t h a t comptemented i t . In te rv ie w 18— Chris Ferres C hris i s a seventh g ra d e r in the ”School W ith in a S ch o o l" a t Kinawa M id d le School in Okemos, M ic h ig a n. She has been in th e program f o r two years and p lan s to spend h er la s t y e a r in M id d le School c o n tin u in g in the program. C h ris i s v e ry c o m fo rta b le w ith a d u lts and speaks w ith con fid ence about school and h e r s e lf. How long have you been in S. W. S, I was in s ix th grade and up u n t il now, seventh grade. 103 Do you have any p la n s f o r n e x t year? Do you know a t a l l what y o u 'r e going to do n e x t year? Next year? W e ll, i t ' s going to be w eird class up a t the high school, and I 'v e g o tta take o rch e stra . g otta take French. only two hours. And I have an algebra class. I t kinda blows my schedule now when I have lik e 'cause I'm going to take a I 'v e How do you f e e l about school t h i s year? I d o n 't know, i t ' s what I 'v e always f e l t about school. About two months ago I s ta rte d dreading to come to school, but la s t ye ar i t was fu n. I t was good. Up u n til about two months ago i t was fu n . Do you know why i t happened two months ago? W e ll, my f i r s t hour I have o rc h e s tra , and Ms. and s h e 'll ju s t make your day m is e ra b le . seventh hour so I w o u ld n 't have to be under her in flu e n c e from th e f i r s t hour, but t h a t 's the way i t is . is so mean, I r e a lly wish I had i t the _____ But you a re going to c o n tin u e in o rc h e s tra ? Yeah. I t must be p r e t t y im p o rta n t to you. I d o n 't lik e Ms. ________ . She ju s t expects too much from you. I suppose I w il l keep i t up next year ’ cause I l ik e playing the v io lin . However, Like we've got th is p iece now, and I ju s t hate i t . opinion several times and several o th er people have. And so today she sat down and to ld us how she thought we were more mature than th a t and how we should play i t no m a tter what. Orchestra is supposed to be fun fo r you. Play a piece you d o n 't lik e and i t ' s no fu n . I'v e voiced my How were you p la c e d in SWS two y ears ago? My s is t e r was in SWS a few years a f t e r i t s ta rte d , and because o f how I had done on the Stanford Achievement T es ts , and a l l th is good s t u f f , my mother thought th is would be a good place fo r me. Did you th in k t h is would be a good p la c e f o r you? I d id n 't mind. W e ll, The teacher t e l l s you what to do and you do i t or e ls e . be a drag. A g ain ,th e idea th a t I w ou ld n 't be forced to work, r e a lly turns me on, too. I was kinda s ic k o f the r u n -o f-th e -m ill teach ing . I t would sure How do you f e e l about th e d e c is io n now? Do you th in k i t was an o .k . d e cisio n ? 104 I f I could do I t again I would probably go in to re g u la r cla ss es . Simply because, and th is may not be very v a lid but i t ' s the only th in g I can come up w ith , th a t when you go in to SWS y o u 're more o r less s o c ia lly blocked out because h a lf o f SWS smokes and goes out in to the woods and so on. Then the o th er h a lf was the kind o f re p u ta tio n you g et from being in SWS. But a f t e r two years I 'v e sorta liv e d i t down, but i t was tough. Like when I was in s ix th grade, frie n d s and next year i t ' s going to be even worse because a l l o f the eighth graders are going, and h a lf o f my frie n d s are in th e eighth grade. I was going to a bunch o f o th er classes ju s t to be w ith my i s a l l r ig h t,y o u know, works and s t u f f . I d o n 't know what I'm going to do. This So you do have a t o t o f r e a c tio n from s tu d e n ts th a t a re n o t in SWS. Oh yeah, they come up to you and they say, "You're in SWS," and I go, "Yes," and they say, "Do you l ik e it? " "Yeah, everyone smokes in th a t p la c e , you never g et any work done, and th e y 're always goofing around." person. re je c te d or something. But I tend to th in k o f them as ig n o ra n t, because they h aven 't been in SWS. They d o n 't r e a lly know what i t ' s lik e from experience or anything. cracks lik e th a t , i t ' s fin e w ith me. They ju s t d o n 't know. I d o n 't know how they fe e l a f t e r t h a t , having t h e i r ideas I t kinda turns you o f f towards the I f th e y 'r e going to go around making I say, and they say, "Yeah," What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o f th e SWS program? Decision-making! A ll th e kids in the s e lf-c o n ta in e d or the block or something, have a l l t h e i r decisions made fo r them. You do math th is hour and you want page 72 and page 74 done. A g re a t decision-making and freedom e x is ts here. f a r fe tc h e d , but when you get in the o utsid e world you d o n 't have people t e l l in g you. d o n 't have people t e l l i n g you th a t. You g o tta make decisions fo r y o u rs e lf. "Today we want you to type up so many pages." You ju s t 'Cause, w e ll, th is is ra th e r l o t o f So you do see the SWS purposes d i f f e r e n t than the r e g u ta r school? Oh yeah. SWS gives kids a chance to s o rt o f s t a r t going t h e ir own way. Many kids have been in a s h e ll fo r a l o t o f t h e ir l i f e , l i k e E ric W illia m s . E ric W illiam s has always been s o rt He was in s ix th grade, but now he's not. When you come to school in the m orning, how do you decide what i t you a re going to do d u rin g the day? o f a s h e ll person. is I t ' s whatever I fe e l or i f I come to school, and I d o n 't fe e l I ju s t s i t down w ith a math book and work a l l day. I f I'm t ir e d I ' l l l ik e doing. lik e ju s t s i t around, being w ith my frie n d s , I f I d o n 't fe e l 105 lik e working a l l day I s i t down w ith my frie n d s and t a lk a l l day. think I'm g e ttin g as much work done as kids in th e re g u la r classes. I Some o f the k id s have ta lk e d about a p la n n in g sh ee t. Oh, th a t! At the beginning o f th e year they g e t a l l these s ix th graders in th e re , and they t e l l them, "A ll r i g h t , you g o tta do th is planning sh e et," and the s ix th g rad e rs, who ju s t came out o f elem entary, know what i t ' s l ik e to not have something done and then to have a teacher push ag ain st them. So they get th is planning sheet done, and th is goes fo r about three months, and you have to do i t every Monday. Plan what you1re going to do f o r each hour o f th e day each week. A fte r awhile i t so rta fades o ut. I d o n 't th in k they make th e planning sheets on Mondays anymore. What do you t ik e b e s t about SWS? lik e the fa c t th a t th ere are no re p o rts due a t any such I suppose I tim e. However, I am in a class where th ere are re p o rts due, you know, every week o r something. But SWS d o e s n 't. Oh, another th in g I l ik e is th a t i f y o u 're in a math class and the class is on page 70 and you did i t a t home over the weekend up to page 100, you ju s t have to s i t around In SWS th is kid u n til they catch up to you. could be working fa r th e r and f a r t h e r on and g et in to a math class a grade ahead o f y o u rs e lf. I d o n 't th in k the kids in re g u la r class would push themselves th a t f a r , you know. In re g u la r class I d o n 't th in k th ey do th a t. I t ' s ju s t r e a lly bad. heA p la n t &oh next yzaji a how how a he -ta ab te to C hnii* exp lanatio n uae the. tc h o o l in meeting heA tteeda. She haa had to d ea f uUth c o n f lic t and knom when ik e haa to accept home th in g t t h a t one d i& ta ttc ^ a l to g e t otheA th in g a t h a t ahe wantt auch a t playing th e v i o li n . I n o ticed t h a t when Chnit t>taxied i n SWS, ahe d efin e d th e expedience thaough how othedt ieJtt but now i t mone concerned w ith w hat i t happening ioK heA. In te rv ie w 19— Ms. Ferres Ms. F e rre s i s the mother o f C h ris F e rre s who has been in School W ith in a School f o r two y e a rs . She is a very a c tiv e p a re n t in the school system and supports d i f f e r e n t environm ents f o r d i f f e r e n t p eo p le . How long as C h ris been in the S.W .S. program? Both years th a t she has been in m iddle school. How do you f e e l about her e x p e rie n ce in the school f o r the p a s t two years? 106 I fe e l p re tty good about i t , but I had hoped th a t she would G e n e ra lly , take more advantage o f the f l e x i b i l i t y th a t the program p ro vid es, and r e a lly take o f f on some in d iv id u a l in q u ir ie s - She's done th a t s o rt o f s p o ra d ic a lly but not in a very system atic way. g re a tly except th a t she does have a very good mind, and I thought th a t th is would be an o p p o rtu n ity f o r her to get in to some th in g s . So th is year I suggested maybe th a t she take typing because I th in k i t ' s a s k i l l th a t is p re tty handy to have, and I thought i t would be a good one to g et out o f the way during th is period o f her education and not have to take high school tim e to do i t . Instead o f doing th a t she is taking a C iv il War h is to ry course. has r e a lly been good fo r her in terms o f the so c ia l the frie n d s she has. She has some r e a lly close frie n d s . have some p re tty earnest discussions about im portant things. Things th a t are im portant to them. I th in k th a t SWS in te ra c tio n and I th in k th a t is r e a lly v a lu a b le . I t doesn't upset me I d o n 't care. I th in k they My o ld e r daughter was in SWS f o r th ree years. I th in k th a t the so c ia l growth th a t she got through SWS r e a lly turned her around from her f i f t h grade experience which was p re tty n eg ative . She kind o f got her value system goofed-up to my way o f th in k in g , and, I th in k , I t allowed her to be h e rs e lf whereas she got r e a lly straig h te n e d o u t. she had tended in a d ire c tio n which was r e a lly c o n tra ry to what she r e a lly f e l t . she r e a l l y blossomed. She r e a lly is a neat person now. She's a sophomore in high school. In SWS, ju s t because o f the re la x a tio n o f a l o t o f th in g s , C h ris tin e d id n 't need i t f o r th a t reason, but there were o th e r things th a t I hoped she might accomplish. I t ' s not th a t she's lo s in g out on anything because the t e s t scores and evalu ation s in d ic a te th a t she's s t i l l r ig h t up th e re a t the to p , but i t ' s ju s t th a t I thought she should r e a lly maximize th a t o p p o rtu n ity. She h a s n 't done th a t to the e x te n t th a t I would lik e her t o , b u t, you know, i t ’ s her l i f e . Does she p la n to c o n tin u e n e x t year? Yes, she does, except th a t she's not going to spend very much time th ere because she's hoping to take two courses a t the high school. There's something e ls e she's going to ta k e . She may take the French course a t the middle school. So, I th in k th a t w i l l only leave her about an hour. Oh, and she's going to take a lg eb ra . So, th a t 's not going to leave her very much tim e in SWS, But, I th in k , i f she w eren 't in the SWS program she w ou ld n 't have the f l e x i b i l i t y to do a l l these o ther things th a t she is going to do. So -it sounds she would. l ik e she i s going to use the tim e l i k e you had hoped th a t Yes. I have ta lk e d to Glenn [th e P r in c ip a l] about th is in the p a s t, and he r e a lly th in ks t h a t's what SWS should be. You know, i t ' s not necessary th a t they spend t h e ir fo u r hours in th e re , but i f they take advantage o f the f l e x i b i l i t y , th a t is s o rt o f in h eren t in the scheme o f th in g s . 107 How Does C h ris f e e t about school? She lik e s school very much, and I th in k she has a good s e lf-im a g e , and she understands h e rs e lf p r e tty w e ll. She's p re tty cocky r ig h t now. T hat's a t r a i t I d o n 't p a r t ic u la r ly care f o r , but I hope i t ' s a matura­ tio n th in g , and s h e 'll g et over i t a l i t t l e b i t . But she gets a l o t o f p o s itiv e feedback from her peers In SWS, so I th in k she lik e s being th ere . Has she always lik e d s c h o o l? I would say th a t she has a p r e tty p o s itiv e a ttitu d e toward school. is out" type Yeh, She grumbles o c c a s io n a lly , the “ I c a n 't w a it u n til school o f th in g . But she's up and out every morning. Once in aw hile she gets com pletely fa tig u e d , and s h e 'll say, " I'v e ju s t got to stay home from school." What p a r t d id you p la y in h er placem ent in th e SWS program? I f e l t th a t they needed some s ta b le kids in I thought i t would r e a lly be a good o p p o rtu n ity fo r her. I played a p re tty n e u tra l p a rt in h e r 's , but she had had J o s ie 's experience th ere too. That kind o f m otivated her to get in te re s te d in i t . In J o s ie 's case, I r e a lly pushed i t q u ite a b i t and urged her to t r y i t . That was the f i r s t ye ar i t was going, to o , and I wanted i t to succeed, and I knew th a t Josie w ou ld n 't c re a te any kind o f d is c ip lin e problems in the s itu a tio n . th e re , p lu s , When she f i r s t s ta rte d i t , she w asn't very happy w ith i t a t a l l because i t was chaotic the f i r s t couple o f months. I pleaded w ith her to s tic k i t out u n til Christmas tim e , and then i f she was s t i l l q u ite unhappy w ith i t , she could switch in to one o f the re g u la r programs. But by th a t tim e, things had began to p u ll to g e th e r, and she was much happier th e re . So my p o s itio n w ith C h ris tin e was th a t I thought i f there were a le a rn in g environment in which she would be challenged a whole l o t , might be b e tte r f o r her because she's got a good mind t h a t 's not working I thought, my experience w ith her anywhere near c a p ac ity a t th is p o in t. in the past has been th a t she's r e a lly happier w ith h e rs e lf and things g e n e ra lly , i f she's being p re tty i n t e ll e c t u a l ly stim ulated In a l l kinds o f d if f e r e n t ways. So I was a l i t t l e concerned th a t i f she d id n 't pro­ vide th is fo r h e rs e lf in SWS, then she might not be too happy w ith h er­ s e lf . So I suggested some a lte r n a tiv e s th a t she might co n sid er, but she was r e a lly se t on going in to SWS. So, I s a id , " O .k ., i f t h a t's the way you want to go, i t ' s o .k . w ith me." i t What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e SWS program? I see i t as an e x c e lle n t o p p o rtu n ity fo r students who are p re tty sta b le e m o tio n a lly , to take advantage o f the school system and r e a lly get out o f i t , the best i t has to o f f e r because o f the f l e x i b i l i t y i t provides. 108 in te ra c tio n th a t takes place At th a t p a r tic u la r age I lik e the so cial between th e sexes, and both o f my daughters in SWS have r e a lly good re la tio n s h ip s w ith boys. The re la tio n s h ip s have not had a l l these romantic overtones and a l l the giddiness and so on th a t goes w ith i t . I th in k th a t they have r e a lly estab lis h e d firm frien d sh ip s and developed lo y a lty to one an o ther, and, I th in k th a t th is is r e a lly good. Maybe i t occurs in th e o th e r le a rn in g environments to o , but I have been p a r tic u ­ la r ly impressed w ith th a t . Also the kinds o f re la tio n s h ip s th a t they e s ta b lis h w ith teachers in th a t program and the o ther ad u lts th a t come in. They are very com fortable w ith a d u lts . As I s a id , th is could occur in other s itu a tio n s to o , but i t ' s something th a t I l i k e . to know th e guys th a t teach in th e re . environment. P lus, they have the freedom to r e a lly be c r e a tiv e i f they want to be and w rite plays and do r e a lly s i l l y th in g s . And th e re a r e n 't other people imposing t h e ir moral judgments on these kid s. You know i f they want to use t h e ir coarse language and so on and so f o r t h , nobody's re a lly going to get a f t e r them. but I th in k i t ' s kind o f a phase th a t kids seem to go through. So th e re 's r e a l l y no one looking over t h e ir shoulder and t e l l i n g them what's a p p ro p ria te behavior. The kids kind o f fig u re th is out fo r themselves. And then they g et feedback from o th e r k id s . That kind of in d ic a te s th a t th a t kind o f behavior ju s t i s n 't r e a lly acceptable. I know th is goes on from things th a t C h ris tin e re p o rts , and I r e a lly do th in k they kind o f modify each o th e r's behavior to e v e n tu a lly get something th a t is f a i r l y s o c ia lly acceptable. I d o n 't encourage t h is , p a r t ic u la r ly , I t ' s a very com fortable kind o f I have gotten Do you see t h is as d i f f e r e n t from th e r e g u la r school? I haven't had any o ther experience w ith th is school, but I'm q u ite sure th a t I'm not going to have Jack go in to th a t program. I d o n 't th in k i t would be good fo r him. So then I ' l l g et an o p p o rtu n ity to see how o th er things a re . to th a t have kids a t Kinawa are happy w ith th e system, w ith the school in g e n e ra l, so maybe some o f these o p p o rtu n itie s are a v a ila b le elsewhere too. Or i t could be th a t I place a h igher p r i o r it y on th a t kind o f thing than o th e r people do. I r e a lly c a n 't conment on th a t. Most o f the people I t a lk Another o b je c tiv e , th a t I d id n 't go in to very much, opportunity f o r s e lf - d is c ip lin e , s e lf -c o n t r o l, and s e lf -d ir e c t io n . I th in k i t ' s r e a lly good i f kids can acquire th is a t th a t stage in l i f e , because I th in k i t has p o s itiv e ra m ific a tio n s a l l the way down. I th in k i f they g et the notion th a t they are u ltim a te ly responsible f o r what they le a rn , and i f they got nothing e ls e out o f SWS In those th re e y e a rs , I th in k t h a t 's probably enough to su stain the program. is the What do you see as the most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth f o r C h ris tin e ? I t ' s probably so cial and em otional. Academ ically I'm ju s t not too sure. I d o n 't know i f they have done p re -te s tin g and p o s t-te s tin g on those kids or not in terms o f grade l e v e l, you know, the ev a lu a tio n o f academic 109 I s n 't 1 t kind o f rid ic u lo u s to take I th in k they resolved i t by saying th a t she progress and achievement and so on. She scores c o n s is te n tly between 95 and 99 p e rc e n t, so I t ' s kind o f hard to t e l l 1 f she's growing or not. She has gotten very a s s e rtiv e and I d o n 't know i f t h a t 's a product o f being in SWS or n o t. For example, th is is kind o f an amusing I n c i ­ dent, but they were being requ ired to take reading te s ts to determine t h e ir le v e l o f reading p ro fic ie n c y , and she gets kind o f t ir e d o f a l l th is te s tin g th a t is going on. So she said to the te a c h e r, "You know the la s t time I took t h is , I scored above the tw e lfth grade reading le v e l. Where can I go from there? th is again?" He agreed th a t i t probably was and suggested th a t maybe she should t a lk to one o f the counselors about i t . So she did and to ld her s to ry to them, and they thought maybe i t was not necessary e ith e r . So they e v e n tu a lly had her ta lk in g to the p rin c ip a l about i t , and he p re tty much agreed, too. w ouldn't have to take th a t p a r tic u la r t e s t . There were o th e r students in th a t same s itu a tio n . She was kind o f a spokesperson f o r them, and they were going to t r y to get another instrum ent to te s t reading com­ prehension and a b i l i t y th a t would go beyond what they were doing. I d o n 't know i f they ever d id or n o t. But she gets on to something lik e t h is , and she r e a lly pursues i t . And in another s itu a tio n she was try in g to cash a check a t the bank. Some o f th e people she babysits fo r pay her in checks, and they w on't cash them w ithout any i d e n t i f i ­ ca tio n . d r iv e r ’ s could g et th a t or so cial s e c u rity . So she was a l l se t to w r it e Bob Carr and t a lk about the p lig h t o f a 13 ye ar old g i r l cashing a check. So she gets on things lik e th is . There a g a in , I d o n 't know th a t i t ' s SWS, but they id e n t ify a problem, then they should t r y to pursue a s o lu tio n to i t . The most recent go-round is about the canoeing t r i p th e y 'r e planning fo r th is weekend. She was assigned the task o f d e fin in g th e goals and o b jectives o f th is whole thing and how i t f i t in to the curriculum and everyth in g . So she sent something to the p rin c ip a l and he sent i t back because he w asn't happy w ith i t . She had to do th is about th ree tim es, and she was r e a lly g e ttin g "tic ke d o ff" w ith i t , but I guess they f i n a l l y submitted something th a t was acceptable. kind o f a good experience f o r them. She r e a lly got in a s n it about th a t because you know, a lic e n s e is a standard I . D . , and th e re is no way th a t she I do th in k the teachers kind o f encourage t h a t. That i f I th in k th a t's What kinds o f th in g s do you see her doing a f t e r school o r on weekends when s h e fs o u ts id e the school? W ell, she lik e s to go on long b ike rid es w ith her fr ie n d s , and she p a rtic ip a te s in the bikeathon and the marathon. She w i l l help w ith d is tr ib u tio n o f campaign l it e r a t u r e fo r me, but she d o e s n 't lik e to do th a t kind o f th in g very w e ll. She reads a f a i r amount, and watches a f a i r amount o f te le v is io n . She d o e sn 't use her time as p ro d u c tiv e ly as I would l i k e , but in terms o f a th ir te e n -y e a r o ld , she probably uses i t p re tty w e ll. She does q u ite a b i t o f b a b y s ittin g . She and I have been playing ten n is q u ite a b i t re c e n tly . I t ' s ju s t nothing t e r r i b l y unusual, but she keeps busy. no Do you see your r o le ae a p a re n t change because o f th e SWS program? I w o u ld n 't be surprised 1 f 1 t h a s n 't changed a l i t t l e b i t because o f th a t. Maybe more openness and a fe e lin g th a t one can s o rt o f c r i t i c i z e I th in k I t used to be th a t I f I f e l t unhappy about the system f r e e ly . something in the schools, I f e l t I had to defend the sch oo l's p o s itio n and the whole a u th o rity b i t and so on. Now I'm less l i k e l y to do t h a t. I t r y to p o in t out the goods and bads and t r y to g et them to see things o b je c tiv e ly . That may have a ffe c te d me somewhat. Do you g e t any k in d o f r e a c tio n from in SWS? p a re n ts th a t d o n 't have t h e i r k id s l o t o f people who th in k th a t I fin d m yself defending i t a l o t . Most o f my close frie n d s Yeh, th e re are q u ite a option. support th a t kind o f o p tio n , b u t, o c c a s io n a lly , I g et in conversations w ith people who th in k th a t i t ' s ju s t pure bedlam and th a t th e re is ab s o lu te ly no lea rn in g going on, and then I get In a p o s itio n o f try in g to expand t h e ir d e fin it io n o f what lea rn in g is . I t is a fla k y 7 fiound Ma. FeAAeA1 contnzn ts on the. b u itd in g o£ x e ta tio n & k ip 6 to be. in te x & itC n g . Tke&e 6tudent& axe a b te to 6 ee othexs oa peopte tn & te ad o i la b e lin g boy4 , g i x l b , te a c h e A t, and ad u J tti. Anothex tntexe& tC ng p o in t t h a t ih e bxought o a t be o6ed i n th e Sckoot W ith in a ScJhoot. th e fite x ib iJ b ity otf tim e and how i t can In te rv ie w 20— Pave J a r r e t t Dave i s a seventh g ra d e r in School W ith in a School a t Kinawa M id dle School in Okemost M ic h ig a n. He spent most o f t h is y e a r checking ou t what d i f f e r e n t th in g s were in the school and what i t had to o f f e r him. Dave seemed uneasy w ith th e in te r v ie w and answered most o f the q u estio n s w ith apprehension. How do you f e e l about school? I lik e I t , because I d o n 't have the teachers pushing me a l l the tim e. Have you always lik e d school? Yeah. Y o u're i n SWS now. How many y ears have you been in SWS? This is my f i r s t ye ar. But you say you 've alw ays lik e d school. I l l Yeah. This ye a r i s n ' t r e a l l y much d i f f e r e n t than i t was la s t year? Oh, I lik e d la s t year b e tte r . others. Like la s t year I lik e d b e tte r than th is y e ar. I kinda l ik e some years b e tte r than How were you p la c ed in th e room y o u 'r e in ? By choice. I wanted to be th e re . So i t was your choice? D id you t a l k i t o ver w ith your p a re n ts a t a l l ? Yup. Did they a ls o f e e l the same way you d id about th e classroom? Yeah. My o ld e r b rother was In the School W ithin a School. Do you see SWS as d i f f e r e n t from th e o th e r rooms in the school now? Yeah. How a re they d if f e r e n t ? Some o f the Blocks we have are ju s t l ik e SWS, kind o f open. B u t, some o f those rooms are so stru c tu re d you c a n 't even go to the bathroom w ithout having a hassel. They th in k y o u 'll skip or something. So you f e e l you can make more d e c is io n s i n SWS? Yeah. What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o f the SWS program? What i s one th in g they want to have happen i n th e re? S e lf-d ir e c tio n . Do you see th a t happening? For some people. I s i t happening to you? Oh, a l i t t l e b i t . See, s k ills are up and my math s k i l l s are a l i t t l e b it up. My English is o .k ., but reading is my high spot. W e ll, where i s s e l f - d i r e c t i o n in th e re ? I do work when I want to do work. My reading I s th a t up o r i s th a t down? I read a lo t . 112 I t ' s up because you have to make your own d ecisio n s. What kinds o f th in g s do you do a t school? I read. And everyday o r every o th er day we have a movie. and I do some math papers. I watch t h a t , Hod do you d ecid e to do those thin g s? I d o n 't do the planning sheets anymore. want to do i t . I go and do i t . I ju s t kinda do i t when I What k in d o f re a c tio n do you have from o th e r stu d en ts o u ts id e o f SWS? Bad. E veryth in g 's r o tte n . I'm d is crim in ate d ag a in st because I'm in SWS. What k in d o f th in g s do th ey say? SWS s tin k s . SWS is t h is , i t ' s bad. Why do you th in k th a t ra happening? They're je a lo u s . They c a n 't go in . Does i t a f f e c t you a t a l t . Not as much as i t did a t the beginning o f the y e a r. I t ’s n o t b o th e rin g you anymore? No. I'm used to i t . Do you have any p lan s f o r n e x t year? I'm going Yeah. eighth grade you have to work to g e t ready d id n 't want to be l e f t behind. The Block would be a l i t t l e more stru c tu re d . to Eighth Grade B lock, I guess. f o r the high school. I fig u re d th a t I Did you f e e l th a t SWS was no t enough f o r you? I t ' s enough i f you g e t used to th is kind o f freedom. But some people d o n 't know how to use th is kind so they s i t around most o f the tim e. Is t h a t happening to you? Depends. Sometimes i t is and sometimes i t i s n 't . 113 Dave seemed to undcx&tand the. School W ith in a. School pxogxam but avoided ta lk in g about what uxu happening fax him. th a t he wa6 ta lk in g about hlm&el6 when he xcfiexxed to othex people. I g o t th e Reeling In te rv ie w 21— Mr. J a r r e t t Mr. J a r r e t t i s the f a t h e r o f Dave who i s in School. W ith in a School f o r one y e a r. He i s a cou nselo r a t Kinawa M id d le School and has been in v o lv e d in t h is program s in c e i t began f i v e years ago. L e t's t a l k f o r a m inute on how you f e e l about Dave’ s e xp erien ce t h is year i n sch o o l. I know you have some f e e lin g s about i t . I d o n 't I know th a t h e 'l l continue I d o n 't n e c e s s a rily th in k I t was a good experience I f anyone e ls e were lis te n in g to t h is * they would have to f u l l y under­ stand th a t as a colleague and as a member o f a team, the SWS team, 'cause I d e f in it e ly fe e l t h a t , I come from one d ir e c tio n . As a parent I come from another. fo r David th is year to be In th e re and y e t I fe e l a m b iv ile n t. b elieve th a t i t ' s h urt him a t a l l . So th is am bivilence creates a n eutral fe e lin g about the y e a r. You know I 'v e liv e d w ith the te s t re s u lts , th e data th a t we've c o lle c te d . to grow, achlevementwlse, a t about the ra te he's grown b e fo re , so th a t's not going to be impacted a t a l l . I d o n 't th in k h e's f u l l y taken advantage o f the s itu a tio n , and I c a n 't f a u l t anybody fo r th a t but David. And ag a in , i f I d id n 't r e a l l y know what th a t program was about, and how 1 t fu n c tio n s , and why i t ' s fu n c tio n in g the way i t i s , I would have a l o t o f tro u b le w ith t h a t. One week ago la s t F rid a y , I had a l o t o f tro u b le w ith 1 t. This bothered me because many other parents have not been supportive o f th a t program. The feedback from kids was "My parents are in s is tin g th a t I do X amount o f work a t home." We never got the "my parents d o n 't l ik e i t , " from kid s. I t ' s hard fo r the SWS teachers to not respond by fo rc in g the kids to work a t school. I was very W e ll, I 'v e n ever, ever done th a t u n t il a week ago F rid a y. I angry a t him, and th is b u ild in g . T h a t's what bugged me about i t . ju s t s a id , " I t ' s a big waste and b la , b la , b la ." I went down to SWS la t e r In the day fo r some reason, and th e re he was s i t t i n g a t a desk ju s t working lik e mad. Everybody e ls e ju s t doing t h e ir th in g , and David was s i t t i n g th ere doing math which is not his th in g . said a word about i t because I got to th in k in g , "Hey, very supportive a t th is p o in t In tim e ." d ecisive a decision-m aker as I would have hoped th a t he would become as a re s u lt o f the experience. did become more ab le to r is k some th in g s , and I th in k making decisions o ften becomes a r is k . Now my f i r s t one could do t h a t , and David d o esn 't appear to me to have changed 1n th a t a re a , and, y e t , I expected th a t to happen. T h a t's one o f the reasons I was supportive o f him going in I noticed w ith my f i r s t boy th a t he I d o n 't th in k he's become as I never I'm not being 114 I ju s t hope next y e a r w i l l be d i f f e r e n t . There a re some th in g s I t w asn 't o .k . w ith my w ife . She's a te a c h e r, and she fe e ls th a t th e re . th a t he c o u ld n 't fo rc e h im s e lf to do. He needed some b asic s k i l l work t h a t , given the s e t t in g , he could have done, and he could have asked fo r h elp . He could have had some feedback a f t e r he fin is h e d 1 t , and he d id n 't choose to do t h a t ; Frank, John, Ron, and I have ta lk e d about i t , but I know th a t they w e re n 't going to push i t , and t h a t 's o .k . w ith me. the ro le a t th a t p o in t is f o r th e tea ch er to step in and m o tiv a te o r co erce, and t h is w asn 't done w ith Dave and th a t d e f i n i t e l y has to be done somewhere f o r him. He refuses to w r i t e , and he has th e a b i l i t y to w r it e . We'd l ik e to see him do some w r it in g , because he fe e ls re a l good about h im s e lf a f t e r h e 's done i t , and, way. So again t h a t 's where i t is w ith D avid , and th a t j u s t d id n 't help. I th in k , we a l l a re th a t W ell, has he alw ays f e l t t h a t way abo ut w r it in g ? I t ' s hard r e a l l y to say because h e 's been such a c o o p e ra tiv e guy through the y e a rs , and th e n , a l l o f a sudden, he stops. The w r itin g is not done a t th e same tim e so i t ' s very p o ssib le he was doing th e w r itin g b e fo re , and, you know, was in s id e s a yin g , " I r e a l l y d o n 't want to do t h i s , but I ' l l do i t because they h e's so much more open about th a t and, you know a g a in , to me i t ' s s o rt o f ty p ic a l teenage. to ld me to do i t , " type o f th in g . This y e a r How does he f e e l abo ut th e e x p e rie n c e t h is year? I I t alm ost appeared as though his He d o e s n 't say too much about i t . The most p o s itiv e v ib r a tio n th a t I got from him about the whole th in g was a f t e r you ta lk e d w ith him. th in k I 'v e a lre a d y to ld you t h a t . 'w h a t's going on here? Somebody's try in g hackles were up. You know, to do away w ith SWS. No way th a t th e y 'r e going to g e t away w ith th a t type o f t h in g .' T h a t's one o f the few th in g s h e's sa id about the whole th in g a l l y e a r. Now, ju s t to be f a i r to the whole th in g , we do know w hat's going on. He t e l l s us. When he was in h is c r e a tiv e b o t t le b re a k in g , we were involved in th a t and hau lin g him around and g e ttin g him b o ttle s f o r him to haul over here in h is back pack. W ith d if f e r e n t I t r y , p ro je c ts h e's been in , we were aware th a t they were going on. and i t ’ s not re a l hard to do because I 'v e been p r e tty busy t h is y e a r, to avoid being around him in th e school s e ttin g unless I'm asked. E a rly in th e ye ar he asked me a l o t . T h a t's changed and I fe e l t h a t 's ty p ic a l teenag er. When he heard I was going canoeing w ith SWS, h is response was, "Oh, God, known. He had a l i t t l e b i t o f time to th in k about t h a t , and he knew we would not hassle him, and th a t on the t r i p we would avoid him. F in a lly , I fig u re d he s a id , "Ah, t h a t 's o .k ." and we did p r e tty much avoid him. he was ju s t another kid when I was th e re . My w ife had a l i t t l e tro u b le ''Jim would you g iv e him your shoes because his are wet" w ith th a t one. I'm not g o in g ." Boy, t h a t 's r e a l l y not the David th a t we've 115 type o f They have to deal w ith t h a t ." He ended up w ith my shoes by th e way. th in g , and I s a id , "No, [la u g h ] o ther kids have wet f e e t . What v o le d id you p la y i n h ie being in SWS o r how was the d e c is io n made? I ' l l c a ll I had some strong I spent a g re a t deal o f tim e , say a ty p ic a l parent r o le . The sheet came home, and he said I in a way, I thought maybe I would change his mind but would I would th a t he wanted to be in SWS. i t , in te rro g a tin g him regarding his reasons why. biases fo r the seventh grade f o r him and SWS was not one o f them. suppose, never come r ig h t out and say t h a t's what I was try in g to do. Nor did I come out and say, "No, y o u 're not going in to SWS," and o b v io u sly, I d id n 't say th a t because I supported his e n try in to t h a t , a ls o . I forced some w ritin g la s t summer. As we were working toward the school y e a r, I s a id , " O .k ., since you c a n 't r e a lly ta lk about why y o u 're going in to SWS, would you w r ite something fo r me? When y o u 're fin is h e d bring i t to me." That was some o f the most pro­ l i f i c w ritin g I had seen from him through the y e ars. He did s i t down one evening and w rite q u ite a b i t . place. Being the old counselor in the school s e ttin g , see some v a l id i t y in some o f the reasons because I ' d heard them before. I had worked w ith kids and t h e ir parents on some o f these things b e fo re , and I had not said them to him so he had to do some th in k in g . So I s a id , " O .k ., t h a t 's f in e ," and we went from th e re . I probably s t i l l have th a t some­ I was ab le to I w on 't bother you about i t . He d id m ention t h a t he d i d n 't th in k he was going to be in SWS n e x t y e a r. Is th a t as much him as th e d is c u s s io n s in the fa m ily th a t le d him to decide no t to s ta y in SWS? I should be someplace e ls e ." i t was because he r e a liz e d th a t he was not T h a t's ju s t the thing th a t stood out in the d iffe re n c e between Greg and Dave. Greg came to th a t conclusion a t the end o f his f i r s t y e a r, " th is i s n 't fo r me. I did not say i t because I th in k I would have supported him 1n th ere another y e a r. He ju s t came out and s a id , " I need some help in some th in g s , and I ’m not going to get them th e re ." Again, able to push h im self to do i t . David d id n 't r e a lly ever come o u t. He was almost as i f he wanted us to make the decision fo r him. F in a lly , his mother and he sa t down and f i l l e d the sheet o u t. had given him an awful him to do some more work. What she sees as sc h o o l-o rie n te d a c t i v i t ie s are a c a d e m ic -o rie n te d -a c tiv itie s , I'm sure. She had tro u b le w ith what I was leaning towards, a t th a t p o in t in tim e. We knew th a t th ere was a big shake-up in the Eighth Grade Block, and th a t was what I was leaning towards. They f i n a l l y signed i t . Some o f my biases come out very stro n g ly in discussing something lik e th is . My own youngster has not take advantage o f Kinawa Middle School. I ' l l continue to i n t e r ­ I would lik e him t o , but I w on't fo rce him to . t r y not to l e t those biases shine through too ac t w ith him about i t , and I th in k a kid th a t much, and be negative about things I'm sure th a t she lo t o f input throughout th e y e a r th a t she wanted I was out around doing something. th a t go on here. 116 I th in k t h a t 's what comes through here should t r y out e v e ry th in g . middle schools are a l l ab o ut, and he r e a l l y h a s n 't done th a t . We've got an e le c tiv e program th a t ju s t w il l not q u i t , and th e re are some things in th e re th a t I know would ju s t tu rn him on and the teachers would tu rn him on and you name i t . He's not chosen to go in to them and i t bothers me. 'cause he may never have a chance to do these things ag ain . him, he'd have done those th in g s , and we would have had some hassles a t home th a t I d o n 't th in k are necessary to have. Maybe we should have had them. Maybe then we w o u ld n 't have them when he's six tee n or seven­ teen. I f I were able to be a r b it r a r y w ith I t r e a lly bothers me I d o n 't know. In looking a t the SWS -program t h is y e a r because o f you r involvem ent 3 what do you see as your p rim a ry purpose o f the SWS program? W ell, the prim ary purpose, to me, has s h ifte d . My ro le has changed because the school has changed. The s e ttin g has changed and fo r me the reason f o r the decreased enrollm ent is because the school has changed. The need is not th e re now fo r some kind o f escape f o r a number o f youngsters who we w e re n 't meeting t h e ir needs a t a l l . Now there are programs and needs are more c lo s e ly being met. I t was the answer f o r a l l o f ed u catio n 's i l l s and everyth in g was going to be cool I t h a s n 't turned out to be thing going. a ft e r we got th is i t , i t w as n 't what I 'd p ic tu re d i t to be because, as I see doing i t . th in k th a t i t r e a lly is unique, and th a t uniqueness I ju s t stems from Frank Blom because he is so unique th a t t h a t 's the way i t evolved. Had Frank been gone longer than ju s t one y e a r , then we'd have seen some d iffe re n c e s , I'm su re , but he's back and his in flu e n c e is s t i l l being f e l t . t h a t, p a r tly i f I were The purpose as a p aren t I looked a t or maybe a llu d e d to e a r l i e r . I f e l t th a t th is was the p lace where th is type o f thin g I saw some o f the goals as being com patible w ith what I wanted to see happen w ith my youngster. With decision-m aking, which I 'v e already given an F t o , could happen. Maybe i t happened, and I d o n 't r e a lly see i t . O .k.? The openness c e r ta in ly has to be a plus as long as you d o n 't l e t your old-fashioned co n d itio n in g and values g et in the way, and they do sometimes w ith me. You know. I'm s it t in g around the c a m p -fire and some kid says, "What the fuck a re you doing?" That bothered me. seem to bother Robo [one o f the te a c h e rs ]. At le a s t, th a t i t bothered him. o f 24 or so k id s , and, you know, i t was a l i t t l e b it shocking to me. What's a word, but ag ain , we go back through many years o f co n d itio n in g to deal w ith th a t kind o f th in g . I c o u ld n 't observe I t seemed to be an accepted th in g w ith th a t group I t d id n 't Regarding academics, I d id n 't have a whole lo t o f needs fo r them when the y e a r s ta rte d . areas, and I 'v e seen now h is aversion to a couple o f th in g s , and I see them as problems. Maybe h e's g e ttin g c lo s e r to the high school, and I get a l i t t l e u p -tig h t because I see some o f the kids flo u n d er up th e re . They d o n 't flo u n d e r because o f SWS, but because o f a re fu s a l to deal I ju s t d id n 't th in k th ere were any re a l problem 117 w ith some basic s k i l l areas from , p ro bably, kindergarten on. I ju s t wish th e re was some way we could m iracu lou sly help those kids before they get thrown in to th e meat g rin d e r , and my own kid tends in th a t d ire c tio n ju s t a l i t t l e b i t . You g e t a l i t t l e more u p -tig h t about i t i f i t ' s your k id . Do you see the purposes o f SWS as b e in g d i f f e r e n t than th e o th e r programs i n th e school? id e n tify kids I t ' s ju s t one p a rt o f the to ta l school p ic tu r e , and I in a general way according to th e needs th a t they seem to r e f l e c t , and SWS, to me speaks to a d if f e r e n t s e t o f needs than maybe something else does. Those needs are based on a l l kinds o f lead-up experiences in l i f e fo r those in d iv id u a l k id s . So i t ' s too bad th a t everybody i s n 't to the p o in t where they can be super A. S. N e ill candidates because I see th a t as p r e tty utopian m yself. body c a n 't , but they c a n 't , and t h a t 's the r e a l i t y o f l i f e 1n the p u b lic schools. You know, we've got to deal w ith them where they a r e , consider where th e y 're from , a l l t h e ir exp eriences, and o f f e r something 1n the school s e ttin g th a t w i l l meet those. There are c e r ta in ly some kids in the SWS program t h a t , ju s t the way th a t program’ s s e t up, r e f le c ts e x a c tly t h e ir l i f e experiences. I t ' s a small number even though w e're down in numbers. There are only a few w ith in those numbers th a t I fe e l are honest-to-goodness can didates, given my b e lie f s . There are enough of them th a t i t ' s s t i l l a p r e tty p o s itiv e experience. The block begins to bind you up In to c e rta in behaviors and d ire c tio n s fo r your y e a r's le a rn in g . The re g u la r classroom does t h a t , whatever we've g o t. But SWS, t h a t 's r e a lly turned out to be one o f the godsends fo r some kids th a t were able to do some p re tty c r e a tiv e schedule-type th in g s . I t ' s too bad th a t every­ What do you see as the a re a s o f growth f o r Dave t h is year? I 'd l ik e to be ab le to say th a t I 'v e seen him grow p ers o n a lly He sure has grown p h y s ic a lly , and t h a t was going to happen in s p ite o f us. in his a b i l i t y to deal w ith a d u lts , his p aren ts, but p a r t ic u la r ly o th er a d u lts , and I'm not sure I 'v e seen th a t . I'm r e a lly not sure. Someone who is more o b je c tiv e than I and who has watched th is from the beginning o f the year might be able to see th a t th a t has happened. r e a lly shaky as to i f th a t did happen because he's such a nice coop­ e ra tiv e l i t t l e guy, i f th a t was r e a lly in te ra c tin g w ith ad u lts o r not. You know he never seemed to be too h e s ita n t, but i t was always saying the r ig h t things and being the r ig h t way. I said th a t he's a l i t t l e more open so t h a t 's probably an area. We s t i l l have our emotions and we t r y them more now than we had b e fo re , but he's 13 now. He w asn 't 13 b efo re. the day they tu rn 13. Academ ically, nothing th a t I have evidenced. He was one who chose to do not much o f anything a l l year long. He read a l o t but he's always read. T h a t's been one o f the things th a t's been our s a lv a tio n as parents. We I t ' s almost l ik e th e re 's a switch I c a n 't say anything. There is I c a n 't t e l l I'm ju s t 118 fig u red th a t anybody th a t lik e d to read as he does and reads as w ell as he does 1s never going to have too much tro u b le . And you know, maybe t h a t ’ s not t r u e , but t h a t 's what we th in k . Have you seen any change in the types o f a c t i v i t i e s he engages in a f t e r school o r on weekends? I would say no change th e re . He's always been a p ro je c t man and he h asn't changed. He's d r i f t in g away from team sports but we knew th a t was going to happen. He's ju s t not a team sports guy, and he was doing i t because he thought i t was the th in g to do. He thought everybody did i t , so he b e tte r do i t . When he saw everybody d id n 't do i t as he moved up in the grades, he f e l t com fortable to drop out o f t h a t . He's a s k ie r and he's a g o lf e r , and he sees h im s e lf now as the champion canoer o f the whole United States a f t e r yesterd ay. He's had very few frie n d s in th ere and i f I could have seen something happening to him during the y e a r, I would l i k e to have seen him develop some frie n d s h ip s . He's always had a l o t o f chums, and I fig u re d the s e ttin g would have developed those I t r e a lly bothers chumships a l i t t l e b i t fu r th e r . my w ife 'cause she, a l l o f a sudden, th in k s th e re 's something wrong w ith Dave, and I d o n 't see th a t m yself. He's ju s t stayed alm ost d is ta n t, and i t could be th a t he's p ickin g up v ib ra tio n s from me. That could be. I t could be th a t because I 'v e been somewhat d is ta n t about th e whole th in g , and maybe he senses, a t some le v e l, th a t Dad's not r e a l l y happy w ith me being in here. ment. s e n s itiv e p r a c titio n e r s . I th in k things can happen in those s itu a tio n s , handled by s k ille d I'm one fo r some forced so c ia l I t h a s n 't done th a t. I don’ t know. in v o lv e ­ What k in d o f a r e a c tio n do you g e t from p a re n ts who d o n 't have t h e i r kids in th e SWS? Rather n e g a tiv e , and ra th e r surprised th a t we have our youngster in th e re . But then they s o rta th in k , pinkoes and we knew t h a t a l l a lo n g .' 100 percent supportive o f the program in p u b lic . as many negative things r ig h t th is morning as I have sa id since i t ' s been in existen ce. we are today. I would f ig h t tooth and n a il I b e lie v e very s tro n g ly i t ' s responsible f o r where I t ' s responsible f o r the school and t h a t 's probably why i f somebody were to t r y to do away w ith i t . 'w e l l , he's one o f those conrnie I 'v e continued to be, I 'v e heard m yself say I guess, I t ii> obvious i n th e in te rv ie w t h a t i t uxu hafui Aepanate k i6 involvem ent w ith S.W.S. o& a colleague cw a pa/ient. paAent to £ace thi& dilemma. I'm &uAe he nealizei> t h a t he i& not th e iiA A t exiucaton.- th e in te rv ie w e e to k i t involvem ent 119 In terview 22— Mike Giliman Mike i s a seventh g ra d e r i n School w ith in a School a t Kinawa M iddle School in OkemoSj M ich igan, and hae been i n th e program f o r two g e a rs. He was v e ry q u ie t the day I ta lk e d w ith him bu t seemed v e ry c o n fid e n t. He enjoys re a d in g and spends a ta rg e p ercentage o f h is day re a d in g books but is a ls o known to be q u ite a c tiv e a t tim es . How do you f e e l about the SWS program? How do you f e e t about you when you’r e th e re ? W ell, you mean. I d o n 't th in k I can put i t in to words, I r e a lly d o n 't know what Do you li k e school? Yeah. Have you e v e r n o t lik e d school? Yeah. What’ s happening d i f f e r e n t now th a t makes you t ik e i t ? I d id n 't lik e i t a t some times or th ir d o r something. now I understand. 'cause I ' d g e t fr u s tr a te d , l ik e second I need an education so I lik e i t now, because How you u n derstan d, and t h a t ’ s what makes th e d iffe r e n c e . Yeah. Do you see the SWS program as d i f f e r e n t from the o th e r environm ents in the school? I t ' s a l o t d if f e r e n t . makes a l l th e d ec is io n s. The teachers are th e re to help he needs help. I t ' s not s tru c tu re d . I t ' s where th e student 'em whenever How were you p la c e d in to t h a t classroom? My f i f t h grade teacher recommended i t , o rie n ta tio n when they recommend i t , so and I w asn't th ere fo r I was placed in i t . the Did you have any d e c is io n i n th a t? No, not a t th a t tim e. grade I made a d e c is io n , yeah. I was in s ix th grade. When I was in seventh 120 How long have you been i n SWS. For two y e a rs . What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e SWS program? W e ll, i f kids would be slowed-up o r people be too f a r ahead o f them in o th e r c la s s e s , they g e t to make t h e i r own d e c is io n s . r e a lly fe e l l i k e doing math th a t day, you d o n 't have to do i t . You can ju s t read and study and do math an o ther day and work from th e re . I f you d o n 't So who makes th e d e c is io n as to when y o u *re go in g to do i t ? The stu d en t. T e ll me th e kinds o f th in g s you do d u rin g the day? Whatever you l i k e . Make up a re p o rt f o r another c la s s . lib r a r y o f te n , s o c ia liz e , t a l k , and I read a l o t . I was periods out o f fo u r . fin is h in g a re p o rt. I read about two in the l ib r a r y to d a y , except s ix th hour, I use the How do you make th e d e c is io n on w hat y o u *re go ing to do? Just whatever I th in k . L ik e , I ' l l do some math o r language a r ts o r something. i f I h a v e n 't been doing a l o t o f m ath, So when you come in t o scho ol i n th e m orning3 have you a lre a d y d e c id e d what i t i s y o u *re g o in g to do o r when do you make t h is d e c is io n ? W e ll, when I come in to school SWS. So when I g et in to SWS t h ir d hour I j u s t s i t down on the couch and wake up. U s u a lly t h ir d hour I read a l l hour. I th in k what I'm going to do th a t day. I have two classes b efore in the morning, So you j u s t k in d o f make th e d e c is io n when you g e t th e r e . Yeah. What do you l i k e b e s t abo ut th e SWS program y o r a b o u t b e in g i n SWS? I guess, because, you know, i f I was in a re g u la r classroom , Freedom, and I got to ld to do two pages o f math, and I d id n 't want to do two pages o f math a t th e moment or even a t n ig h t, you c o u ld n 't do something e ls e . B u t, you know, some o th e r day I might r e a l l y want to do even th ree pages o f math o r something. in the mood f o r . You d o n 't have to take math a t one tim e or re ad in g . Freedom! I t ' s being ab le to do w hatever y o u 're 121 What k in d o f r e a c tio n do you g e t from o th e r s tu d en ts who a re n o t in SWS? T hat's dumb, you d o n 't lea rn anything. How does i t make you f e e l when they say those thin g s? They ju s t d o n 't understand I t . T h u program seems to be. a good match (Jok Hike,. He seems to know ju s t what he. wa n ti and when he wants to do i t . S.W.S. gives him th e oppor­ tu n ity to make these decisions and has teachers th e re to hetp him took a t th e decisions he*s making. In te rv ie w 23--M s. Giliman Ms. G illm an is the mother o f Mike G illm an who has been in th e School W ith in a School f o r two y e a rs . She has thought a g r e a t d e a l about what she wants from the schools f o r her c h ild r e n . d e f i n i t e l y met h er e x p e c ta tio n o f the schools f o r M ike. Th is program has How does M ike f e e l about school t h is year? I t ’ s more l ik e he's s a tis fie d to be He r e a lly enjoys i t . He gets up e a rly and th e re 's no pressure to get him th e re . He's in te re s te d in i t , but he d o esn 't show h is in te r e s t in i t through a lo t o f expression. going th e re , and h e 'l l share things he's doing th e re . He's a low-keyed person. He hides a l o t or i f he d oesn 't hide i t , he d o esn 't r e a lly express i t . But I th in k the reason th a t i t is successful fo r him is not what he says, but how he comes across s o c ia lly , how he's m aturing, how he's growing. he's doing ju s t fin e . They say he's not working up to his p o te n tia l, but I fe e l th a t th a t is debatable. A p o te n tia l has to do w ith what you can accomplish according to p sych olo gists, in a c e rta in amount o f tim e , so I'm not w orried about i t . or working up to i t , but th a t they are happy lea rn in g and growing because o f i t . lik e i t . A fte r school could. Mike is lik e th a t now, so I'm pleased w ith th a t. He is an absorber. I t was my experience when I went to school th a t I d id n ’ t I 'v e discussed i t w ith his teachers and acad em ically, I'm never w orried about people's p o te n tia l lea rn in g was such a jo y , I absorbed everyth ing I Has he always f e l t towards school l i k e he has the p a s t couple o f years? No, when we were in Bay C ity , he went to school r e lu c ta n tly because he was in a p riv a te school and d is c ip lin e was very s t r i c t . d e f in it e ly an accomplishment le v e l where you had to come to an average. So when we came here, Kinawa. Even though Cornell a g reat deal o f f l e x i b i l i t y on the p a rt o f it s teachers. i t was a t o t a l l y new experience a t C ornell and is more stru ctu red than SWS, i t s t i l l has I t was very 122 What p a r t 3 as a p a re n t, d id you have in p la c in g Mike in SWS? John B ra z ie r, the f i f t h grade tea ch er, presented the p o s s ib ility to us, and then M ike, my husband, was in te re s te d in i t . We talk ed i t over to decide i f we thought M1ke [h e r son] could se t out o b je c tiv e s fo r him­ s e lf and accomplish them. o b jec tiv es f o r h im s e lf, but sometimes, the o b je c tiv e s he se ts. I th in k , he learns more than I d o n 't th in k he sets high I th in k he has, In lo o kin g a t t h i s t what do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o r the im p o rtan t th in g th a t happens in th e SWS program? I th in k the primary purpose is the sense o f r e s p o n s ib ility i t puts on the in d iv id u a l fo r themselves and t h e ir own education. Somehow you have more o f a d e s ire to le a rn i f you made the decision to do i t . I t ' s an e x c itin g process to you. T h a t’ s the key as I see i t . th a t outside o f school as w e ll. and th e y 're microcosms o f what we fe e l about. So I th in k th a t th a t's what i t ' s about. I th in k c h ild re n are l i t t l e people I see Do you see th a t purpose as d i f f e r e n t from th e r e g u la r school o r the r e g u la r classrooms? Sometimes i t happens in I t v a rie s , however, w ith the teach er. Yes. a class th a t is more s tru c tu re d because the teacher is d if f e r e n t . Even in a more s tru c tu red c la s s , th e teacher would lik e to l e t the c h ild have more f l e x i b i l i t y . Even though the teach er would lik e more f l e x i ­ b i l i t y and l e t them go t h e ir own way to accomplish what they want, a t th a t p a r tic u la r tim e , she c a n 't , because the whole classroom i s n 't set up th a t way, so she has to work around i t which gives her a big headache. She's got to fo llo w the o b je c tiv e s set fo r the classroom teaching manner and i f i t ' s more s tru c tu re d , then t h a t's the way the re s t o f the group is going. they might want to le a rn . you lik e to bake w ith me today would be a lea rn in g th in g th a t kind o f questioning a t school. because I see problems. I know th a t my son Chris learns w ell when he r e a lly wants to le a rn , but he has a very d i f f i c u l t time i f i t ' s something he doesn't see the reason fo r le a rn in g . Some kids can be forced in to le a rn in g through th r e a ts , but C hris could never be. o r would you lik e to go swimming?" This you were d oing, but there is not th a t I'm g iv in g you th is as an example The s tru c tu re is d if f e r e n t . T h ere's no questioning o f what I f your c h ild were home, you might say "Would What do you see as the most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth f o r Mike? I th in k a sense o f his own personal worth. That sounds naivd o r t r i t e or something. Pride o f accomplishment because he's made a d e c is io n , not because someone has said to him th a t th is is what you have to or should do. When you've done i t , you did i t , but you d o n 't g et the 123 I lo v e , because i t ' s a d ecisio n I make, and o ften i t ' s p re tty I t ' s the decision and I th in k he's happier making the fe e lin g th a t you've made the d ecision so you d o n 't g et th e same s o rt o f s a tis fa c tio n . I t ' s lik e the d iffe re n c e between housecleanlng and working out In the ya rd . Housecleaning has to be done so I do 1 t , but I d o n 't get th a t much s a tis fa c tio n from 1 t. But working out 1n the y a rd , much equal work. d ecision. Like a l o t o f the things th a t he's le a rn in g , understand. He brings inform ation home to me th a t I d o n 't know. That makes him very happy. And when I need to know something, I ask him. I'm not embarrassed because th ere a re things th a t I know th a t he does not y e t know. But he knows so much about astronomy. to go up north In the summertime and have him e x p la in about planets and c o rre c t me about s ta rs and comets. bossy w ith th is in fo rm atio n . I t ' s le a rn in g . He's not being I t ' s fa s c in a tin g I d o n 't even Do you f i n d th a t h is a c t i v i t i e s a t home have changed a t a l l because o f the program ? I t ' s hard to t e l l e x a c tly . He seems to be more to le r a n t o f o p in io n s. When he was in Bay C ity in a very d is c ip lin e d program, he was also younger. The change th a t would have taken place would have been gradual since we have moved here. And th is would inclu d e his C o rn ell experience too. He's not the kind o f a person th a t p a rtic ip a te s a lo t s o c ia lly w ith o ther c h ild re n . But he never neglects the o p p o rtu n ity , but n e ith e r does he seek i t o u t. He's a s e lf-c o n ta in e d in d iv id u a l. He does w ell w ith ad u lts in conversation so th a t the a d u lts a r e n 't bored. But I h av en 't seen any change in s o c ia b ilit y w ith o th e r c h ild re n to any g reat e x te n t because he was l ik e th a t b e fo re , and he s t i l l doesn't seek out c h ild r e n , but th a t m ight be because he has so many brothers and he plays w ith the kids th a t come to see them. So h e's a p a rt o f a l l th a t. is . He Do you see your r o le as a p a re n t changing in any way because o f th e SWS program? I t makes i t e a s ie r on me as a parent because under th e system they have, they can always go f r e e ly and e a s ily to t h e ir teach er-co un selor and get assistance w ith problems. They can ask questions th e re . In a t r a d i ­ tio n a l classroom you have a c e rta in number o f kids th a t are boxed in by schedules and you go from one th in g to another and you have no re al o pportunity to t a lk to the teacher or discuss w ith them. So you end up having gone under a very s t r i c t time schedule and going home a t 3 :0 0 , and then they come home to you w ith a l o t o f questions o r d is s a tis fa c ­ tio n . learn th a t garbage?" o r something l ik e th a t. makes i t e a s ie r on the p are n t. Anything th a t makes the c h ild h ap p ier, makes l i f e w ith c h ild re n e a s ie r. someone accomplishes g re a t things w ith my k id s . I can remember Mike coming home and saying, "Why do I have to I t ' s d if f e r e n t , so i t I t ' s not d is tre s s in g to me th a t I w ou ld n 't want to 124 be s e lfis h enough to th in k i t had to be me th a t d id i t . throwing the re s p o n s ib ility on the school by any means. Both my husband and I a re open. When you communicate w ith any o th e r p a re n ts, do you g e t any k in d o f a re a c tio n toward SWS? I t ' s not I t ' s almost lik e a challenge to me. One couple Very strong sometimes. I was ta lk in g to f e l t th a t th e re was not enough d is c ip lin e , and th a t they r e a lly lik e to see d e f in it e progress, and not ju s t by what the c h ild th in k he's doing. Sometimes i t is more s u b tle such as fin e fo r you but not a l l c h ild re n can be in i t . ’ The way i t ' s put shows i t ' s not the c h ild , i t ' s t h e ir a ttitu d e about the program. 'T h a t's So most o f the re a c tio n s from p a re n ts a re saying t h a t i t ' s o .k . th a t program e x is ts as long as th e re *s a program f o r them3 too? i f I th in k so, but my question would be i f you d o n 't t r y i t how Yes, would you know? I fiound i t tnteA c& tlng th a t Ma. G tllm an fiound th a t heA Aole changed a t home becaa&z H ike tuoa happy a t 6c h o o l. Since H ike could deaJL uxith aome psiobterns a t school, he uaea h i i paAcnts d i^ e A e n tty token he get& home. What a n ine statem ent ih e made, "Anything t h a t makes th e c h ild happieA, make& t i £ e u iith chitdAen e a iie A ." In te rv ie w 24— Barb Singer Barb i s t h ir t e e n y e a rs o ld and f in is h in g h er t h i r d y e a r in the School W ith in a School program a t Kinawa M id d le School in Okemos3 M ichigan. She speaks w ith a g re a t d e a l o f co n fid en ce and p o is e and I found my tim e w ith her to be re la x e d and e n jo y a b le . This i s your t h ir d y e a r in SWS? Yes. Then you go up to the high school n e x t year? Right. How do you f e e l about school? W e ll, I lik e i t , you know. Yeah, I l ik e i t , I guess. What kinds o f th in g s do you lik e about i t ? 125 lik e SMS and, w e ll, lik e W ell. 1 math and science a l o t . Then I have one class a t the high school th a t I ta k e , a science class th a t I l i k e , so I go up th ere a t the end o f every day. I lik e my fo ur main subjects. I And you l i k e th a t too? Yeah. What p a rts o f i t d o n 't you lik e ? W ell, 1 d o n 't l ik e some o f the o th e r classes th a t I have. L ik e , lik e SMS system, but then I have class outside o f i t and I d o n 't lik e them very much. Row were you p la c e d in t h is classroom, in SWS I mean? I W ell, in s ix th grade, you know, we had a ch o ice, and I chose to be in i t , and then I asked my parents. My parents agreed to i t so I got in to i t . So then you made the d e c is io n each year? Yes. Have you e v e r qu estio n ed w hether you wanted to go back in t o SWS? In seventh grade I was wondering whether I should or n o t. I did work a l o t , and I got a lo t done so I got ahead of Yeah, I have. I was wondering i f I was g e ttin g enough done. Then in seventh grade, you know, o ther th in g s , so I d id n 't need to work. when I got in to the high school from SMS. Would I be behind? Then, I did a lo t o f work in seventh grade so I got way ahead and so th is year I d id n 't need to do too much except my high school class and g e ttin g things done th e re . I was w orried ab o ut, you know, What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f the SWS program3 th e most im p o rtan t th in g th a t environment? the p eo ple want to itave happen in th a t I th in k i t is s e lf-e v a lu a tio n . W ell, some by le t t in g us evalu ate ourselves and do i t ourselves we get o ld e r , w e're not going to have anyone who's gonna do th a t fo r us. I mean they want us to grow up 'cause when Do you see th a t as d i f f e r e n t than the purpose o f the o th e r environm ents in the school? Yeah, in the o th e r environments, they d o n 't have the o p p o rtu n ity to make t h e ir own goals and they d o n 't have an o pportunity to evalu ate themselves by accomplishing those goals. 126 T a lk to me about th e kinds o f th in g s you do in scho ol, Knowing th a t th e y 'r e d if f e r e n t from the beg in n in g s, what g e n e r a lly a re the types o f th in g s th a t you do in the SWS program? W e ll, I study a l o t as f a r as math goes, and I work w ith H r. Waldo a lo t in h is to ry . reports and essays about d iffe r e n t s u b je c ts , and as f a r as science goes, in th a t very much. I go in to the lib r a r y a l o t , and I w rite essays, I d o n 't r e a lly need to work a l o t I 'v e got th a t one cla ss . How do you go about making your d e c is io n about what you 'r e going to do each day. W ell, u s u a lly we have our plan sheets and I r e a l l y d o n 't do them much. I make the goals f o r m y se lf, v e r b a lly , you know, f o r myself and fo r the whole week too. You know, 1 t r y to accomplish something in each su b ject. I spread i t out the way I th in k I should, and I d o n 't have d if f e r e n t plans to look a t but most people in SWS do. You u s u a lly j u s t keep i t in your head then, i s t h a t what y o u 're saying? Yeah. What do you see as th e re a c tio n s o f o th e r studen ts who a re no t in the SWS program? W e ll, they d o n 't th in k SWS is very good. Most o f them d o n 't th in k SWS is good because lo ts o f people in SWS g o o f-o ff, and the m a jo rity o f the people do and p la y cards most o f the tim e. They d o n 't r e a lly accomplish too much and th e y 're behind when they g et in to high school and so people th in k i t ' s ju s t a place to g o o f-o ff. So do you see t h is o r is looks confused ] You say th e re a re a p la y card s— a re you saying th a t o r a re o th e r people saying th a t? th is what o th e r people say to you? lo t o f p eo ple who g o o f - o f f and [Barb Lots o f o ther people say th a t and I see some too. There i s a l i t t l e o f t h a t going on? Some but they get some work done, too. I r e a lt y thought B arbara' & tta te m e n t, "The, o ther environm entt, they d o n 't have, th e o p p o rtu n ity to make t h e i r own goat-6 and th ey d o n 't have an o p p ortun ity to ev alu ate them&elvet by accom plithing th e te g o a tt," i t b e a u tifu l. She r e a l t y knowt what i t meant to make d e c itio n t %or h e rte lfi and &ee t re tp o n tib le £or thebe d e c itio n t. She teemt to know e x a c tly what th e wantt and how to g e t make d i^ e r e n t d e c itio n t teemt to te e th a t i t i t o.k, i £ th o te people make d i^ e r e n t d e c itio n t. than 6he, b u t, through th e questioning bhe i t tome concern $or o th e rt who i t . There 127 In te rv ie w 2 5 --M r. and Ms. Singer Mr. and Mrs. S in g e r a re th e p a re n ts o f B arbara who has been in School W ith in a School f o r th re e y e a rs . How do you f e e t about yo u r c h il d 's e x p erien ce th is year? Ms: Mixed fe e lin g s , yeah. She w asn't ab le to concentrate th a t much in re g u la r school when she had problems. She daydreamed the whole period so th is gave her more l ib e r t y and t h a t 's why we thought I t was a good idea. She wanted to go in so badly and we agreed because we knew she w asn't e n t ir e ly responsible. She was ra th e r immature fo r her age. c e rta in subjects she did w e ll. In others I thought she needed more backup, coaching, which I d id n 't th in k she was g e ttin g . T h a t's the only thing I was concerned about. She th in ks she's improved tremen­ dously and I th in k she has. The main argument I 'v e had 1s w ith her verbal s k i l l s . As f a r as the math and scien ce, she gets very good tra in in g when she wants i t and she is stim u lated more. fin is h e d the book, and she was supposed to go up to the high school, and then they d id n 't have room fo r her so she h as n 't been given any chance to do i t down in the middle school so th ere are disadvantages to i t . I f she were in r e g u la r school, would she be a b le to go on? In math she In Ms: They probably d o n 't have more advanced math. they would have made more provision o r not or whether she would have had more in te n s iv e tr a in in g in what she did ta k e . careless habits th is tends to accentuate them I th in k , but on the o th er hand, she's now a t the stage where she can work w e ll. So when she goes to high school, she should be able to take the d is c ip lin e o f the re g u la r classroom. I th in k i t was the best thing fo r her kind o f sch oo lin g, because I d o n 't know whether I f they have any I'm not so sure i t was the best I'm not a l l th a t sure about th a t. I d o n 't th in k I agree. She wanted i t so b ad ly, and we Mr: thing fo r her. had real reservatio n s o f le t t in g her because o f her carelessness in her study h a b its , and I'm not so sure she's outgrown them a t a l l . th ey've probably been aggravated a l i t t l e b i t . She's supposed to be so good in math. Now she's c a re le s s , and the fundamentals throw her com pletely. What problem did I give her? W e ll, some simple a rith m e tic problem th a t she had to fig u re o u t, and she c o u ld n 't do i t . She s a id , "W ell, I c a n 't do i t in my head." W e ll, she c a n 't even come close! I guess i t has more plusses than not. The only reason we've allowed her to go on w ith i t was ( I d o n 't know about Dora's but my fe e lin g s were and a re ) th a t she's a b rig h t enough k id , and she cannot have too much done to her even i f i t ' s the wrong th in g fo r her. She's got a l l o f high school to do, and i f i t ' s been wrong or i f i t ' s been r ig h t , w el1, then good and w el1. I th in k 128 I fe e l a l i t t l e more p o s itiv e ly . Ms: than th a t because I fe e l she would have had re a l problems a d ju s tin g . problems. She wasn’ t ready a t the age she was, to ad ju s t to a reg u lar program. i f she had been put in a re g u la r program I do fe e l more p o s itiv e ly I mean r e a lly d i f f i c u l t Mr: I d o n 't know, the d is c ip lin e might have done her re a l good. I s t i l l d o n 't th in k she could have stood I mean she was always having problems in f i f t h Ms: No. She c o u ld n 't have. any d is c ip lin e then. grade w ith complaints from the teach er. fo u rth grade, but here she was fre e to do i t on her own. She has learned a l o t . Look how she has the kind o f knowledge she gets because she wants to le a rn and she's good a t i t . She's good in the sciences. and th is alone I th in k is I mean i t ' s encouraged her to have an in q u is it iv e mind, a t e r r i f i c advantage f o r going on I had complaints from the forw ard. Mr: But she d o esn 't lik e school a l l th a t much. I mean she i s n 't as happy a student as o f her problem. She's much re g u la r school. She's happier Ms: She d o esn 't complain. some o f our o th e rs , but she's the baby o f our fa m ily and I th in k she's been more catered to and th is is p a rt happier than i f she were going to the in the School W ithin a School, She was happy in the s ix th g rad e, she was a l i t t l e less happy in seventh grade and now she's fe e lin g the need fo r more schooling than she gets now. She's about ready f o r d is c ip lin e schooling 'cause she knows she's not le a rn in g enough from th e School W ithin a School to s a tis fy her. somewhat programs. She c a n 't do i t by h e rs e lf and she doesn't r e a l l y have enough guidance. she w asn't in s ix th grade or seventh, maybe. She would have been th is y e a r, but she's grown tremendously p h y s ic a lly th is la s t y e a r. I don’ t th in k she has a l o t o f nervous hab its th a t some o f the others have had. I th in k now she wants guidance. Now she's ready f o r i t , and I'm sure she fin d s h e rs e lf being bored r e a lly ready to d ir e c t h e rs e lf to 'cause she's not very serious Mr: You could be r ig h t th a t she does not seem to lik e i t as much, and I th in k probably because she's bored. I t tro u bles me though th a t kids could be bored and somehow teachers in School W ithin a School w ill allow kids to be bored. Do you f e e t th a t the k id s in the r e g u la r school a re a ls o bored? Mr: Yes. Ms: Yes, p o ssibly. This way they can play cards and watch te le v is io n when th e y 're bored and in the re g u la r school they can’ t . d id n 't approve o f them p laying cards in the beginning and now Barbara's a good card p la y e r. She has a good quick mind fo r mathematical things. I very much 129 Mr: She taught me two-handed bridge today, and i t ' s not bad. She taught me two versions o f i t . Ms: So th is is what I'm saying. She w ouldn't have been lik e th is i f she'd gone to the re g u la r school. was id e a l. When she was going, 'cause I 'v e had complaints from teachers about t h is . th at should be going in to an unstructured program?" They said th a t fo r some i t ' s good, fo r others i t ' s bad, and they f e l t th a t i t w ouldn't be bad f o r Barbara. T h a t's when we f i n a l l y gave in . I th in k fo r her p e rs o n a lity i t I s a id , "She's ra th e r u n d is c ip lin e d , Is she the type I th in k i t ' s made her a l i t t l e more s e l f - r e l i a n t . Mr: had to depend on h e r s e lf, she's had to push h e rs e lf. a high degree o f s e lf -r e lia n c e . 'Cause she's I t ' s given her [To her husband] Do you remember some o f the others a t th is Ms: ju n io r high age? They r e a lly pushed themselves so. For Barbara, she i s n 't pushed to do so many th in g s . When she does, she does w ith less s t r a in , and I th in k th is is very good. you have to do a c e rta in assignment, as w ell a s , the mental s tr a in . But Barbara does things in te re s te d in them and i t ' s e a s ie r ’ cause she's not under as much s t r a in . i t puts a nervous s tr a in on you, I th in k i t ' s almost i f 'cause she's Mr: Of course she might be achieving less you know. I'm sure she's achieving less Ms: 'cause both o f our o th e r daughters are re a l a c h ie ve rs , and Sandra's an ach iever now, and she's driven to th in gs. She w ouldn't have taken th is course. Sandra would not have gone to the School W ithin a School. She went to Kinawa, but she w ouldn't pick th a t a t a l l . T h a t's not her. So you f e e l th e re a re d i f f e r e n t environm ents f o r d i f f e r e n t c h ild re n ? Ms: R ig h t. Oh y e s, because I d o n 't th in k i t ' s s u ita b le fo r more than a m in o rity . I th in k th e y 're r ig h t in keeping i t to a m in o rity What do you see as the p rim ary purpose o f the School W ith in a School p r o g r a m t h e one most im p o rta n t th in g they want to have happen f o r the studen ts? Mr: The kids learn how to d e fin e t h e ir own learn in g needs and d is c ip lin e themselves to achieve th a t. Ms: And i f you do i t y o u rs e lf i t should be more in te re s tin g to you. This i s , b e tte r because i t is what you've chosen to do. I th in k , the assumption t h a t you should be ab le to do i t Do you see th a t purpose as d i f f e r e n t than the o th e r programs a t Kinawa? 130 Ms: The kids in the Block program, any th a t I 'v e talk ed t o , have been very happy, and th e y 'v e been s a t is f ie d , but the ones I know are very studious and very in te re s te d in school. But in loo kin g a t the purposes, do you see the purposes th e same? Mr: W e ll, the u ltim a te purpose is the same but the technique d if f e r e n t . is Ms: Yeah, and I th in k i t is a lo t d if f e r e n t . Mr: You have an a d u lt, a tea ch er, s e ttin g the goals. Ms: And these kids s e t t h e ir own goals. W e ll, the things she does she does. l i f e . She does things. W ith th is business o f s e ttin g g o als, she may not always c a rry i t o u t, but she wants to se t goals fo r h e r s e lf. i t shows up and I th in k as she gets o ld e r , s h e 'll be b e tte r . I mean she has kept th is technique in her personal I th in k What do you see as h e r most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth t h i s y e a r o r in the l a s t th re e years in the School W ith in a School program? I guess I lik e the way she handles science. I t ' s made in te re s tin g f o r her and she's in te re s te d in I th in k she is very I mean I th in k she approaches i t because she find s i t Ms: good in th a t. in te re s tin g . i t now. On the o th e r hand she's enjoyed her math, b u t, as th is ye ar i t ' s been a fia s c o . As f a r as re ad in g , she's an avid re a d e r, and she has improved tremendously. leaps and bounds in reading which has c e r ta in ly increased her amount of read ing . I mean her in te re s ts have grown by I say, So do you see her academic s k i l l s as her most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth? Ms: You mean has i t been a social thing? Has she increased in the area of m a tu rity as compared to some o th e r school s itu a tio n . y o u 're asking? Is th a t what That m ight be, too. You d e fin e the p rim a ry purpose as d e fin in g what t h e i r needs a re and m eeting them on t h e i r own, so th a t m ig ht be academic and i t m ight n o t. Ms: I t might be so c ia l too. But maybe you see h e r academic s k i l l as the most s i g n if ic a n t are a o f growth. Ms: W e ll, m ainly, fe e l th a t the so cial p a rt is as im portant in the school environment. I th in k she fe e ls i t ' s been good because she h as n 't been under s tre s s . i t ' s because we stress t h a t , and maybe we d o n 't 131 y e a rs , th e re has been I d o n 't know what she's l ik e in school. She fe e ls th a t she's been ab le to grow. She was saying the o th e r day th a t Mr. Waldo had said to her th a t in the th ree a change in her p e rs o n a lity . T h a t's the th in g , we d o n 't know. He th in ks she's grown up tremendously. Now 1 know she’ s grown up and I suppose she has matured a l o t , but she's only th ir te e n so you d o n 't want to expect her to be too mature I th in k she's a t a t th ir te e n . I'm s a tis fie d w ith her so c ia l growth. I would say th a t a good le v e l fo r her age and she c e r t a in ly m ingles. boys and g ir ls are much more one p a rt. They a r e n 't separated as much as they would be in a classroom environment because i t ' s an easy room, and they d o n 't fin d i t hard to mingle w ith one another. I d o n 't th in k there is the same s o rt o f d iv is io n th a t you might fin d in a more s tru c ­ tured environment. Whenever I 'v e taken them anyplace, easy-going re la tio n s h ip and i t ' s because they probably p la y to gether in school which makes i t normal. They play cards or they put on p la y s , and, w e ll, i t ' s good fo r Barbara. i t ' s a c re a tiv e environment. I'm pleased w ith i t . i t ' s a very I th in k If/hat types o f a c t i v i t i e s does she engage in a t home l i k e on weekends o r a f t e r school? Mr: She lik e s gardening. Ms: A m illio n th in g s . Mr: And she ju s t d o esn 't fin is h them. She lik e s sports and swimming. Ms: She reads a l o t . She takes f l u t e lessons outside so she p rac tice s some. She*s been in SWS f o r th re e y e a rs . f o r t h is j bu t do you see the th in g s she does a f t e r school o r on weekends as d i f f e r e n t than the types o f a c t i v i t i e s she engaged in when she was in the r e g u la r school? I d o n 't know i f you have an answer I d o n 't th in k th a t th a t p a rt has changed th a t much. Ms: I d o n 't th in k her home behavior is divorced from her school behavior. She is in the g i r l scouts now, and I th in k t h is , in a sense, is a p a rt o f her maturing to o , because th e re was a tim e when she c o u ld n 't stand strange groups a t a l l , and she is le a rn in g to get along w ith th a t. She's always been o u t­ going but not eager to mingle and now she's le a rn in g . l o t in the way her schooling has d ire c te d her. I th in k i t ’ s a Do you see your r o le as p a re n t as d i f f e r e n t because o f the SWS program as r e la t e d to the school o r even in o th e r types o f th in g s th a t she does a t home? I d o n 't know i f i t does. They lose me very e a rly you know. Mr: amazing how l i t t l e I'm ab le to help them w ith school work. understand the new math and whatever e ls e th ey've got. I d o n 't I t ' s 132 Ms: She's wanted me to give her a course in w r itin g . could g et th a t in school, but she knows she needs t h is . She knows her needs, but she d o esn 't do much homework. I thought you Have you had any r e a c tio n from p a re n ts who d o n 't have t h e i r c h ild r e n in SWS? to were not eager fo r i t in the Ms: Most o f them th a t I talked beginning. They d id n 't th in k th a t much o f the School W ithin a School. Some people, a f t e r t h e i r ch ild re n had been a t Kinawa f o r a w h ile , asked me about Barbara, and 1 was very pleased. They were askin g, “Do you th in k my c h ild w il l do b e tte r? " way t h e ir ch ild re n were doing. Whether they would do b e tte r in a School W ithin a School, never discouraged. but, on the whole, most o f them decided to send t h e i r c h ild re n to the Block I explained why I thought i t was good fo r Barbara, 'cause they w e ren 't so happy about the 'cause th a t had some f l e x i b i l i t y . I never encouraged anyone. I c o u ld n 't t e l l them. I I t ' s a re a l r is k you f e e l , Mr: a School, because i f i t d oesn 't work o u t, then i t can be a very bad experience. l e t t i n g your c h ild go to School W ithin You s a id you were apprehensive about p u t tin g your c h i ld in a classroom lik e t h is . Do you f e e l th e apprehensions a re ta k in g ca re o f themselves? Do you s t i l l have those same f e e lin g s a f t e r s h e 's been in i t f o r th re e y e a rs ? I would again have the apprehension. i f I had another c h ild contem plating the School W ithin a I had i t w ith Barbara Mr: W e ll, School, fo r a long tim e, except th a t she seemed to be le a rn in g . The teachers said th a t things were a l l r i g h t , and she enjoyed i t . enjoyed i t more than she would a re g u la r c la s s . Vou abandon your apprehensions or you put them aside i f you have enough f a it h in the k id . I f e l t she Ms: She w i l l e v e n tu a lly catch up i f she is behind. Another th in g , s h e 'll be ahead probably, science, she can t a lk . Our one d au gh ter's a t MSU m ajoring in b io ­ chem istry. When she and Barbara t a lk about b iology or something, she understands th in g s. What impresses me is her understanding. She h a s n 't n e c es sarily accumulated a l l the fa c ts a lo t o f kids would have accumulated, but she's accumulated an understanding. 'cause I th in k even when we ta lk about Mr: And I guess I would agree w ith t h a t. Ms: T h a t's not a fa ls e kind o f le a rn in g . What she learns she learns because she wanted to le a r n , and she t r i e s to see the re la tio n s h ip s . This to me is im pressive. This is something th a t she wouldn’ t have gotten in a re g u la r school s e ttin g . 133 The. In te r e s tin g th in g t h a t uxu> bn.ou.gkt ou£ many times wcu t h a t th is type environment i s n ' t &or everyone even w ith in th e same fa m ily . I also ^ound i t in te r e s tin g t h a t they ie e t Barbara has developed an understanding she was doing things she wanted to do. As th e in te rv ie w went on, 1 i e l t t h a t Ur. and Us. S inger could see more ojj th e growth th a t Barbara experienced in S.W.S. concepts ra th e r than ju s t accumulating ia c ts because In te rv ie w 26— Gus Lo Gus i s a fo u r t e e n - y e a r -o ld who i s in School W ith in a School a t Kinawa M id dle School in Okemos, M ich igan . He e n te re d the environm ent in the s ix th grade b u t went in to the r e g u la r school a f t e r a s h o rt tim e. the e ig h th grade he e n te re d ag a in and spent th e f u l l y e a r i n the environm ent. Gus seemed a t ease t a lk in g w ith a d u lts and has a g re a t d e a l o f co n fid en ce in h im s e lf. In How long have you been in SWS? I went in th ere in s ix th grade fo r about th ree months, and then W e ll, I got out in to the re g u la r school and now I'm in again th is year in the eig h th grade. How d id you make the d e c is io n to g e t o u t. You s a id you go t s ta r te d in the s ix th grade? I f e l t I w asn't meeting up to my expectations o f how hard I should W e ll, be w orking, so I decided to drop SWS and go in to a more s tru c tu red type o f school. And how d id you make the d e c is io n to come back in ? i t was kinda made fo r me. I had SWS down as my second choice fo r W e ll, th is year and I had S ix th , Seventh, and Eighth Grade Block fo r my f i r s t choice, but th ere w asn't going to be any th is y e a r. I t was dropped from the a lt e r n a t iv e s , so I had SWS as my second choice. Hoh) do you f e e l about school th is year? I lik e i t , i t ' s g re a t. I'm glad I got switched in to t h is . So you h a v e n 't always f e l t about school as you do th is year? No. This year I th in k about the same as hardness. I was used to working a l l the tim e. But now I fe e l I d o n 't know, I'm working. I was in s ix th grade, not on the same le v e l, the same In the s ix th grade I was ju s t out o f elem entary school, and I guess I'm working I'm g e ttin g more 134 I'm working more up to my e x p ec ta tio n s than I than I should. W e ll. was because I can do a l l s o rts o f th in g s . I'm going to th e high school fo r one hour a day and you know, I j u s t have p le n ty o f tim e to work and p le n ty o f time to g o o f-o ff. What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o f the SWS program, th e most im p o rta n t th in g th a t th ey want to have happen? S e lf-m o tiv a tio n and s e l f - d i r e c t i o n , t h a t 's what I see. Doing things y o u rs e lf w ith o u t having to be pushed in to i t or to ld to do i t or asked to do i t . Do you see t h a t as d i f f e r e n t than the o th e r programs? Yeah. D e f in it e ly , d e f i n i t e l y , because in the o th er programs the teach er t e l l s you what to do and how to do i t and when you can do i t . T h a t’ s a t le a s t in the s tru c tu re d p a rt th a t a re s e lf-c o n ta in e d . i t ' s d if f e r e n t . You have a choice o f when you can do i t and things l i k e t h a t. You s t i l l have assignments in the B lock. SWS, but you can choose when you want to do i t . You ju s t g o tta get i t done. How do you make th e d e c is io n s t h a t you make in s c h o o l, and when do you make those d e c is io n s ? I t ' s not n e a rly l ik e In the Blocks I guess SWS is a l l one big decision-m aking tim e . Y o u're making W e ll, 'em a l l the tim e whether you w ork, whether you watch TV, whether you I t a l l happens v e ry , very t a lk to your fr ie n d s , whether you s le e p . q u ic k ly f o r me in SWS, l i k e th e te rra riu m th in g , you know. Somehow, I got on the idea o f g e ttin g a big te r r a r iu m , and I asked Mr. Robothum on th a t same day th a t I thought o f i t and he s a id , "Yeah, we've had th a t happen b e fo re ," and the next day, we were b u ild in g i t . So, i t happens lik e th a t a l l the tim e . d if f e r e n t decisions to make. I mean, ju s t a l l th e tim e th e re are So you say you d o n 't r e a l l y p la n ou t what i t i s y o u 'r e g o in g to do? No, we used to in th e beginning o f the y e a r have a planning s h e e t, and we planned what we would do f o r the r e s t o f the week, but I never d id them. do them. I d id n 't see any purpose to i t , so I d id n 't I mean, you know, What do you l i k e b est about SWS? I guess, i t ' s th a t you can do w hatever you want. You a r e n 't W e ll, to ld to do a n y th in g , but you can s t i l l g et your work done. Whatever you want to do you can do i t in SWS, u n lik e the re s t o f the school. I f I wanted to go down to th e shop and work on something, I ju s t sign 135 I can 9 0 to the IHC whenever I want. out. I'm not supposed to , but I can go to lunch whenever I want. go down and cook i f I want. I ju s t fe e l good about not being to ld to do an yth in g , and s t i l l doing i t . 1 can go down t o , w e ll. I can I d o n 't know, I guess I never do th a t. Bo you g e t any re a c tio n s from s tu d en ts not in SWS? I probably c a n 't I can understand i t because I 'v e been in i t b e fo re , Yeah. A l o t . W e ll, you know, when they look in th e re they don’ t know what SWS is about, and they ju s t c a n 't understand i t . understand. W e ll, and I can understand the Block because I'm w ith them a l o t , but they c a n 't understand SWS. They look in the door and they see a bunch o f screaming w ild -p e o p le jumping around, which is the way SWS is some o f the tim e, and so they g et an impression and make a judgment on what they've seen happening th e re . The Michigan S ta te te s t [a research study--MSU] th a t they took in 1970 said th a t they thought th a t the SWS kids worked academ ically 20 percent o f th e tim e , and did o th er lik e s o c ia liz in g , 80 percent of the tim e , but th ere w asn't things, any decrease in academic achievement te s t scores. I probably work maybe even less than 20 percent o f the tim e , I'm g e ttin g a b i t done. The kids d o n 't lik e i t a t a l l , kids in the school. ra re ly do you see people from SWS ta lk in g w ith people in the block or s e lf-c o n ta in e d . Block are c lo s e r, but th e y 're p re tty much separated, and SWS is looked upon as a place to g o o f-o ff where nobody does any work. People say they w ou ld n 't want to be in th e re because they w ou ld n 't get anything done, and t h a t 's ju s t not tru e . I lik e d G ut1 comment about S.M .S. being one. b ig d e c itio n -m a k in g tone.. He 6eem6 to undent tand w kat i t meant to be n e tp o n tib le ok h i t own d e c it io n t. I mean, the I mean, SWS is ju s t separated from them. Very I t ' s alw ays, you know, the s e lf-c o n ta in e d and the I d o n 't know, but I know In terview 27— Ms. Lo Ms. Lo is th e mother o f Gus who i s in the School W ith in a School a t Kinawa M id d le School in OkemoSj, M ichigan. How do you f e e l about Gus’ e xp erien ce in school t h is year? I hate to be so blas£ about i t . I don’ t know. s a tis fie d . He s ta rte d out in SWS in s ix th grade, and then he decided in the middle o f he d id n 't l ik e i t . He wanted o u t, the y e a r. He went in to the re g u la r school. At the end o f th a t ye ar he decided he wanted back in SWS. eighth grades I th in k he's been seventh and I'm ju s t is concerned in SWS. As f a r as th is year I'm ju s t p e rfe c tly I b e lie v e i t was 136 100 percent s a t is f ie d . Steve was in i t f o r a w h ile . His eig hth grade was the f i r s t year i t s ta r te d , and I r e a l l y had my doubts. back and f o r t h , back and f o r t h , and f i n a l l y B G, t h a t's Gus, decided to go, and I s t i l l w asn't sure. Then I thought, "This is r e a lly n ic e ." I'm com fortable w ith i t and secure in my mind and not so wishy-washy about i t . Then he decided he wanted o u t. Anyway he's back in and I'm very glad about i t . I do b e lie v e th a t Kinawa, e s p e c ia lly , has something fo r every kind o f student. This has been good f o r him. I t was How has Gus f e l t about h is experience i n SWS? 'in g ro u p .’ I think th a t he has lik e d i t . He has ta lk e d about some o f the kids as being not c o o l. The cool ones are supposedly the I c a n 't th in k o f the word he used to n ig h t a t the d in ner ta b le to describe 'h ip p y is h ,' some o f them th a t he fe e ls n e g a tiv e ly about. Perhaps i t was sloppy in t h e i r actions and t h e ir a t t itu d e s . When I ta lk about him w ith my fa m ily , we laugh and we say to him he fe e ls man o f the fa m ily because he's real s e lf-d is c ip lin e d and thinks ahead and saves his money. He's the only one in the fa m ily who has money and loans i t out to his o ld er brother w ith in t e r e s t , and things lik e th a t. He’ s always th in k in g ahead. I probably got o f f the su b je ct a l i t t l e b i t . How l a t e l y , w e ll, probably always he has been an o rg an iza tio n man and im p a tie n t. When he's in t e r ­ I'm su re, h e's had the ested in something, he zeroes in on i t and, fe e lin g s to go ahead and do something w ith i t . He did some th in g s , I guess, w ith the school dance on Fridays and th a t s o rt o f th in g . He doesn't have any complaints about what he does in school. gotten a l i t t l e b i t lazy in his math. He th in ks i t ' s his strongest p o in t, which he wants i t to be. said th a t his stronger subject was E n g lis h , s o rt o f th in g . But of course i t ' s a s e lf-d ir e c te d kind o f th in g . Did you p la y any r o le a t a l l in his placem ent in th e classroom, in the SWS program? I know th a t he to ld me th a t Dr. Blom l i t e r a t u r e , re a d in g , th a t I th in k he's No, not o th e r than to o .k . When you th in k o f the program, what do you th in k o f as the p rim ary purpose? i t . I see i t as A. S. N e i l l , Sunmerhill type o f program. W e ll, very re lie v e d when ch ild ren or m is fits who c o u ld n 't get along w ith the re s t o f the group, and they s a id , "ab so lu tely n o t." They would have no more psychological problems here than any o th e r program. f i r s t year when Steve w ent, the o ld er one. I asked them i f th is was a school fo r problem That was confirmed w ith me the I was What do you see as the most im portant th in g the teachers want to hane happen in th e re ? 137 A ll I can th in k o f is th e y 're fre e to choose but they have to make progress. T h ey're not allow ed to ju s t s i t and s lid e . They can s lid e fo r a c e rta in period o f tim e , but then you have to g e t going. You decide somehow to do i t . What do you th in k i s the most s i g n i f i c a n t a re a o f growth f o r Gus t h is year? W e ll, I th in k he has p h y s ic a lly grown and p e rs o n a lity -w is e , has matured. He's becoming a l i t t l e b i t obnoxious. He's ad o lescen t, but he's our t h ir d one, and I th in k w e 're a l i t t l e more to le r a n t o f i t I c a n 't put my fin g e r on i t , but I ju s t know than w ith the f i r s t two. th a t he is very am bitious and i f an y th in g , I t r y to calm him down. He gets headaches because he gets too many things on h is mind and was ask­ ing i f he could take Anacin to school. I s a id , "No way. What are you ta lk in g about. has headaches because he has ju s t too many things on his mind. We d o n 't have hypertension in our fa m ily , but I th in k he's a prime candidate f o r t h a t , so I to ld him th a t he should t r y and s t a r t e a rly to calm down. I d o n 't want you to g e t in to th a t h a b it." He said he I th in k he Do you see any d if f e r e n c e in the purpose in the SWS program than in the r e g u la r school? I went to v i s i t SWS a I f e l t th a t the students in SWS were very much more 1 th in k th e re 's beginning to be a blending. couple o f years ago when I was s t i l l wishy-washy, and th a t was when i t came through. mature than the o ther stu d en ts, although I d id n 't go to the re g u la r classroom. were very m ature, very re la x e d , very much a t home. They w e re n 't trouble-m akers. They w e re n 't d e s tr u c tiv e , and y e t everyth ing was very fre e and casual where you might expect i t to be c h a o tic . That is when I f i n a l l y reached my conclusion th a t I was q u ite s a tis fie d w ith SWS. I t ju s t seems to me, fo r ju n io r high school k id s , they You were s a y in g > he has so many th in g s th a t he wants to do. In the re g u la r classroom, d id he f in d f r u s t r a t i o n in not being a b le to do some o f those kinds o f thin g s? in some of his re g u la r classrooms, he wanted I th in k he did because to take something and go ahead, and he w asn't allowed to . F i r s t , he had to take the basics and take a l l the te s ts to prove to the teacher th a t he knew i t . That ju s t made him mad and f r u s t r a te d , but I th in k he was ju s t too im p a tie n t, and I d id n 't fe e l th a t i t was holding him back, you know. What types of activities does he engage in after school and on weekends? 138 He has a paper route every day. A fte r the paper ro u te , he stays up there and ta lk s w ith a f r ie n d , J e f f P o tte r , from th e re g u la r school, and he knows a l l about guns and so they r e a lly hash things over. He comes home and eats an enormous snack, and then he u s u a lly reads. Now he's got in te re s te d in lis te n in g to the ra d io and to WVIC. But before th a t he ju s t re a d , and he loved to watch TV fo r a long tim e. I'v e been c u r t a ilin g th a t by t e l l in g him he could o n ly watch a h a lf - an-hour per day, p erio d . On weekends i t ' s Sunday morning and Saturday morning d e liv e rin g th e newspaper, and he has yard work th a t he t r ie s to get out o f. Do you see any d if f e r e n c e in the types o f a c t i v i t i e s t h a t he is engaged in th is y e a r as opposed to l a s t y ea r when he was in r e g u la r schooI? No, ju s t h is age and his in te r e s ts . His in te re s ts are so cial more now, and he goes to the dances whenever th ere is one. He lik e s g e ttin g together w ith boys and g i r l s . He had an in te re s t in guns. He has a gun c o lle c tio n . Up u n til about May, he was g e ttin g too in te re s te d in i t , and I d id n 't l ik e i t . was a p a re n t-te a c h e r conference. w e ll, and Dr. Blom s a id , "Yes," so th a t bothered me th a t he said i t . When he's in te re s te d in something he ju s t zeros in on i t 24 hours a day. And then a t about the same time he s ta rte d ta k in g gymnastics w ith Mr. B asinger, and he ju s t got in te re s te d in t h a t , and now he's in te re s te d in h is body and his muscles and so i t changes. I said something to the th re e teachers when th ere I said I wished he d id n 't l ik e guns so Did you see your r o le change a t a l l because o f th e th in g s th a t he does a t school o r does a t home because o f the program? No. Do you g e t any k in d o f r e a c tio n from p a re n ts th a t d o n 't have t h e i r students in the SWS program? Not any more. get any re a c tio n a t a l l . When Steve was in i t , know. eyes around. I th in k i t ' s ju s t something t h a t ’ s th ere and I d o n 't I t was, you 'No way is my c h ild going to be in t h a t , ' you know, r o ll t h e ir I d id . I t Is In te r e s tin g how the. model of a lte r n a tiv e s says the decZ6ion-ma.tu.ng procets t& up to th e fa m ily and t n th e Lo household t t t& up to th e In d iv id u a l. type o f environment wa6 mo6t com fortable fo r him. I t appears t h a t th e r e t p o s s ib ilit y was Gas ’ to know what Throughout the in te rv ie w , Ma. Lo 'a comments teemed 6 0 casual, but a t f a r a t meaning were so deep. She t r u l y d id fin d o u t about th is a lt e r n a tiv e when th e had her doubts. 139 In te rv ie w 28— Ron Robotham and John Waldo Ron and John along w ith Frank Blom a re th e teach ers in School W ith in a School a t Kinawa M id d le School. Ron and John became in v o lv e d w ith the program a f t e r the i n i t i a t i o n and d u rin g the im p lem en tatio n . They have both been a p a r t o f S.W.S. f o r f i v e y e a rs . take p a r t in the in te r v ie w , was the i n i t i a t o r o f School W ith in a School and has been a p a r t o f i t f o r fo u r y e a rs . He was on an e d u c a tio n a l leave in the program rs f o u r th y e a r. Frank, who was unable to L e t fs s t a r t w ith why th e program go t s ta r te d . Ron: That would go back to a c tu a lly the y e a r before i t got s ta rte d . I t was Frank's s ty le o f teaching and b a s ic a lly some o f the hassles he had had try in g to teach his way in re g u la r classrooms prompted him and Jim J a r r e t t to look a t some o th er set-up and, a c t u a lly , those two put i t to g eth er. At th a t time I was on academic leave and John Waldo was p rin c ip a l a t Cornell School. That next year John had alread y talked about wanting to get out o f the p rin c ip a l ship and wanted a classroom jo b , and I was coming back from le a v e . At th a t p o in t the p rin c ip a l asked us to get involved in i t . So fr a n k ly , as f a r as when I s ta rte d to get involved w ith i t , I d id n 't know anything about what i t was, p a r t ic u la r ly . thinking stage o f i t a t a l l . That would have to be predom inantly Blom and J a r r e t t . N e ith er was John in the th in k in g stage o f i t . I t ju s t sounded e x c itin g . So I was not in the Procedurewise i t went through p ro po sal, and p r in c ip a l, and the Board. We've got copies o f th a t whole procedure proposal as i t was presented. The proposal as presented was b a s ic a lly parent option and a lo t o f parent choice. Frank was fru s tra te d to o , w ith what he was try in g to do, how he wanted to teach in the re g u la r s ix th grade, which is what he was teaching then. There was a need fo r something else fo r some kid s. There were some people whose needs were not being met in the school. John: Remember, th is was r ig h t a t the h eigh t o f the p ro te s ts . You know Vietnam was r e a lly a t the nose. Kent S tate was in the nose. But there was a whole bunch o f p ro testin g processes being in v o lv ed . And I th in k they were p ickin g us up and working us over in t h e ir own p a r t ic ­ u la r way, and they had some p re tty decent ways o f making i t known and they d id . The school simply w asn't meeting those needs. They d id n 't have any program o th er than a t r a d it io n a l program, and th e re fo r e , th is kind o f behavior was ju s t blowing t h e ir minds. The people in the school d id n 't q u ite know how to deal w ith i t . Some kids were s it t in g down in fro n t o f the o ffic e s and sayin g, 'I'm not going to move. You know, you c a n 't make me.' I t was r e a lly a weird kind o f a p ro te s t. Ron: That would have been the year '69 and '7 0 . 140 D id you p la y any r o le in c r e a tio n o f SWS? I was involved in knowing th a t i t was happening. John: I was p rin c ip a l o f Cornell School. This is Frank Blom's and Jim J a r r e t t 's baby r e a lly . The superintendent and p rin c ip a l sold the program to parents as did Frank, Ron, and I . How a re the s tu d e n ts p laced in th e SWS program? Ron: Choice. John: Kids' choice and p aren ts' choice. And i t has to be both. We won't take them i f e ith e r one has re s is te d . Ron: That d o e sn 't mean th a t we d o n 't suggest i t as an environment fo r I t d o e sn 't mean th a t they come up w ith i t t o t a l l y on t h e ir some kids. own. But we can only suggest i t . c a n 't buy i t , you know, th ere is no way we would have them in here. So i t ’ s s t i l l by choice. I f the parents or kids themselves What is the p rim a ry purpose in th e SWS program? Ron: There are th ree goals: ev alu atio n . To e la b o ra te a l i t t l e b i t , s e lf-c o n tr o l becomes co n tro l o f your own le a rn in g , control o f y o u rs e lf in terms o f beh avio r, and control o f your environment as f a r as use o f time and m a te ria ls . Planning becomes primary in terms o f use o f tim e, but those are the ways we do i t . s e lf - c o n t r o l, s e lf-m o tiv a tio n , and s e l f - John: You see th is is a decision-m aking process. What we have con­ ceptualized th is as being is a way to teach c h ild re n to le a rn to make reasonable decisions about t h e ir own behavior, whether i t be in s e l f - e v a lu a tio n , s e lf - c o n t r o l, p la n n in g , or whatever. You always have choices. We sometimes l i m i t those choices, and sometimes we d o n 't. The f i r s t year we s ta rte d out w ith no lim it s . Ron: We also s ta rte d out w ith six tee n g o als, goals were a l i s t o f sixteen things which we fe e l are a l l Not th a t th e y 're any d if f e r e n t now, but th e y 're a l l three very quick ways th a t we say i t . I remember th a t. Our involved . involved in the Why did you make that change? Ron: For the sake o f b re v ity and c l a r i t y . John: We found out too th a t kids had no d e c is iv e choices to make. They c o u ld n 't make choices because there were so many choices to make. So we shortened the odds a l i t t l e b i t and helped them make choices before we began to lengthen i t o u t. We do the same thing every year here. 141 Ron: One o f the things th a t we can id e n t if y th a t is probably the biggest ev o lu tio n since th a t f i r s t year was the fa c t th a t we re a liz e d during th a t f i r s t year th a t th is whole planning process was r e a lly cen tral to everything th a t was going on. We re a liz e d two o r th ree things. Number one, we r e a liz e d th a t kids d id n 't a u to m a tic a lly have s k i l l s , and th a t th ere was something th a t we needed to do to help them with those s k i l l s . The second th in g is what John is r e fe r r in g t o , and th a t is th a t unless th ere is some g u id e lin e , the kids had ju s t b a s ic a lly u n lim ited choice about everyth ing and had no suggestion and, th e re fo re , r e a lly c o u ld n 't make choices w ith such a fa n ta s tic a rra y . We organized th at process a l i t t l e b i t and now we work w ith a very organized planning process w ith weekly m eetings, and good s e ttin g . The o th e r p a rt 1s th a t we do g ive in p u t. We do have seminars to g ive kids some things to choose, some easy things to get t h e ir hands on. This is r e a lly hard fo r a kid to look a t th is much tim e , so we found th a t we needed to g ive the kids some things to h andle, to hold on t o , p a r t ic u la r ly a t the beginning o f the ye ar. So now we s t i l l do th is where we go in to th is very organized planning process every week. We have a meeting. We p lan. Every week we operate what we c a ll seminars. Seminars co n sist o f a l l kinds o f things and a l l th re e o f us o ffe r them. These are s t i l l o p tio n a l. Kids can choose them o r not choose them, but s t i l l they are th e re , and they kind o f give the kids a handle. Then what we do is p u ll th a t away. We p u ll away in several ways. Number one, we p u ll away in the f a c t th a t instead o f w ritin g goals fo r every hour o f every day we s t a r t to w rite goals f o r every day. We p u ll back a l i t t l e fa r th e r and we s t a r t to w r ite goals fo r every week. And lik e in th a t seminar th in g , we b a s ic a lly p u ll th a t seminar thing r ig h t away. By the middle o f the ye ar we fin d th a t i f th ere are things th a t are going on th a t would be c a lle d sem inars, they are things th a t have come from the kids. This l i t t l e group s a id , 'Yeah, then we have th a t l i t t l e group going, and th is l i t t l e group wants to do math, and th is group wants to study c i v i l war. But they come from the k id s . They d o n 't come from us. That kind o f reverses i t s e l f . We fin d th a t to be a continual process. w ell-o rg a n ized now. That is probably the b ig gest thing we discovered th a t f i r s t y e a r. That f i r s t year was r e a lly something; we were a l l discovering the whole th in g . Like I said b e fo re , Frank knew a l i t t l e b it o f what he was r e a lly wanting to do. We r e a lly d id n 't know what I d o n 't th in k John d id . We d id n 't we were wanting to do. know r e a lly what i t meant. I th in k th a t we have i t r e a lly I want to do d is s e c tio n ,' and I d i d n 't , What do you see as your r o l e as a teach er o r f a c i l i t a t o r in the program? I t changes a l l y e a r long. John: fa c t. B a s ic a lly a re a c to r. Someone fo r the kids to rub ag ain st and fin d out how they fe e l about w hat's going on. The f i r s t year I tr ie d very consciously not to re a c t to these th in g s . I'm going to be a non­ re a c to r. I'm going to be a n o n in te rfe re n t. I t changes every day, as a m atter o f I'm going to be working 142 I found out th a t th ere were some things w ith no in te rfe re n c e model. T h a t's the way I'm going to be. going to l e t the kids grow. th a t I did re a c t to anyway, and then I found th a t th is was a p re tty p o s itiv e process. When I d id re a c t, the kids d id l is t e n . d id n 't re a c t to e v e ry th in g , they lis te n e d to things th a t were probably im portant. I t became much more a p p ro p ria te fo r me to be a c o n fid e n tly ' about personal goal s e ttin g , about personal study h a b its , about personal c le a n lin e s s , i f th a t was necessary, w hatever. I f you approach kids w ith th is kind o f a b a s is , 're a c to r in a c e rta in lim ite d c a p a c ity , about personal behavior, I th in k most o f them a c tu a lly seek you o u t. I f I I'm l ik e a l ib r a r y book which can I want to c o n tin u a lly check out why he is I w i l l confront him w ith th a t , and I i f only humorously. Ron: You th in k about t y p ic a lly the f a c i l i t a t o r ro le and you t a lk about being a resource, and you use the model be used as a resource o r i t can s i t on a s h e lf. We a r e , academ ically, no doubt, used as resources in th a t way. However, our r o le , in a more to ta l sense, has c e r t a in ly become more l ik e John has s a id , a very a c tiv e process o f r e f le c t in g , encountering, c l a r i f y i n g , checking o u t. Not only behavior, but goal s e ttin g , what th e y 're d oing, why th e y ’ re doing i t , o r why th e y 're not doing i t . That includes academic as w ell as nonacademic I f a I t ' s l ik e a f in e l i n e , but i t ' s s t i l l a l l t h e ir choice. things. kid chooses not to do any scien ce, and ju s t com pletely ignores sc ien ce , I w il l check th a t out w ith him. w ill probably c o n tin u a lly co n fro nt him w ith th a t, The reason fo r th a t i s , making a c e rta in d e c is io n . w ith a kid who comes in here and s ta r ts clim bing the w a lls . c o n tin u a lly check him out as f a r as his decision about behavior. I t ' s th a t kind o f a c tiv e encountering process. Sometimes you do the checking-out procedure before you have the tr u s t and probably your le v e l o f success is lower. There are times where you may have to do th a t checking out before you have the r e la tio n s h ip , t r u s t , as you ta lk about i t . But t h a t's no d if f e r e n t than any o th e r classroom. T h a t's the same teach er-stu dent re la tio n s h ip th a t e x is ts everywhere th a t makes. As John said a minute ago, whether a kid takes i t and deals w ith i t has to do w ith whether he has any re la tio n s h ip w ith you. He knows, tru s ts and b elieves th a t his decisions are v a lid d ecisio n s. There are times when we get p re tty heavy about t h a t , and I would be very s p e c ific about two things and th a t's reading and math. I f a kid is diagnosed, takes a reading t e s t , and diagnosed s e rio u s ly d e f ic ie n t in re a d in g , we w ill do more than ju s t question him. We w il l work th a t one very hard. The same way w ith math s k i l l s . I f he is super d e fic ie n t in math s k i l l s , th ree or fo u r grade le v e ls behind, then w e 'll take a l i t t l e stronger stance. I would do the same th in g by checking out I w il l What kinds o f th in g s would you do? Ron: The same kind o f th in g s , ju s t c o n fro n tin g , ju s t stron g er. We would even go so f a r as designing programs fo r them. 143 John: Or get them In to an alrea d y e x is tin g program. Ron: Reading is the best example. John: W ell* we have a remedial math program* too. Ron: Yes* both are good examples* because we can move them r ig h t in to the reading c e n te r. They s tr id e r ig h t in and i t ' s a l l se t up and boom* away they go. They have high success. U sually these kids are running from something th a t th e y ’ re r e a l l y a fr a id o f. So y o u 're ta lk in g about t r u s t , and th a t has to be b u i l t in , and th e re 's a r is k fa c to r * a ls o . I d o n 't know how r e a lly we do th a t . You do i t d if f e r e n t l y fo r each kid you have to deal w ith . Sometimes you have to use a strong arm method and ju s t b a s ic a lly take them by the arm and walk them over to the reading c e n te r. For another k id * i t ' s a very ra tio n a l session o f 'here are your d e fic ie n c ie s * what are you going to do about i t , ' kind of th in g . John: We have an exten sive te s tin g program. serio u sly d e f ic ie n t in some area we t r y to help them make choices. I f we fin d out a kid is Ron: We p o in t out those d e fic ie n c ie s . John: We say, “took* here they a r e , what are you going to do about them?” Ron: We might even go so f a r as to say, "Here's a l l the s t u f f you need." Math is a good example. The seventh grade s ta te assessment shows d e fic ie n c ie s in these areas. Now in th a t drawer are a l l the m a teria ls you need." That kid is s t i l l th ere fo r the d e c is io n , and he may decide th a t i t ' s not what he wants to do. We look fo r t h a t , and we work w ith t h a t. So you a re aweire o f what kinds o f th in g s th e y *re doing? John: One o f the big secrets th a t we have going here fo r us, i t ' s not a secret even though we kind of th in k o f i t th a t way, o f us are p re tty much a lik e . We’ re p re tty m ild people* and w e're p re tty easy going, and we a l l than t h a t , since w e 're enough d if f e r e n t we have o th e r things going. the youngster d o e sn 't fe e l com fortable w ith me, o r Ron, and d o e sn 't want to go to John, th e re 's Ron and Ron's ju s t r ig h t . And i f some youngster doesn't fe e l com fortable w ith Ron, th e re 's John. So among the th re e o f us we can get some p r e tty good re la tio n s h ip s . l ik e kids* which is p re tty im p ortan t. But more is th a t a l l th re e I f Ron: We have u s u a lly 95 percent success and the one w e're missing is a g i r l , o f course. I f we had a woman, we'd have i t made. 144 John: But even so, th is y e a r we've had a super good re la tio n s h ip w ith I f e l t i t was one o f our best years as f a r as re la tio n s h ip s everybody. go w ith k id s . There were some kids I never saw very o fte n . I saw them b r i e f l y , but the kids found somebody e ls e to deal w ith . But t h a t's one of the secrets o f processes because you can deal w ith those people and s t i l l g e t the processes working. This has to be one o f the strengths of team teaching. In loo kin g a t your own purposes, how do you see your purposes d i f f e r e n t from the r e g u la r s c h o o l's ? John: T h ey're n o t. They’ re ab s o lu te ly the same. So you d o n 't r e a l l y see t h is program doing any d i f f e r e n t from o th ers? John: Our purpose o f th is program is helping a c h ild grow through very d i f f i c u l t years and become a reasonable human being. T h a t’ s what th is school is a l l about. I was loo kin g a t the th re e purposes th a t you o u tlin e d . In th is classroom, i t ' s 100 percent s e l f - I th in k th a t as f a r as s e lf-d e c is io n -m a k in g , Ron: I th in k the method o f implementation o f those goals is d if f e r e n t . And 1 th in k th a t in some general sense w e're the same, but in the more s p e c ific senses, m atter o f percentages. decision-making and as i t goes on in o th e r classrooms th e percent goes down. Everything a kid does in th is classroom is done on his own d e c i­ sions. And i f th a t's a goal fo r you, a goal fo r a k id , th is is where he should be. In the sense o f doing something d i f f e r e n t , no, lik e John s a id , we a r e n 't try in g to do something d if f e r e n t . We're try in g sim ply, to l e t kids grow through these very d i f f i c u l t years and develop through these very d i f f i c u l t y e a rs , and there are a number o f kids who can best do th a t in a model in a r e f le c t iv e kind o f atmosphere. lik e t h is , which is com pletely s e lf-d e c is i on-making i t ' s a That i s n 't tru e a t a l l . I d id n 't get th a t because H r. Waldo d id n 't teach i t is a t e r r i b l y d i f f i c u l t model to operate in . People John: This model ought to understand t h is . Kids who come in to th is model have chosen to operate in the most d i f f i c u l t lea rn in g environment th e re is . Because when you assume r e s p o n s ib ility f o r your behavior you c a n 't blame anybody. to me. I d id n 't g et i t because I d id n 't take the time to learn i t . T h a t's what the r e a l i t y is . When you have to s ta r t taking th is re s p o n s ib ility y o u r s e lf, i t ' s a t e r r i b l y d i f f i c u l t thing fo r anybody, l e t alone a c h ild t h a t ’ s tw elve years old or th ir te e n or fo u rte en . We have some th a t are te n , and we had one th a t was nine th is ye ar. This kind o f processing o f info rm ation makes i t real easy to be a lo s e r in th is program. But i t makes the rewards I t ' s a double b a rre l o f being a winner ju s t th a t much more p o s itiv e . 145 'how do you fe e l I guess i f we I t ' s s o rt o f a thing and th ere is not r ig h t or wrong. about where you are and where you are going* every day. ask a question every day i t ' s , 'how do you fe e l today?' W e're asking more than ju s t p h y s ic a lly , and the kids catch on to th is soon and you s ta r t r e a lly g e ttin g p re tty honest answers about i t , not a l l the time but most o f the tim e. And the kid fe e ls com fortable saying, " I d o n 't fe e l good today. lousy about m y s e lf." than ten m in u te s --ju s t s it t in g down ta lk in g to them q u ie tly about t h e ir problems and lis te n in g to them. These kinds o f things a re options th a t we have here which do not e x is t in most classrooms. T h e y're re a l p o s i­ tiv e o ption s. Most o f the kids fe e l good about themselves. They fe e l good about themselves as people. They fe e l good about t h e ir le a rn in g . They fe e l good about t h e ir a b i l i t y to make d e c is io n s , and th is is what our goals are. I t may be nothing more I fe e l I ta lk e d to a mother the n ig h t before la s t whose daughter was in our f i r s t group. She graduated la s t F rid ay n ig h t. The mother to ld me her daughter s a id , "You know, Mom, I r e a l l y d id n 't le a rn a whole lo t o f things in SWS, but I learned a whole l o t about m y s e lf, and I learned how to fin d out in fo rm a tio n , and I learned how to le a r n ." You know I t took her fo u r years to fin d th a t's r e a lly what w e're a l l about. out. lo t longer than th a t. to me because I had had a p a r t ic u la r ly d i f f i c u l t day in SWS, and she s o rt o f returned my f a i t h in human n atu re. You ta lk e d about some changes t h a t you had made in s t r u c t u r in g , have you made any o th e r changes in SWS sin c e th e beginning? I th in k she d id r e a lly w ell because i t takes a l o t o f people a I was re a l th an kfu l fo r th is mother saying th a t John: Not r e a lly . We have fewer f i e l d t r ip s than we used to have. T h a t's more p o lic y than v o lu n te e r. We used to take our own personal cars and go w ith fo u r k id s , and we ju s t c a n 't do i t anymore. But o th e r than t h a t , th e re 's no way. We continue w ith the same checking proce­ dures th a t we've had since day one. Checking in and o u t, e v a lu a tio n has evolved a l i t t l e b i t , but o n ly in mechanics, not in s p e c ific s . What k in d o f a r e a c tio n do you g e t from stu d e n ts o u ts id e o f SWS? John: M ostly p o s itiv e , or none. classroom. I t ' s ju s t another p la c e , another Do you g e t any r e a c tio n from teac h e rs n o t in the SWS program? Ron: Mostly a l o t o f support. I t ' s w ell accepted as the way John and Ron and Frank te a c h , and they do good things fo r some kids. I t ' s m ostly accepted as an a lte r n a t iv e . I th in k what r e a lly happened th a t helped is th a t people looked John: a t Ron and John and Frank and know very w ell th a t w e're working here because we choose to work h ere , and we b e lie v e in th is kind o f a program 146 or we w o u ld n 't be working in i t . At f i r s t , i f they were h e s ita n t to say anything about i t o r h e s ita n t to a tta c k th e program, they had to a tta c k us p e rs o n a lly and th e y 'r e much too n ic e to do th a t. As time went on, they saw th a t the program was becoming a very wide p art o f an a lt e r n a t iv e le a rn in g s itu a tio n fo r some youngsters. Now we've never said to any p a re n t, o r any tea ch er, or any a d m in is tra to r, consciously or unconsciously, v e rb a lly or n o n v e rb a lly , th a t th is is the only way to le a rn . 1 th in k those who were th reaten ed , were threatened Ron: That was the th in g we had to g et over the f i r s t two years and th a t's a biggy. because they thought th a t th is was th e way th a t they were going to have to tea ch , next y e a r , th a t we were the p i l o t . F in a lly , when the idea o f a lte rn a tiv e s developed and they re a liz e d th a t they are an a lte r n a tiv e a ls o , as v a lid an a lt e r n a tiv e as I am, th a t d is s ip a te d . The c o n f lic t s th a t a ro s e, how were they d e a lt w ith ? Ron: In d iv id u a lly and p e rs o n a lly . John: Glen [th e p r in c ip a l] would say to t a lk to the people concerned, " I f you c a n 't get any s a tis fa c tio n from them, then come ta lk to me about i t . Maybe I ' l l do something, but t a lk to them f i r s t . " So we ta lk e d out our d iffe re n c e s , and th e re were d iffe re n c e s , as Ron pointed o u t. As soon as we were ab le to discuss our d iffe re n c e s , we began to accept each o th e r very co m fo rtab ly, and by th a t time o th er a lte r n a tiv e s began to develop in o ther p a rts o f the b u ild in g . I t ' s a growing process. Ron and John both not onty ta lk e d about th e growth {oh th e &tudent&, but afcio th e growth t h a t they have experienced a& in d iv id u a te and th e growth o{ th e program. The concept o{ d i{{ercn cee and how th ey despond to di{{eA.ence& it> pointed o u t throughout t h i i in te rv ie w . In te rv ie w 29— Glen Gerard Glen i s th e p r in c ip a l a t Kinawa M id d le School in Okemoe, M ichigan where School W ith in a School i s one o f s e v e ra l a lt e r n a t iv e s . Glen i s an open, easy-g oin g person who is easy to t a l k w ith and e x c ite d about what is happening a t the m id dle school in which he works. How was School W ith in a School c re a te d, o r why d id i t come about? W e ll, to speak kind o f second hand, as I w asn't around fo r the f i r s t p a rt o f i t , d is a rra y w ith a s iz e a b le number o f k id s . They were having sit-dow n s t r ik e s , underground newspapers, and s t u f f lik e t h a t , th a t was not I understand th a t th in gs in the middle school were in some 147 g ettin g d e a lt w ith in a very p o s itiv e way. What happened was th a t when th a t kind o f s t u f f was taking p la c e , some o th e r people in the school were perceiving th a t the school was not meeting the needs o f kids. Enough c o n f lic t was created fo r powers th a t be, to consider the fa c t th a t we had to have something fo r those kids th a t would be more mean­ ing ful fo r them, A tea ch er, counselor, p rin c ip a l and a superintendent met and tr ie d to develop an o p tio n . That became School W ithin a School. So, what procedures d id they have to go through in o rd e r to g e t i t approved in the d i s t r i c t ? W ell, a t th a t tim e , they developed a p ro po sal, submitted i t to the Board, and the Board approved i t f o r a one-year p i l o t . They kept the Board informed, I'm sure. They involved the p aren ts, got parent sup­ port and commitment and got student support and commitment. They presented i t to the Board, in August, I came in J u ly . the Board. I presented i t to I b e lie v e . When you presen ted i t to the Board, d id you p la y any o th e r r o le in g e ttin g i t s ta rte d ? I th in k so, although I th in k i t would have gone whether I ' d been Yes, here or not, I th in k my ro le became, a t th a t p o in t, one o f using my experiences. P art o f the reason I was h ired was th a t I had had expe­ rience w ith g ivin g feedback and h e lp fu l co n stru c tiv e conments wherever I could, people in the program, and g e ttin g i t la id out c le a r ly so th a t people knew what i t was. i t was supporting i t , and then p u ttin g i t to g eth er in a way th a t was meaningful to present i t to the Board. in terms o f s e ttin g up a program in v o lv in g people, re g is te rin g In essence, D id you f i n d th a t you needed e x tra reso u rces f o r the program? W ell, in terms o f a d d itio n a l resources, we needed people to give feedback and inform ation about what the program was, how i t could be improved, and how i t could be s e t up in the most meaningful way. I'm not sure what took place in the e a r ly p a rt but o th e r teachers on the s t a f f , parents o f the kids who would be in th a t program, and the curriculum) d ir e c to r a l l served e x te n s iv e ly in g iving the people who were planning the thing some feedback and inform ation on how i t was going, and what they saw, and how acceptable and p ra c tic a l i t would be. In loo kin g a t the res o u rc e s , maybe m a t e r ia ls , maybe human, what kinds o f resources do they have to have to keep the program going? I d o n 't th in k they are a whole l o t d if f e r e n t . They're used a l i t t l e b it d if f e r e n t ly , in th a t the resources th a t are used are determined by the k id s . The kids decide what resources they want and what they 148 I would th in k i f you were to c h a rt i t o u t, th a t I th in k by and la r g e , the resources are about the same as are going to use. they would use resources outside the school a l i t t l e more o fte n . But, many o f the o ther programs in the school, but the kids are making the decisions about what those resources w ill be, who they w il l be, when t h e y 'll be used, and how t h e y 'll be used. What do you see as the purpose in th e SWS environment? I th in k the primary purpose is to give kids an o p p o rtu n ity to become s e lf-d ir e c te d , o r to g iv e those kids who are already s e lf-d ir e c te d a chance to be th a t way Instead o f being o th e r-d ire c te d . Do you see th a t purpose as being d i f f e r e n t than the o th e r a lt e r n a t iv e s ? I th in k every teacher in the school has th a t as a in some way, but the way they operate in SWS is Just Yes, in a way. purpose or a goal almost one o f 'h a n d s -o ff' fo r a s ig n if ic a n t period o f tim e. l e t the kids go and develop whatever f r u s tr a tio n has to develop before they can s o rt out fo r themselves [th e k id s ], what i t is they want to do and how they want to do i t . I d o n 't th in k you can teach s e lf -d ir e c t io n , but I th in k you can a llo w kids to le a rn to become s e lf-d ir e c te d . approached d if f e r e n t ly in SWS. as to what is im portant to have happen to kids. The w eight th a t 's placed on one or the o th e r o f the purposes may be g re a te r o r less depending on the le a rn in g environment. and the degree to which i t ' s accomplished may be g re a te r or le s s e r depending on the person who is doing i t . I th in k t h a t's a goal throughout the school. I t ' s I th in k w e're p re tty much in agreement I t s way o f approach may d i f f e r How i s the SWS environm ent accepted by th e o th e r s t a f f members? No problem. The f i r s t ye ar was a problem. But, and respected p a rt o f the school now, by a l l the s t a f f . i t ' s an accepted How about the students? Same way, no problem. You t a lk to th e kids about i t and t h e y 'l l say, "Yea, i t ' s another program a t the m iddle school, another o p tio n ." T h e r e 'll be a kid o r two who w il l have a d iffe r e n t view , and y o u 'll have a s t a f f member who w ill have a d if f e r e n t view , too. By and la r g e , i t ' s hig hly accepted by students, s t a f f , and parents. The f i r s t year and p a rt o f the second y e a r, th is wasn’ t always tru e . That sounds lik e th e re have been some c o n f lic t s th a t have a r is e n . W e ll, the f i r s t y e a r, yes. What kinds o f c o n f lic t s have a ris e n ? 149 I th in k people perceived th a t th e re was going to be a zoo th e re . Host people operated from a lack o f Info rm ation and as we got more and more inform ation out* more and more people became aware o f the program and knowledgeable about 1 t and then 1 t a l l d is s ip a te d . We put things in w ritin g to p a re n ts , sent i t out to a l l our p are n ts , not ju s t the parents in the program about what th a t program was, as w e ll as others in the school. We met w ith parents here in the school in lo ts o f d if f e r e n t ways, and I th in k the biggest source o f info rm ation e v e n tu a lly becomes the kids. They go out w ith lo ts o f in fo rm a tio n . Are there any o th e r s ig n ific a n t th in g s th a t have happened because o f the SWS program o r w ith in the SWS program? Without any re s e rv a tio n s , i t provides an a lte r n a tiv e f o r kids in th is school who want to le a rn in a d if f e r e n t way. That i s , in a way where they have primary r e s p o n s ib ility f o r determ ining what is lea rn ed , how i t ' s learn ed , where i t ' s le a rn e d , why i t ' s le a rn e d , how to implement i t , and the whole e v a lu a t e - it b i t . That is a very v ia b le option in th is school th a t meets the needs o f a s ig n ific a n t number o f k id s , teachers, parents and a d m in is tra to rs . Glen obviouAly haA a compteXe undeAA te n d in g the, K o tz o$ aJtte/inativeA ■in th e p u ttie . &ehoot. He aL&o vZeutA hiA fLote oa a pfUncXpat d i^ ^ e A e n tty ulith AtudentA, pasientA, and teacheAA th a n iA t y p t e a t t y th o u g h t. CHAPTER V DESCRIPTION. INTERVIEWS. AND REACTIONS OF "THE GUIDED OPEN CLASSROOM" AT DELTA CENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN GRAND LEDGE, MICHIGAN Environmental D escrip tio n There w i l l be approxim ately f o r t y - e ig h t c h ild re n in f i r s t and second grade under the d ire c tio n o f two te a c h e rs , Mrs. Ethlyn Hallwhich and Mrs. K arla S kinner. This stu d en t-cen tered approach w i l l mean th a t a l l areas o f in s tru c tio n w il l be in d iv id u a liz e d . We would l ik e to gear our student-centered approach to the fo llo w in g o b je c tiv e s : • To c re a te an atmosphere th a t w ill bring about c r e a tiv e and Independent th in k in g . • To develop the c h ild 's awareness o f h im s e lf. • To recognize and accept th a t each c h ild is a unique p e rs o n a lity w ith varying needs, In t e r e s t s , and a b i l i t i e s . • To provide th e o pp ortun ity f o r mastery o f the basic s k i l l s , such as re a d in g , w r itin g , and math. • To help develop 1n each c h ild so c ia l s k i l l s in d ealin g with peers and a d u lts . The room w i l l be organized in to lea rn in g ce n te rs ; th ere w ill be small groups fo r s k i l l s . These centers w i l l have m a te ria ls fo r language a r t s , mathematics, scien ce, Focus, a r t , so c ia l s tu d ie s , sewing, gardening, e tc . I n i t i a l l y th e re w il l be more teacher d ir e c tio n in use o f time w ith the In te n t th a t when ready each person w i l l become more responsible fo r h is /h e r tim e use. The teachers w i l l take a g re a te r p a rt in d ec i­ sions made in the areas o f re ad in g , math, and w r itin g and the students w i l l have more re s p o n s ib ility f o r decisions in o th e r areas. 1 5 0 151 Conferences w ill be based on need or request as w ell as the two scheduled conferences during the school y e a r. D iagnostic ev a lu a tio n o f basic s k i ll s w i l l be shared in w r itin g along w ith a w ritte n re p o rt on the stu d en t's growth re la te d to the o b je c tiv e s designed fo r th is program. In terview s w ith Teachers, A d m in is tra to rs , Students and Parents In te rv ie w 30— Shelby Root Shelby is a f i r s t g ra d e r in The Guided Open Classroom a t D e lta C en ter in Grand Ledge> M ic h ig a n. S h e's a q u ie t seven~year o ld who enjoys her experiences a t s c h o o l. How do you f e e l about school? I lik e i t . Do you always f e e l t h a t way about school? Yeah. You j u s t kinda l i k e to go to school and always did ? Un huh. Do you know how you go t in t o th e classroom th a t you a re in ? D id you decide y o u 'd l i k e to go in t o th a t classroom o r d id yo u r p are n ts decide th a t? I was a t another school. school. I d id n 't know th a t I was going to go to th is So you h a v e n 't been here a l l year? No When you decid ed to come to t h is s ch o o lx d id you see two d i f f e r e n t classrooms and d ecid e which one you wanted to be in ? 152 No. My teacher sended a note to us. lib r a r y . I t said across from the new So you j u s t g o t in t o t h a t room? Uh huh. I s th is classroom d i f f e r e n t from th e one you came from? Yeah, because the o ther one was one room. Were th e re any o th e r d iffe re n c e s ? W ell* they have more s t u f f to play w ith in s id e , and they had a l i t t l e room. Do you know what the most im p o rta n t th in g is t h a t 's happening in t h is classroom? W ell, I th in k , to me, i t ' s the teachers and th a t you g e t your work done. What kinds o f th in g s do you do in the school? W ell, we work, and we have toys in th ere to play w ith and s t u f f lik e th a t. When you come in t o school in the morning what is the f i r s t th in g th a t you do? Go up on the rug and the teachers t e l l us what we have to do. A fte r th a t we get o f f the rug and s t a r t doing our work. Do you a l l do i t a t the same time? No, we get our own s t u f f to do, l ik e i f nobody wanted to do math a t th a t time they could do reading or anything e ls e . So you decide when y o u 're going to do i t ? Uh huh. What happens i f you g e t e v e ry th in g done th a t the te ac h e rs ask you to do? Then you can ju s t p lay around. What do you mean by p la y around? Do a r t p ro je c ts and you can do e x tra math and th a t s t u f f . 153 So you can do j u s t a n y th in g you want to? Uh huh. What do you li k e to do the most i n th e room? Work. The work th a t the teach ers ask you to do o r th e work th a t you d ec id e to do? W ell* both o f them I guess. So you lik e to do re a d in g and matht i s th a t what work is ? Yeah. Have you ta lk e d w ith many stu d en ts t h a t a re no t in th e room? Not r e a lly . This i s Shelby*& &iAS£ gdadz expedience so does n o t deaJtty have anything to compasie i t w ith , but i t is obvious t h a t Sheiby is in a good place. In te rv ie w 31--M r. and Ms. Root Mr. and Ms. Root a re the p a re n ts o f Shelby who i s in The Guided Open Classroom. Mrs. Root spends one day a week in the classroom w orking w ith the studen ts and the teac h ers . F i r s t, I ' d lik e to d e a l w ith how you f e e l about you r c h ild 's ex p e rien ce in school t h is y e a r. I work in the classroom a couple o f afternoons a week, Ms: W e ll, w e're s a tis fie d w ith i t . She's happy and th a t makes us happy. She does th in g s . ju s t on a vo lun teer b a s is , so I probably see more o f how she is in classroom than most parents do, and t h a t's r e a lly where I base my o p in io n s, and how I see her re a c tin g . They ju s t go about t h e ir business so independently, and i t ju s t amazes me th a t a t s ix years old they are able to be p r e tty much on t h e ir own fo r an a fte rn o o n , and s t i l l accom­ p lis h something they se t out to do and fin is h i t . T h a t's what amazes me about the classroom; th a t a s ix ye ar old can gear themselves to complete something. They a r e n 't being pushed; they a r e n 't being pressured; b u t, th e re 's enough d ir e c tio n th ere so th a t they complete whatever i t is they se t out to do. T h a t's what r e a l l y amazes me. the 154 S he's only in th e f i r s t y e a r i n school? Ms: Right. Has she always been happy w ith school? Ms: She has, b u t, I th in k , she would be happy in a stru c tu red classroom. W e ll, T guess I c a n 't r e a lly compare because kin d erg arten i s n 't a l l th a t stru c tu red . She was happy la s t y e a r, but I r e a lly c a n 't compare the two. How d id you as p a re n ts go about p la c in g her in th e c la s s th a t s h e 's in now? Ms: That was a mistake because a t the end o f la s t y e a r our kids were tra n s fe rre d from another school in to th is school, and, a t the end o f la s t y e a r, I was to ld th a t Shelby was considered f o r an experimental classroom, and th a t the experiment was in the realm o f reading. She was reading in kin derg arten and th is classroom was supposedly fo r I t was somewhere advanced re a d e rs , which is not the case a t a l l . betwen here and th e re . There was a mix-up in communications, so when we determined I t was f o r advanced readers, we were r e a l l y in te re s te d in having her in the room. Now we know th a t reading a b i l i t y has nothing to do w ith i t , so i t was a flu k e . When she was placed in the room, and we came a t the beginning o f the school y e a r, we c o u ld n 't b e lie v e what th is c h ild had been put in to because we had no idea in to what classroom she had been placed. We thought, l ik e I s a id , th a t i t was a classroom fo r readers and the fa c t th a t she was put in to an open s itu a tio n advanced was com pletely new to us. We had no idea what i t was, and i n i t i a l l y , I was opposed to i t because I ju s t c o u ld n 't see any reason fo r how things were being done. Is th a t why you g o t in v o lv e d in working in the classroom? r e a l l y , I had worked in classrooms before Ms: Not to t h a t , but I was i n i t i a l l y opposed to working in the same room th a t my daughter was in . I d id n 't th in k i t was a good idea and then C arla and Lyn and Bruce [th e p r in c ip a l] said th a t i f i t d id n 't work, maybe I could change l a t e r . As i t has progressed and e v e ry th in g , I th in k i t was probably the best because I could see how i t worked and see th a t i t did work. I know th a t i t ' s not fo r every stu d en t, but I ' d lik e to see every student be able to be exposed to i t . I can be r e a lly e n th u s ia s tic about i t now. fo r two years p r io r I lik e i t . So o r i g i n a l l y when she was p lac e d in enviro n m en tal d e s c r ip tio n o f any kind? i t , you h a d n 't re a d an Ms: No. Mr: We d id n 't know o r we d id n 't have a ch o ice, but I have to agree now th a t she's been in i t . I th in k she works a t her own pace and 155 d if f e r e n t le v e ls o f e d u ca tio n . Of course sh e's advanced o r slow er than o th e rs , and she j u s t s o r t - o f works a t her own pace. out b e tte r f o r her as a r e s u lt o f i t . As you th in k abo ut th e t o t a l e x p e rie n c e, what do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f th e e d u c a tio n a l environm ent? N ot to say t h a t o th e r th in g s wouldn * t happen, b u t what i s th e one most im p o rta n t th in g you see as a p a r t o f t h a t environm ent? I th in k i t ' s worked I f t h e y 'r e m o tiv a te d , th ey can go ahead Ms: I th in k th e th in g t h a t I lik e d th e b est about i t is th a t the kids seem to pace them selves. T h e y 're given assignm ents, and they have to do so much, but th e r e 's always the o p tio n th a t they can do more i f t h a t 's what they want to do. and they can do more. There is so much to do in th e classroom . At the beginning o f the y e a r , I n oticed when th ey would be given t h e i r assignments, and each o f the kids was working a t something d if f e r e n t because i t ' s based on a b i l i t y , and then th e y 'd fin is h i t , and, zap, th e y 'd be o f f to p la y . W e ll, now as the y e a r has progressed, I can see these same k id s , a f t e r th e y ’ ve done t h e i r work assignments f o r th e day, these same kids a re going over to th e l ib r a r y and p ic k in g up a book and reading a book o r th e y 'r e going o ver to the math ta b le and doing more math o r something l i k e t h a t . tio n is th e re . They seem to be m o tivated to do th is s o rt o f th in g . I t ' s a form o f d ir e c tio n a l l y e a r long. do i t , e s p e c ia lly a t t h is age le v e l. most about th e room is th a t the kids can p ic k and choose what they want to do, but a l l y e a r long th e y 'v e been guided and now th e y 'r e to the p o in t where th e y 'r e more s e l f m o tiv a te d . T h a t's what I l i k e . The types o f d e c is io n s th e y a r e m aking, i s t h a t what you lik e ? I th in k i t takes a y e a r to I th in k the th in g th a t I l i k e I j u s t th in k th a t th e m o tiva­ I mean th e kids a re not to ld 'Now today you have to do th is and you have to Ms: Yes. But i t ' s such a s u b tle th in g . a f t e r they g et through, do t h a t . ' T h e y 're to ld th a t I n i t i a l l y because th e re are c e r ta in th in g s th a t have to be done in a day. A fte r t h a t , some go over to th e dress-up c e n te r and p la y house a l l a fte rn o o n , i f th e y 'v e got t h e i r i n i t i a l th in g s done, and some go on in t h e i r academic th in g s and go ahead in t h e ir math I t ' s because t h is is where or t h e i r reading o r t h a t s o rt o f th in g . they I want to spend t h e i r tim e , and d o n 't th in k th e r e 's any p lace e ls e to put th e c r e d it o th e r than w ith Lyn and K a rla . T h e y 're th e ones who c re a te d the atmosphere in th e r e , and the kid s ju s t r e a l l y seem to jump in to i t . I t ’ s ju s t th a t th e y 'v e never been to ld to do t h i s , but i t ' s know. been a s u b tle guiding a l l y e a r lo n g , and now th is is where th e y 'r e ending up. i t ' s the environm ent o f th e c la s s . I d o n 't th in k th a t they Mr: They've accepted th e c h a lle n g e , and th e y 'r e going on w ith i t . Ms: Yeah, i t ' s a ch a lle n g e ra th e r than a p ressure. 156 Do you see th e purpose o f t h a t environm ent as d i f f e r e n t than the o th e r classes? Hot n e c e s s a rily in t h is school b u t when you th in k o f ed u catio n in the classroom , do you view th e purpose i n t h is environm ent as d i f f e r e n t than th e o th e r classrooms? Ms: I do. Mr: school I would say so, too. Of course, I r e la t e back to when I was in I guess. That was q u ite some tim e ago, but I would say, yes. What do you see as d if f e r e n t ? Mr: W e l l , m ainly th a t they can work a t t h e ir own le v e l and a t the beginning o f the class th ere is a c e rta in amount th a t th e y 're expected to do, and when th is is done, as Connie mentioned, they e it h e r go on in the areas th a t th e y 'r e advanced in o r the areas th a t in te r e s t them. The challenge is th e re . The slower ones can go back, and, I th in k e v e n tu a lly , they could catch up w ith them, too. fin d where t h e ir in te re s ts l i e more and where the challenge is and r e fin e i t and advance. I mean, they would I look a t i t , to o , as, Ms: 'h u rry and w a i t 1 s itu a tio n . i t ' s not a In a conventional classroom i f th e y 'r e given a work book and they get a l l the way through th a t work book, I ' v e seen i t happen where the kid has to w a it two weeks w h ile somebody e ls e catches up. That n ever, never happens h ere. T hey're never r e a lly done, but the kids d o n 't seem to have the a t t it u d e th a t th e re 's been so much p ile d on them th a t they w il l never get done. always a l i t t l e b i t more th a t you can do. But I d o n 't see any pressure. I d o n 't see th a t type o f a pressure s itu a tio n . L ike I s a id , look a t i t more as a challenge s itu a tio n ra th e r than a pressure s it u a tio n . The m a te ria ls and so on are a v a ila b le and the kids can come and go ju s t as they please. There are very few areas in th a t room th a t are o f f - l i m i t s . In f a c t , place t h a t 's o f f - l i m i t s , and I th in k the kids l ik e t h a t. I d o n 't th in k th ere are any. There are ru les but th e re 's no I t ju s t seems to be the a t t it u d e th a t th e re 's I What do you see as th e most s i g n if i c a n t a re a o f grow th f o r Shelby t h is year? Ms: W e l l , the most s ig n if ic a n t area o f growth, h a b its , because I d o n 't th in k she had any b efo re. can re ce ive d ir e c tio n and then apply them independently. They seem to go about things w ith extreme Independence, and the s ix -y e a r olds can budget t h e ir tim e . T hey're given a r a f t o f things to do In the morning, and when th e y 'v e gotten through them, they have fr e e tim e and they d o n 't seem to have any problem g e ttin g things done. Now th ere are some who d o n 't g e t things done, but I th in k the percentage is very sm all. They a r e n 't to ld th a t they have to read a t 9:15 and do math a t another tim e. I would say is her work I can see where they 157 I f i t takes them an hour to g e t t h e ir math done, the time is a v a ila b le . I f they need h e lp , the help 1s a v a ila b le , and the kids ju s t seem to gear themselves to i t . They g et done w hat's expected o f them. develops good work h a b its , s e lf - d is c ip lin e . I t Is i t making d e c is io n s f o r y o u rs e lf? Ms: R ig h t. T h a t's probably the th in g I th in k i t r e a lly is . I th in k , to o , th a t they le a rn to work in an organized manner, Mr: somewhat. This is so even In the le a rn in g centers when th e y 're p la yin g . When they p lay a t home or p lay w ith o th e r k i d s , you know, they go on t h e i r own way. in some cases. I t ' s more o f an organized and a group e f f o r t Ms: They cooperate, they have to cooperate w ith each o th e r. Mr: Cooperation! I th in k th a t would e n te r in th e re somewhere. Ms: With Shelby e s p e c ia lly , she is not s e lf - d is c ip lin e d , and I th in k th a t th is room has made her be more d is c ip lin e d . She's always been r e l i a n t , s e l f - r e l i a n t . She's always been independent, but as f a r as d is c ip lin in g h e r s e lf , th a t ju s t went by the w ayside, and I r e a lly th in k the room has helped a l o t . Do you see th in g s t h a t a re happening in t h is environm ent as s p i l l i n g over and changing some beh aviors a t home? I th in k so. I th in k th a t i t does r e la t e . Ms: beauty o f i t a l l , r e a l l y . The education goes fu r th e r than the academic education. Do you see your r o le as a p a re n t as d i f f e r e n t , n o t n e c e s s a rily in sch o o l, but i f t h is i s a l i f e e x p e rie n c e, do you see your r o le as d i f f e r e n t because o f t h is environment? I t ’ s a l i v i n g , 1 ife -e x p e rie n c e more. I th in k th a t Is the Mr: I d o n 't th in k I see anything d if f e r e n t . I d o n 't see how a parent could not want to know how the room works I d o n 't th in k they can ju s t Ms: and th e re fo re get involved in the school. send the gal o f f in the morning and not th in k about what is going to 'come in , s i t down a t your desk, happen th a t day. and do your re a d in g , w r itin g , and a r ith m e t ic .' i t works. o f f to school and fo rg e t w hat's going on th e re . I ju s t d o n 't understand how anyone can ju s t send a c h ild I t ' s ju s t not the way In h ere , i t ' s not Do you as a p a re n t p a r t ic ip a t in g in th e schools see you r r o le d i f f e r e n t in t h is environm ent as compared to o th e r environm ents t h a t y o u 'v e tvorked in ? 158 I I know I l i k e to come in . l i k e to see w hat's going on. As f a r Ms: as what I do in the classroom, 1 t 4s d i f f e r e n t than I ' v e done b e fo re , but t h a t 's because the classroom is d i f f e r e n t . I know th a t the kids seem to re ac t to ad u lts d i f f e r e n t l y in th is classroom. They e i t h e r come up, and they say what they've got to say, and th e y 'v e g e n e ra lly got something to say to y a , o r , i f t h e y 'r e busy, they can completely ignore another a d u lt in the room. I th in k i t ' s j u s t because They s o rt o f take things in t h e i r s t r i d e . they've been exposed to more and some d i f f e r e n t things th a t go on in the classroom. The kids are aware o f i t , and they know p re c is e ly what is going on, but i t d o e s n 't seem to shake-em up. As f a r as my r o le in th e re , I guess I r e a l l y c o u ld n 't say. I t ' s not an o d d ity in the room. I don’ t know. What kinds of reaction do you get from parents whose kids are not in that environment? Do you get much reaction from parents? I do. I n i t i a l l y , I think most parents would not want t h e i r Ms: children in the room because the i n i t i a l reactio n th a t parents get is by walking by the doorway. Most people form t h e i r opinions o f the classroom by walking down the hallway and the f i r s t thing they hear is noise. The f a c t th a t th ere are 50 instead o f 25 kids in the room doesn't en te r in to i t . They hear some noise. They hear q u ite a b i t of noise, so they d o n 't l i k e t h a t , and they look in and they see kids laying on the f l o o r , o r wherever they want to be, and th is creates an adverse re a c tio n . They d o n 't l i k e t h a t . Then i f they should happen to get in to the room, and they d o n 't see any s t r a i g h t lin e s in th e re ; they d o n 't see desks and they d o n 't see chairs and th a t s o rt o f th in g , and I t h in k , i n i t i a l l y w ith people our age, they d o n 't l i k e t h a t too much. I t ' s a l l new i t looks n o isy , and i t looks u n d iscip lin ed and they d o n 't l i k e t h a t . and they c a n 't see. I t looks disorganized and Mr: I t is a change from what t h e y 'r e used to . I would hope th a t I th in k next y e a r w i l l be e a s ie r I think another problem, as f a r as th a t c la s s ­ Ms: And i n i t i a l l y they j u s t p la in d o n 't l i k e i t . th is year has been the most d i f f i c u l t ye ar f o r t h a t classroom because i t ' s been a get-acquainted year. and I th in k the t h ir d year i t w i l l be accepted. be accepted next y e a r. room is concerned, is t h a t they d o n 't have the s t a f f behind them. think th at having the kids th a t go out o f i t , go in t o a structured room, more conventional rooms, is going to prove th a t i t works. I think up with a l o t o f people to be r e a l l y convinced th a t maybe th is is the way f o r some of the kids to go is the s t a f f , and I d o n 't th in k we've got i t y e t . wouldn't expect t h a t they would th in k th a t th is is the way f o r a l l kids to go. The f a c t th a t there is j u s t a f i r s t and second grade room involved in i t now, i t ' s going to take time because I th in k you j u s t i n i t i a l l y come I th in k , r a th e r proves th a t they j u s t a r e n 't real adverse reac tio n s to i t . I d o n 't th in k i t ’ l l I th in k the f i r s t I I 159 behind i t because, a v a ila b le f o r a l l grades, and I d o n 't see th a t as happening. I f they were, there would be th is opportunity I can see where i t would be e a s ie r to s t a r t th is type Mr: W e ll, of a classroom when the kids are younger. When they haven't been in a re g u la r conventional classroom. I can see where i t would be a problem w ith fo u rth and f i f t h and s ix th graders, where i t might get out o f hand. Ms: When these kids now, th a t are going out o f second grade in to a t h ir d grade room, have no choice, t h e y 'r e going to be put in to a conventional classroom because th ere is no option a v a ila b le to them. You know just as this is not for every child, i t ’s not for every teacher either. Ms: T h a t's r i g h t . Maybe that type of a teacher just h a s n ’t emerged from the staff. Mr: W e ll, run t h e i r classroom the same way anyway. opinion. I d o n 't th in k you w i l l fin d any two teachers th a t w i l l I t ' s t h e i r own personal Ms: You know t h a t 's tr u e and t h a t 's the way i t should be because I th in k they should bring themselves and t h e i r p e r s o n a litie s in to the classroom, b u t, by the same token, I th in k th a t maybe we should have some teachers who are a l i t t l e b i t more open to change. T h a t's opinion. e n t ly . I t was in te r e s tin g t h a t th e y see th is as a Th/tough Shelby’ s experience, XX seems t h a t Mr. and Ma. Roo-t a re to a king a t schools " liv in g , Zifie-exp erience" and what happens a t school does not end on begin th e re . They also understand th a t d i^ e r e n t students want and need d i^ e r e n t th in g a and should have the o p p o rtu n ity to exp lo re these areas. know what they want farom th e schools and see some changes t h a t they want to ta k e place. I g o t th e Reeling a t th e end o£ th e in te rv ie w , t h a t they now In te rv ie w 32--Jason Cornell Jason is a first grade student in The Guided O^jen Classroom at Delta Center Elementary School in Grand Ledge, Michigan. He is a quiet child who seems to be enjoying his school experience. How do you feel about school? 160 Well, i t ' s o .k . sometimes. I t ' s boring sometimes. Have you always felt that way? Did you feel that way last year too? Not th a t much. Do you see it as different from last year? Un hn [y e s ]. You d o n 't have to stay there so lon g, and you do harder work, things l i k e t h a t . Do you know how you were placed in this classroom? Did you or your parents make the decision to be in this classroom, or did the teachers make that decision? I think my parents d id . Is your classroom different than other classrooms in the school? Un huh. I t has two grades. Is it different in any other way? (Jason shook his head no.) What kinds of things do you do in school? Work, the same kind every day. If we started at the beginning of the day could you tell me the kinds of things you do? We go up on the rug, and she t e l l s us what we're supposed to do f o r work, and she t e l l s us i f w e 'll have a f i e l d t r i p sometimes and a l l th a t. Then we go do our work. How do you go about it? Does everyone do it at the same time? Not the same thing every time. How do you decide what to do first? I t ' s ea s ie s t to do, because sometimes you have to w rite a You can do anything you want. F i r s t , d o n 't. h a lf page w ith these l i t t l e l in e s . You have to w r it e about th a t much (showing w ith his hands). Sometimes we copy i t , and sometimes we go places, and we w rite a story about what you l i k e the b est, and why you lik e i t and things l i k e th a t. I always do math. Some people 161 What do you do after you finish the things the teachers ask you to do? Our work? Is that what work is? Un huh. W e ll, i f you want t o , you can do a r t , can j u s t play or whatever you want to do i f they have i t , or you What kinds of things are play? I l i k e to draw p ic tu res and make things. When you think of all the things to do, what do you like to do the best? Take a piece o f paper and c o lo r i t and draw something w ith chalk. Have you been in the alternative all year long? Uh huh. Do you ever talk with boys and girls who are not in your classroom? Uh huh. Did they ever ask you questions about your classrroom? W ell, i t depends on who they a re . How do some of them feel? I d o n 't know, I t wat cleaA th a t he enjoyed having contAot o& h it tim e but attumet t h i t happent in a l t cZatSAoomt. Jcuon had nothing w ith which to compaAc t h i t clatAAoom and te e t t h i t expeAience a t tc h o o t. a gfutsut d ea l Although Jaton teemt to th in k everything he. doet a t tc h o o l i t im p ortan t, he made a d is tin c tio n between woAk (Aeading, w a itin g , and math) and p lay (aA t, dAcuwing, e t c . ) . Ja&on would AatheA be i n h it clattAoom w ith h it fiAiendt and fiamUZaA tuAAoundingt and d id not 4eet comfioAtable being taken out to tpend time w ith a peAton he knew only bAie&ly. 11 wat veAy cleaA throughout th e inteAvieJW t h a t 162 Interview 33— Hr. and Hs. Cornell Mr. and Ms. Cornell are the parents of Jason who has been in The Guided Open Classroom for one year. How do you feel about J a s o n ’s experiences in school this year? Ms: He's never r e a l l y been one th a t came home and jumped up and down and sa id , "Oh, we had such a g reat day, and we did t h is and t h is and t h is ," but I can see i t in his p e rs o n a lity and his a t t i t u d e toward things. He has become very independent th is y e a r, not th a t he w asn't la s t y e a r , but he sta rte d out the year in the new room crying j u s t about every day. But I th in k i t ' s j u s t been g re a t. developed. He's a real good reader and I c a n 't b e lie v e how well he reads. and they are a l l understanding i t , and I th in k i t ' s been g re a t. I t seems to me th a t the things they are doing are so d i f f i c u l t , I th in k he's Does he seem to enjoy school? Ms: Yes. Has he always felt this way in school? Ms: W e ll, he's a f i r s t grader. when i t ' s nice weather, but he's never said th a t he d i d n ' t want to go except a t the beginning o f the year. I talk ed to Karla about i t , and she suggested th a t I not baby him. She to ld me th a t the days he was to ld , "Come on, l e t ' s go, y o u 'l l he would cry a l l the more. and s t a r t r i g h t in. I f he were ignored, he would get over i t learn to l i k e i t , " would be the days I th in k he'd ra th e r stay home and p la y Mr: He seems to be real emotional anyway. His fe e lin g s get hurt e a s ily . [To husband] He's changed a l o t th is y e a r , d o n 't you think? He's Ms: much more aggressive. He's always been a gregarious kind o f kid . H e 'l l play with anybody. He d o esn 't care i f they are th re e o r twelve. H e 'l l get up a game and play. Mr: I t seems as though his complaint i s , when he does have a com plaint, that the work i s n ' t hard enough. He wants to have something hard to do a l l the tim e. What part did you, as parents3 have in his placement in the classroom? Ms: We received a d itto e d sheet e x p la in in g what i t was they wanted to do i f they could get enough kids and parents th a t wanted to p a r t i c ip a t e . Then they would go ahead and t r y i t . They indicated they would have a 163 in te re s te d parents. This was the year th a t Jason was meeting f o r a l l in kindergarten and h is teacher was to make evaluations o f each c h i ld . When we talked to her a t the la s t conference, she to ld us th a t she thought Jason would fu n ctio n very w ell students she did not recomnend. We thought th a t i f she thought t h is was good, th a t we should go to the meeting and see. As i t has turned out, I'm r e a l l y glad we d id . He wants to be in i t next year and he w i l l . in a classroom l i k e th a t . Some What do you see as the primary purpose or the most important thing that the teachers want to have happen for the kids? Ms: I th in k to give the kids independence. To know th a t there are things to be done, but th a t they can decide when they want to do them. They know they have to g et them done. Jason had developed more o f an ' I know I have to do t h i s ’ a t t i t u d e . When I ' v e been in the room, I ' v e noticed t h a t , although i t ' s not as s tru c tu re d as a re g u la r classroom, they a l l seem to be p icking things up and p u ttin g them in t h e i r own l i t t l e cubbyholes. They are organized. He's more organized than he used to be. Part o f i t may be th a t he is g e ttin g o ld e r , but I th in k a lo t o f i t is the room. That sense o f knowing what they have to do instead o f th a t 'now y o u 're going to do t h i s , and you have to do t h i s . ' I think a l l the rooms are g e ttin g away from th at and I th in k i t ' s good. Do you see this then as different from the regular classroom? I d o n 't know about a l l the o ther rooms. Ms: are more structured than Jason's room. As to what e x te n t, I'm sure the other rooms I d o n 't know. What do you see as the most significant area of growth for Jason this year? Ms: W e ll, he sure can read. Mr: He runs headlong in to whatever he does, and I th in k we thought he probably would not do as well in school academically as Josh (Jason's older b ro th e r). Ms: Not because o f his i n t e ll i g e n c e , but his a t t i t u d e . Mr: I th in k th a t the thing th a t has amazed us is his reading. Although we've both gone to c o lle g e , we c o u ld n 't be ch aracterized as parents who t r y to get t h e i r kids reading when they are three years old and reading in the high c h a ir , as some parents do. We probably j u s t have an average amount o f reading m a te ria l around the house, although the boys have always had a l o t o f c h ild r e n 's books. a l o t f a s t e r than Josh d id , and he reads words th a t he's never seen before, three and fo ur s y lla b le words. He would say them aloud, and about the th ir d tim e, he would pronounce the word the way i t should be pronounced. Jason seemed to pick reading up 164 Ms: He has r e a l l y gotten to be a good reader. Mr: From his papers his comprehension a b i l i t y is good. Ms: So I guess we could say he has academically developed the most. Mr: The other p a rt o f i t , could be the maturation process. in terms o f his being more independent, Ms: The main o b jec tio n o f people about th is class was th a t they were worried th a t the kids w e re n 't going to learn anything. s t i l l hear some o f them a t the meeting saying, " I d o n 't want another kid teaching my kid how to re a d ." They mentioned th a t the second graders would be helping the f i r s t graders. come f a r t h e r along academically than Josh did in f i r s t grade. I f anything, Jason has I can What kinds of activities is he engaged in after school? Ms: He is very a t h l e t i c , f o o t b a l l , baseball and general running a l l over the place. Mr: He's sweaty and d i r t y most o f the time. So you don't see a lot of carry-over from the school to a lot of the activities that he does? Ms: He lik e s to read here, but I w ouldn't c a ll him a bookworm. He gets l i b r a r y books, and he enjoys reading a t home. He would ra th e r come home, get something to e a t , say, "H i," and leave. see him before supper as he is out playing b a ll somewhere. I ’m lucky i f I Do you see your role as a parent changing at all because of the environment? I fe e l a l o t more a t ease w ith the teachers. Ms: I'm not ta lk in g to a teacher. but when I have a conference about Jason, i t is g e ttin g to g e th e r, j u s t I t ' s not l i k e a confro ntatio n with a stran ger. ta lk in g and discussing. I ' v e talked to Karla q u ite I th in k w e're more involved w ith his room. a few times on the phone. I d o n 't know how to explain i t r e a l l y , I fe e l as though Do you get any kind of reactions from parents who do not have their children in this open classroom? Ms: The only reactio n I ' v e had is from a neighbor who has a boy in f i r s t grade. He i s n ' t in the room, and the only thing she ever says is " I d o n 't th in k Ricky (her boy) would ever do well that." The kindergarten teacher did not recommend th a t he go in to i t , but r e a l l y , we haven’ t talked to people about i t th a t much. in a room l i k e 165 Are there any other significant things that have happened this year about the classroom that impressed you or not impressed you because of the structure and what it does for Jason? I fe e l th a t i t has been so nice th a t those Ms: W e ll, mainly f o r me, teachers have done so much with them. They have exposed them to so much th a t they might not have been exposed to in a re g u la r room. They've done some things in the room over and above what you might think would happen, l i k e some o f the p ro je cts th e y 'v e done. At the open house in the f a l l , they had the science f a i r , and they had egg cartons set up w ith a l l d i f f e r e n t , l i t t l e specimens. They had to smell and i d e n t i f y b lin d fo ld e d , and they had to d e te c t what was in l i t t l e b o ttle s th a t r a t t l e d and t r y to f ig u r e th a t o ut. So much more o f t h e i r minds were exposed to d i f f e r e n t th in g s . They are very imaginative teachers. Uti. and Ma. Coxnett A c e m c d to be th e mo&t ex cite d about Ja&on'i growth in th e academic a/ieaA. The independence th a t he hot developed th is yeatt ha& helped him i n puAAuing 6ome aneaA oj{ inteA e& t& . In te rv ie w 34—Mickey Herbert Mickey is a cute little girl who enjoys talking with people about her classroom. Seeming to stay in the moment most of the timet 3he is very talkative and excited about everything that is happening around her. Mickey is a second grader in The Guided Open Classroom at Delta Center in Grand Ledge3 Michigan. How do you feel about school? W ell, some days I d o n 't l i k e i t , because I'm so t i r e d . We d o n 't have an alarm clo ck , and I have to wake up my Mom and Dad. But how do you feel about it most of the time? Happy. Have you always liked school? Yeah, 'cause of a l l the new frien d s I'm meeting. Do you see school as different this year? I'm in an open classroom, and I have so many frie n d s and we d o n 't Yes, have math books and, I d o n 't know, everyth ing . Do you know how you are placed in that classroom? 166 No. Did you have any decision in that? Did your parents ask what kind o f a classroom you would like to be in? No. Did your parents decide that you would go in that classroom? Yes. How did they make that decision? Was there a meeting that they went to? My mom to ld me I was going to be in an open classroom, and she d i d n 't ta lk with my teacher 'cause we got a note from her. How do you see the classroom as different from other classrooms in the sahooI? W ell, we d o n 't have any desks and l i k e in Ms. ______ 's room, they have dividers a l l the time. But in our room we can go to e i t h e r ends. What about the way you do things in the classroom„ is that different? W ell, sometimes f i r s t graders have to do d i f f e r e n t handwriting than we do and they are a t d i f f e r e n t le v e ls and d i f f e r e n t fo ld e rs and in d i f f e r ­ ent reading groups. We do everything d i f f e r e n t . We d o n 't do anything the same as other classrooms. What would you say is the most important thing that happens in your room? Um, having a play. If I asked your teachers what they would want to have happen for you this year in school3 what do you think they would say? W e ll, go in a higher reading group. When you come to school in the morning what do you do? Always go up on the rug. We have reading. We can read on our own on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Tuesdays and Thursdays we got show and t e l l and on Fridays we have records; so w e're p r e t t y busy. What do you do at the rug time? She t e l l s us our assignments and she c a l l s hot lunch and attendance and in the afternoon she reads books and sometimes some kids read books. 167 What do you do after* you leave the vug? We go to work. How do you decide what y o u ’ve going to do? She t e l l s you. Does evevybody do the same thing at the same time? Not a t the same time. Everybody can do what they want. I see. What if you finish all of those things. You have to fin d something else to do. We have a puppet cen ter and l i b r a r i e s , handw riting, social s tu d ie s , science, games, woodworking, puppet c e n te r, dress-up, everything! What do you like to do most? Wei 1, read. Have you been in the altevnative all yeav this yeav? Yes. Do you have any fviends at all that ave not in the voom? Yeah. Do they evev ask you questions or talk about the things you do in youv classroom and the things they do in theiv classroom? No. Micfee.y ieemed to undeA&tand the. dififieAence between th i& daiAAoom and the othea doAAaoomi in th e school, but had ai&o ex.penienc.ed a AeguZaA dta&AAoom i n th e &iA6t gaade. She i t to e x c ite d about Achoot th a t I couZd ie e i t in keA e y e i, th e wag ih e tm iie d , th e way th e ta tk e d , ju & t about everything about keA e x p re iie d how happy ik e iA to be aJtive. Interview 35--M r. and Ms. Herbert Mr. and Ms. Herbert are the parents of Mickey who is a second grader in The Guided Open Classroom. They seem very excited about M i ckey’s experience this year. 168 How do you f e e l about M ic k e y 's e x p erien ce t h is y e a r in school? Ms: We are both extremely happy with the whole y e a r. She's j u s t been a very happly l i t t l e g i r l . Has she always f e l t t h is way about school? % I'm sure th ere were days I d o n 't th in k she's ever d is lik e d i t . Mr: when she d id n 't want to go back, but I d o n 't th in k she's ever d is lik e d school in general. A l o t o f us d o n 't want to go to work tomorrow, and, I th in k the c h ild is ad ju s tin g to o , but as f a r as we're concerned, I think she's having a good time and learning very w e ll. We were ta lk in g about i t e a r l i e r . The reading is coming along; i t ' s f a n t a s t i c . She reads on her own. We d o n 't even mention i t and s h e 'l l read about two, th re e , or four books. She reads everything in s ig h t. She does enjoy i t . There may be something laying on the seat o f the c a r , and s h e 'll ju s t look a t i t and read the cover o f the book or whatever and read i t very w e l l . We're so su rp rised . She reads b e t t e r than Paul does and Paul the open classroom n e c e s s a rily is the reason f o r i t , because each year th a t she's o ld e r , she's a d i f f e r e n t c h i l d , but we c a n 't complain. d o n 't th in k i t ' s h u rt her and I would say i t probably has helped. is about 16 months o ld e r . She reads a l o t b e t t e r . We're not sure I Ms: Her experiences have been super. She's j u s t very e x c ite d about i t . In f a c t , she uses up so much of her energy a t school th a t by the time she comes home she's j u s t dragging. u n til There's never a minute she’ s s t i l l . She must use up a l l her energy. She must have a real enthusiasm f o r the room. I talked to K a rla . She j u s t goes so much a l l day in school. I thought she was s ic k f o r awhile What kinds of things did you think about in making your decision to place Mickey in this program, and was there a formal procedure in placing your child into the environment? Ms: W e ll, we d id n 't give i t a l o t o f thought. Our c h ild was a tr a n s fe r student from another school, and I have had contact w ith the school system from nursery school. I was f a m il i a r w ith an open classroom concept from the community we moved from th re e years ago. So when I knew my c h ild was being tra n s fe rre d to th is school, and th a t there was to be an open classroom, I came over the preceding spring and talked to the p rin c ip a l and asked him i f , a t a l l p o s sib le , our c h ild could get in because we, as tr a n s fe r paren ts, had no inform ation about th is class. A ll to be, teachers or the se t-up . I ta lk e d to Dick, and he said he thought t h a t 's what should be. A few days l a t e r Dwayne [th e p r i n c ip a l] c a lle d me in and said th a t Mickey could be in the open classroom. So we were j u s t kinda happy about i t and r e a l l y d i d n ' t know I knew was th a t i t was going to be, and I fig u re d , I wanted my c h ild to have a chance a t i t . I was j u s t taking a chance. I did not know the i f i t was going 169 what t h e i r thoughts were. M ain ly, we took i t because o f what we experienced in the past w ith i t and f e l t Mickey was an independent child and could handle i t . Welty now that she is in it and has experienced it for a year, what do you see as the primary purpose of the classroom; the one thing that those teachers want to have happen in the environmentt not to say that other things don't happen. What is the one most important thing? Mr: One word th at s tic k s in my mind is open. Open everyth ing . Open the mind up. Ms: Experience maybe. I t ' s a tough question. I d o n 't th in k there is any one thing th a t Mr: r e a lly applies to the s it u a t io n . There is so much th e re . The c h ild is allowed to learn what they want, when they want, a t t h e i r own speed with a l i t t l e b i t o f push, i f necessary. going on, there has to be, because i f the c h ild is two books ahead on reading and four books behind on math, th ere is a problem, so the teacher shows some guidance along the way even though i t seems to be a l i t t l e haphazard from an o u ts id e r's standpoint. You look in to an open classroom and you c a n 't b elieve i t I r e a l l y looked a t i t , and I d o n 't see any organization a t a l l , but I know i t ' s th ere . I d o n 't th in k the c h ild re a liz e s i t , but i t ' s there. I d o n 't b e lie v e you could get any b e t te r teachers. have any d is c ip lin e problems in t h e i r room, r e a l l y . 'cause I 'v e been in th e re , and I d o n 't th in k they I'm sure th e re is some pushing Ms: Dick and I were discussing, and we kinda fe e l th a t i f the same two teachers were in a structured classroom, our c h ild would have b en efited . We are so sold on the teachers. I j u s t d o n 't think the experience would have been as complete with two teachers t h a t w eren't as super as these two. a l l e v ia t e a l o t of problems with a poor teacher because even a poor teacher could handle an open classroom. strongly because I th in k a teacher has to have ten times more i n i t i a t i v e and i t r e a l l y almost has to be t h e i r l i f e s t y le to develop one. I t said th a t the open classroom would I read an a r t i c l e re c e n tly . I have to disagree very Mr: The o rg an izatio n al t a l e n t o f the open classroom has to be unbe­ lie v a b le . As chaotic as i t looks, i t requires a great deal of o rg an iza tio n al t a l e n t to keep things kind o f running smoothly when they d o n 't look l i k e th e y 'r e running smoothly and every­ thing gets done. They've come up w ith some unbelievable p ro je cts ! I ca n 't b e lie v e th a t a teacher would take i t upon themselves to cook a turkey in class and to serve a turkey dinner and to ra is e chickens. A ll the things those two crazy teachers do. i t ' s n o t, which means 170 Ms: They took f i r s t and second graders on a w in te r camping t r i p , overnight. I think you have to give a l o t o f c r e d it to them. Mr: believe th a t i t w i l l work with every teacher. year so I have a l i t t l e background, but I d i d n ' t see many who could do i t . these two. the nuns were not as devoted as K arla and Lyn. They’ re j u s t super! I t was a Catholic school, and we had some nuns, and even I th in k I had two teachers in the whole school th a t were l i k e I j u s t d o n 't I taught school f o r a i/hat do you see as the most significant area of growth for your child this year? I ' d say i n i t i a t i v e . I ' d say i n i t i a t i v e w ith subject m a tte r , you Mr: know, of g e ttin g in to p ro je c ts , o f g e ttin g in to homework. She is using is a l l what she learns in school and applying i t , which is what school about. You can teach a c h ild a l l you want, but i f you c a n 't get th a t child to apply two and two to l i f e then th e re 's no sense in teaching i t . This is a problem. I remember as a teach er, being able to teach a c h ild the mechanics o f math, but then have the c h ild turn r ig h t around and not be able to make change f o r a d o l l a r in the seventh grade. That type of thing. What I th in k I ' v e seen from her is the a b i l i t y to apply. I know she's learning because I see her applying i t , not consciously, but she w i l l count money. She w i l l read the c r e d it s on TV, and things l ik e t h is . using what she le a rn s , what we r e a l l y never saw before. I t ' s j u s t the f a c t t h a t she has now become aware and is Ms: She brings recipes home, and we've got to t r y them r ig h t then. "This is r e a l l y great s t u f f , Mom." So school and home are really one and the same n o w. Do you see that as different from her past experience in schoool. I th in k so, but once again th e re 's th at e x tra year. T h a t's why Mr: I th in k i t ' s d i f f i c u l t to compare the two. evaluation we can give you is th a t we have nothing bad to say about i t , whatever t h a t 's worth. I guess th a t the best What do you see as the role of the parent in this environment? Ms: We've been kind o f lim ite d w ith our c h ild r e n 's undertakings th is year because, not only do I work a t Hayes School a l l day, but I decided to go back to c o lle g e . ta lk e d to the ch ild re n a t the beginning o f the y e a r , and we t o ld them th a t my p a r t ic ip a t io n in school would be lim ite d but that anything th a t I could send w ith them, anything the teachers asked f o r , we would be happy to provide, but th a t I j u s t c o u ld n 't come and be a p a rt o f the classroom. They have accepted t h is . We had no real problems th a t I can th in k o f. The teachers understood my p o s itio n , too, so th a t I don’ t I'm a mother, a w if e , and a homemaker. We 171 feel they've s u ffe r e d , and they understood the s it u a t io n . liked to take a more a c tiv e p a rt in the classroom w ith the p a rtie s and even with any e x tra tu to rin g or anything, but I kind o f fe e l I'm g ivin g some others' kids a hand. I would have I did hear you say that Mickey brings home recipes and things so obviously you do become a part of the classroom in that respect. Ms: Very much so. We help them out whenever we can. homework is t h e ir s but a t t h is age, second grade, they need guidance. Whenever th ere is something, we help. We work on fla s h cards o r math or t h e i r math-work, and now th e y 're going in t o geometry and, strange enough, Mom's going in to geometry. Mickey and I are studying geometry together. So I th in k i t ' s very important a t home i f parents in q u ire and want to know and be a p a r t. We've had a blow by blow d es crip tio n of the chickens hatching, and I took Mickey to the p ublic l i b r a r y , and we found a book th a t showed j u s t e x a c tly how the chicken was going to hatch and everything so th a t she could have a b e t t e r look. We're always open to her comments and th in gs. I th in k doing I 'v e r e a l l y become a p a rt o f the classroom. Mr: classroom once every couple o f weeks in the morning and bring something in. I go in to the classroom and Mickey w i l l show me around. The c h i l ­ dren are not c h ild re n . The c h ild re n are people and so are the teachers and t h a t 's the impression to the ch ild re n l i k e we do probably. They seem to have brought the c h ild up to t h e i r le v e l o r brought themselves down to the c h i ld 's l e v e l . They've done the job and should be commended f o r i t . In other words, they d o n 't t a l k down I'm probably in th a t I g et. What kind of reaction have you g o tte n from parents who do not have their children in this classroom? Ms: Being t r a n s f e r c h ild r e n , the few parents we know from here have t h e i r children in th e re . I fiound IZ excZZZng that, Zn thZA cZaAAXoom, the chZZdxen cute Aeen aA peopte juAt o a the teacheXA axe peopte. What an excZZZng conaeptl It tMA cteax that Aehoot Z a not AepaxaZe £xom the home Zn thZA AiZ- uaZZon. They ZnZeAmZngte to make a ZZfie AZtuaZZon. 172 I n t e r v i e w 3 6 — T e r r y Nadeau Terry is a second grade boy in The Guided Open Classroom at Delta Center Elementary School in Grand Ledge3 Michigan. He is a quiet little boy who enjoys sports. Tell me how you feel about school. Well, i t ' s a l l r i g h t , r e a l l y . I l i k e to come to school. Are you in the first grade or second? Second. Did you like school last year? Yes. Do you know how you got into the classroom that you're in? Um, no. Did you have any say about where you were going to be this year? I j u s t got a note from Mrs. Skinner in the mail during surrmer No, vacation when the school was over. Did your parents come to a meeting or anything? I don't know. Do you see your classroom as different from the cither classrooms in the building? Yeah, because our room is a l o t big ger, and i t has a d iv id e r and more desks. Are the things that you do inside of the classroom during the day different? Yeah. We have d i f f e r e n t a r t p ro je cts and d i f f e r e n t work. We do d if f e r e n t kinds of handwriting. We do d i f f e r e n t s to rie s in reading and math. We do pages. What do you think is the most important thing that happens in your classroom? If I asked your teachers what they wanted to have happen in there, what would you say it would be? 173 Probably to grow up and not f lu n k , probably. What types of things do you do in school this year'? Well, we do the harder work. We go up high and i t gets harder. What do you do daring the day? See, when we get o f f the bus and come in the door then you buy a lunch t ic k e t a t the o f f i c e , then you go to your room and then you take o f f your coat and probably go the gym. I t ' s a good idea. Does everybody go to the gym? Not everybody, some people th a t wanna. When i t ’ s time to leave the gym we go to our room and we get our assignments, math, read ing , and handwriting. How do you get those assignments? The teacher t e l l s us. L ik e , she says we have math and reading and handwri tin g . Does she tell each of you alone or do you all sit together? We a l l s i t together on the rug and then we get to work. How do you decide what your're going to do? You said the teachers give you some things to do, do you do those things all at the same time, with everyone else? Does everyone do them at the same time? No, l ik e I want to get math and they do, l i k e , handwriting. So you decide when to do it? Yeah. When you finish all those things the teachers have given you3 what do you do? Then you can play and read and woodworking, sort of make s t u f f out of wood. What's your favorite thing to do in there? Um, play checkers. So if you could go in and decide right from the beginning of the daijj you'd probably go and play checkers. (He nods his head, yes.) Have you been in this classroom all year? 174 Yeah. Do you know what y o u ’re going to do next year? Um, not r e a l l y . You c a n ’t go back into that room next year, can you? I f I'm not doing any good That means I flu n k and i f I do but i f I d o n 't do any I go up to I do good work, good, t h ir d . I stay in . How do you feel about the work y o u ’re doing? I t ' s a l 1 r ig h t . When you talk with other students who a r e n ’t in your classroom, how do they feel about the classroom that y o u ’re in? Do they talk about it? No. Do you ever play with other children who are not in your classroom? Yeah. They never talk about or say or ask any questions? No. TeA/iy ja & t seemed do l i k e 6chool and icemzd v&iy c o n fid e n t w ith in hlm&el^. He d id n 't aee school a& looking any paAtlciLtan way. School wa& j t u t whatever. happened th a t day. Interview 37--Ms. Nadeau M s. Nadeau is the mother o f Terry who has been in The Guided Open Classroom for one year. She is excited about T e r r y ’s experience and wishes he could continue with this type o f program. Tell me how you feel about T e r r y ’s experience in school this year. I r e a l l y am impressed. M a in ly , because he takes so much more W e ll, o f an in te re s t in school. He enjoys i t and i t gives him a chance to do what he wants to do on his own time. I mean, he's always lik e d school, but a t times i t ' s been q u ite a problem when he'd go. Like any other c h ild he got bored, or f r u s tr a te d maybe. A teacher might expect him to go a b i t f u r t h e r than he thought he could handle in some subjects. In th is class he was able to express him self a t his 175 own speed. He was so enthused about i t . Weekends he d i d n 't even want to stay home. He r e a l l y enjoyed i t . thing to us was his i n t e r e s t in school. I th in k th a t the most important How were you involved in the placement? Well, we were j u s t asked i f we would l i k e to have him in th a t program, and as f a r as our involvement, we d i d n ' t have th a t much. the teachers about i t . I talked to What do you see as the primary purpose or the one most important thing that the teachers want to have happen in there. I th in k i t should be each c h i l d , in d iv id u a lly being able I th in k they j u s t want them I d o n 't know, to express themselves a t t h e i r own speed. to learn a t t h e i r own l e v e l . Terry, th a t he d id n 't fe e l th a t com petitive w ith the other c h ild re n . He f e l t th a t he could work a t his own speed and he d i d n 't have to r e a lly s t r iv e to keep up w ith the o ther c h ild re n . I th in k t h a t ’ s what I found mostly with Do you see then that the purpose of that classroom is different from regular school programs? In the other classrooms t h e y 'r e to set I ju s t understood i t to be. at t h e i r desks a l l day long. They do t h e i r assigned schedule, and the teacher goes from one subject r ig h t to another and the whole class I ' d l i k e to p a rtic ip a te s in i t . W e ll, t h a t 's hard to say though. A ll say i s , I think j u s t being able to complete in t h e i r own tim e, and not having a set time of g e ttin g the subject done. They get to f in is h and then s t a r t another one. You also mentioned competition. W ell, because o f my discussions w ith them when I go down th ere fo r I understand they have a mixed group th a t have a f i r s t conferences, grade and second grade crew and d i f f e r e n t reading groups. No c h ild r e a lly knows what lev el th e y 're a t or what p a r t ic u la r group th e y 're in. They're j u s t allowed to do i t a t t h e i r own speed and the group is not divided up, l i k e , t h is is b e tte r readers and th is is slower readers and average read ers, but j u s t allowed to go along and do what they can do a t t h e i r own a b i l i t y . Then when they reach t h a t , they can go on up to another group. They d o n 't a c t u a lly d iv id e the room up according to who can do what. They do in a sense, but the c h ild doesn't know i t . What do you see as the most significant area of growth for Terry? Terry is a very small c h ild f o r the age o f e ig h t. learned to adjust to the o th e r c h ild re n and get along. He enjoys the I th in k he's r e a l l y 176 classroom so much and he enjoys the teacher. So school becoming an important thing to him. when he has to be put in to another classroom next y e a r. We are in the process o f moving and we w i l l be going to a d i f f e r e n t school. I'm hoping th is d o esn 't change is r e a l l y What -interests do you see in his after-school activities? Sports. We're both sports minded. Do you see your role as a parent changing at all because of his experiences last year? I d o n 't th in k so. I'm impressed with the things th a t they do. No, One thing he brought home is the sewing. He lik e s i t ! great f o r a c h ild to experience something l i k e t h a t . He thought th a t i t was g rea t th a t he could sew a button on his clothes and things l i k e t h is . He could do things l i k e th is They encourage them to do things l i k e th is see anything wrong with i t . they do th a t in other classrooms, to t h e i r in d iv id u a l tables and do what they want to do, regardless o f whether they are boys or g i r l s . too. They are allowed to each go I d o n 't know, maybe i f I asked him to . in th a t classroom. think i t ' s good. I th in k i t ' s I h aven 't. I c a n 't I Have you had any reactions from parents who have their child in a different classroom? No, I haven't r e a l l y talked to anybody who doesn't l i k e i t . So y o u ’ve heard quite a bit of support for it? I th in k the teachers have a l o t to do with i t . Yes, anything bad about Ms. Skinner and Ms. Hallwhich. They are r e a l l y great with the c h ild re n . The teachers took them on a camping t r i p and t h a t 's one thing he's r e a l l y shown an in t e r e s t in . He r e a l l y enjoyed i t and he never had any experience w ith th a t before. I ' v e never heard Mi. Nadeau obviouAZy -ieM th is yean in the. aZteA nattve a p o & itiv e yeaA fiOh Tejoiy. AZthough 6he hen not become ZnvoZved in th e cZa&btioom, th e 6ec& th e dififieAence in TeAAy't a t t it u d e about AchooZ. 177 I n t e r v i e w 3 8 — M ik e Adams Mike is a second g ra d e r in The Guided Open Classroom a t D e lta C e n te r Elem entary School in Grand Ledge, M ich igan . He was n o t very t a lk a t i v e d u rin g the tim e I spent w ith him. He j u s t w a s n 't e x c ite d about school th a t day. How do you f e e l about scho ol, Mike? I d o n 't l ik e i t th a t w e ll. Have you always f e l t l i k e th a t? You j u s t d o n 't ca re f o r school. Right. t/hen you went to school la s t y e a r d id you see school as d if f e r e n t ? Yes, we have more harder s t u f f . We have more harder s t u f f th is y e a r than la s t year. Last year i t a l l was easy. Do you know how you were p la c e d in the classroom t h a t you a re in ? Who made the d e c is io n ? I d o n 't know. Did you have any p a r t o f t h a t d e c is io n ? I j u s t d id n 't want to go th e re . You d i d n 't want to go to school? I wanted to do i t when I was in t h ir d grade and go to another school f o r the second grade. I see. But you ended up coming here in the second grade? Right Did your p a re n ts have any say in the room you were going to be p la c e d in ? Yeah Did they come to a meeting? I d o n 't know, they found out and they to ld me. Do you see your classroom as d i f f e r e n t from o th e r classroom s in the s a h o o I? 178 {Mike shakes his head, "no .") It's not any different? Right. You do the same things In your classroom that other classrooms do? Sometimes. So you see some things as different. What kinds o f things are different? My classroom is bigger. T h a t's about the only th in g . What do you think is the most important thing that happens in your room? Nothing to me. If I asked your teachers what they would want for you more than anything elsej what do you think they'd answer? I d o n 't know. So there's just nothing at all important in there. Right. What do you do in school? Like when you come to school in the morning, what kinds of things do you do? W ell, i f I brought my b a s k e tb a ll, d o n 't bring my b a s k e tb a ll, I j u s t go in to my room. I could bring i t to the gym. I f I Then what do you do? What kinds of things happen? A l o t , i t ' s very noisy. When the day starts> how does it start? Um, kinda good. Do you do anything together at all with the boys and girls? We can do i t any time we want. The f i r s t graders can a t the same time. j u s t do reading How do you know what you're going to do? I d o n 't know. 179 Do you decide t h a t o r do your te a c h e rs decide th a t? The teachers. When do they l e t you know? We ju s t come in and fin d out by ourselves. They d o n 't l e t us know. They d o n 't t e l l you what you need to know o r what y o u 're going to do? l ik e i f I did math they w on't t e l l me what I need to do next. Right, Like i f I had math, reading, and handwriting and I d id my math and I d id n 't know, they w ouldn't t e l l me what to do. T h e y 'll j u s t t e l l me one thing th a t I need to do. They j u s t do t h a t , and I fin d out a f t e r second recess. I see. Do they t e l l you a l l day long what th in g s you should do? No, ju s t on Tuesdays, they do. Were you here a l l o f second grade? Right. Do you ever t a lk w ith boys o r g i r l s o u ts id e o f your classroom? Sometimes. Did they ever ask you qu estions about your room? Sometimes. What kinds o f th in g s do they say? A l o t o f things. Nothing th a t you can remember? Right. Mik e urn not veJiy w ittin g to t a t k but -seemed to be j'uAt having a 6tow day. The next tu rn J taw him a five da.yt> ta te A , he teemed much mo-te excited about what um happening fioh him in tchooZ. 180 I n t e r v i e w 3 9 — M r. and Ms. Adams Mr. and Ms. Adams a re the p a re n ts o f Mike Adame who i s in th e Guided Open Classroom a t D e lta C e n ter. Mr. Adams i s a ls o a te a c h e r a t th e high school le v e l. How do you f e e l about M ik e 's experiences in school t h is year? I was a l i t t l e dubious a t f i r s t because I d i d n ' t know i f he had Ms: enough s e lf -c o n tr o l and s e l f - d i s c i p l i n e which I thought he would need in order to fo llo w th is type o f classroom. But, presented any problems a t a l l . a c t i v i t i e s he needs to have, p lu s , there is enough s tru c tu re to keep him in l i n e , and y e t , I t h in k , th a t the idea th a t he's making some o f his own decisions helps a ls o . He comes home some days and is excited about i t . I t ' s given him an o u t le t f o r the I t r e a l l y makes i t n ic e . i t r e a l l y h a s n 't How d id you as p a re n ts have him p la c e d in t h is environment? Mr: I d o n 't th in k we d id . Ms: A c tu a lly , l a s t year we heard something about i t , but a t the time they d id n 't th in k i t would work too w e ll. In the f i r s t grade he had both o f the second grade teachers. He had one f o r reading, and i t d id n 't work out w e l l , so, he went to the o ther second grade teacher. He had had her f o r h a l f the day. So, we f e l t t h a t , p ossibly, p u ttin g him in a completely d i f f e r e n t environment, he w ouldn't have to go through the same teacher another year. So b a s ic a l l y , th a t was the reason why I c a lle d and asked i f there was room because o f t h is . We had very l i t t l e knowledge about i t when we put him in to i t , except th at i t was an open classroom. Gut i t w asn't based on knowledge, I'm a f r a i d . I t was j u s t the le s s e r o f two e v i l s a t th is time. Mr: T h a t's about r i g h t . Ms: But, i t r e a l l y worked out w e ll. What do you see as the primary purpose or the most important thing that the teachers want to have happen? Mr: As f a r as my son is concerned, I think t h a t has to be the biggest p a rt. As I ' v e discovered, th e y 'v e had to calm him down here and there because he lik e s to do some things b e tte r than o thers. Now he's g e ttin g guided, I f e e l , pro perly. There were times Mike was taking advantage o f them. He would spend the e n t i r e day in the workshop. i t ' s making decisions on what to do. 181 Ms: Yes. He had to learn t h a t one must do such and such or these are the consequences. This is something he's always had tro u b le follow ing. He's a good one to t a l k him self in and out o f s it u a t io n s , mostly out. He's found out th a t i f , can 't do t h a t . ' They are holding him to t h i s . When yo u 're o ld e r you have to take the consequences f o r your action s and th is is what he's found out here; whereas maybe, in a more s tru c tu re d classroom, you s i t there and they stand over you. something you want to do, th e re 's some things you have to do f i r s t . So, he's found out th a t in order to do ' I d o n 't get th is done, then I Do you a ls o see th is as h is most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth? Ms: Yes. Mr: I d o n 't th in k we can see a l l the s i g n i f i c a n t areas o f growth. There's no way th a t we're r e a l l y going to know his areas o f growth in r e la t io n to others which is something t h a t he needs very badly. You know, his in te ra c tio n w ith other people, t h a t 's something I don’ t think we can fin d out unless we sneaked in and took a look a t him a l l the time. He tends to be a lon er. along those lin e s . He s t i l l tends to go o f f by him self most o f the tim e. I don't know i f he's doing t h a t here or n o t , but we're not g e ttin g any reports l i k e t h a t . I d o n 't know what growth he's made says, " I d o n 't fe e l good th is morning.'' Ms: He's not one o f those th a t He gets up and he's o f f . He g e n e ra lly We d o n 't run in to th a t a t a l l . I lik e s school. The only time he stays home is i f he's r e a l l y s ic k . think he r e a l l y enjoys school, and I th in k the type o f classroom may have helped because he i s , a t times, re s tle s s and has trouble buckling down. Again, I think a l o t o f i t is the in s tru c to rs . I d o n 't the whole s i t u a t i o n , anyway. I th in k t h a t 's the key to Mr: know how much o f i t is the open classroom and how much o f i t is the teachers running i t . I'm sure you could have one without the other and i t w o u ld n 't work f o r some people. T hey're r e a l l y try in g to make i t succeed and t h a t 's the t r i c k . I see evidence on they are r e a l l y try in g to succeed a t the t h in g , and i t ' s a very easy I t h in k you have to be very s itu a tio n not to work hard i n , I th in k . careful about who teaches in such a s it u a t io n . s i t back, l e t them go, and make up good re p o rts . high school. do much. of parents and k id s , they might not be ab le to evaluate what's happening and what should be going on. known i t to e x i s t . a t a higher l e v e l , can be rid ic u lo u s . I t could be here, to o , i f i t were not f o r the f a c t th a t they push a l i t t l e b i t . The pressure is on them to guide them a l i t t l e b i t and t h a t 's hard to do. I t would be easy to I see th is in the teacher who doesn't want to I d o n 't v is u a liz e th is happening h e re , though. For a l o t I do know th a t programs l i k e t h i s , not th is one, I t could be colored up very w e ll. I t ' s an easy way t h e i r p a rt th a t out fo r a I ' v e 182 Ms: In a way, i t ' s much harder than having a structured classroom. Mr: Much harder. t h e ir own r a t e , l e t them go, and not push. Most human beings w on't do the best they can. T h e y 'l l do enough to get by. I t ' s j u s t so much e a s ie r to say th a t kids learn a t Ms: The o ld er they g e t , d e f i n i t e l y . Mr: This may not be t r u e , perhaps w ith the excitement o f learn in g down here, but th e re 's so many things th a t in te r r u p t the excitement o f le a r n ­ ing as you grow up, f o r example, t h e i r social teach a t , I'm a firm b e lie v e r th at they w i l l do only what you ask them to do, no more. You g iv e them a p a s s - f a il course, and t h e y ' l l do j u s t enough to pass, and I can back th a t up w ith a l o t o f research, too. l i f e . At the level I Do you as parents see your role as different with the school this year? Ms: Probably a l i t t l e b i t d i f f e r e n t re a c tio n , e s p e c ia lly i n i t i a l l y . As soon as he would come home, we would ask him, "What d id you do today?" We had to see whether he was going to do anything a l l y e ar. But then, probably, as we got used to the program and gained more confidence in the program, we tended to re a c t as we did w ith Sherry's (Mike's s i s t e r ) . We d o n 't get Sherry coming home w ith big pieces o f woodwork and things t h a t Mike brings home. Mike comes home w ith d i f ­ fe re n t ideas. Now, he does come home, and th is might be because o f a d i f f e r e n t p e rs o n a lity , w ith more in c id e n ta l b its o f info rm ation . H e 'l l I'm sure these from the nature center or a r t c e n te r. bring home things are things he did not fin d in a book. He saw things happen, was i n t e r ­ ested and found out about i t . For example, now he wants a b ir d . He can explain a l l about them, about eggs, e t c . We went through th is w ith p la n ts . A ll these various thin gs. he's learn in g th is much. Maybe i t ' s a more subtle le a rn in g than Sh erry's. Mike comes home and ta lk s about what he did and how he did i t . Because o f the atmosphere o f the classroom, i t doesn't stop when he gets home. on in the room. As because he is more verbal about these things. He brings books home th a t p e rta in to what is going f a r as t h a t I d o n 't th in k he's even r e a liz in g to respond d i f f e r e n t l y goes, we have What kinds of reactions do you get from parents who do not have their children in the program? Ms: That the ch ild ren are not learning anything, t h a t 's the f i r s t one. And then, "What happens when they get in to a classroom th a t doesn't look l ik e th is?" Mr: T h a t'a a big a n x ie ty . That s t i l l bothers me a l i t t l e . There’ s not enough evidence teachers what was being planned f o r them next year and they s a id , y e t . E a r l i e r to prove i t th is year we asked the 183 "Nothing." Of course, I asked the question very e a r ly and I t was u n fa ir to them. They were j u s t tr y in g to get things going. The big advantage f o r Mike is being w ith f i r s t and second graders. I f i t were the other way around, I t probably wouldn’ t work a t a l l . He is reading so good, and he was w ith second graders l a s t y e a r , but I th in k i t ’ s n ice, now, f o r his confidence. I t happens to work out good f o r him to have people le s s e r in age than he is . Ms: Maybe i t does f o r a l l o f them. Many f i r s t graders know th a t next year, i f th e y 'r e in the same room, they are going to be a t the top o f the l i n e . By having th a t many students you have th a t many more th a t I ' l l help you." This is also can say, "Hey, I know how to do t h a t . true in the various areas th a t a r e n 't supposedly academic. He can hanmer a n a i l , which makes him fe e l th a t he has accomplished something, and his reading is good. His handwriting is a tro c io u s , y e t th ere are f i r s t graders who p r i n t worse than he does. So, he doesn't fe e l as though he’ s a t the bottom o f the b a r r e l. Mr: Those are the only complaints or an xiety o f something new. make a change. I know, o th e r than the suspicion I th in k everyone has th a t whenever you M*. and Hbs. Adams cute. e x c ite d about the. gbmoth Hike has experienced i n th e coteas otf decision-m aking and b e s p o n s ib itity &ob cteaA t h a t thene is some c o n f lic t as they cons i d eA ufhat is b ig h t £oa Hike as pa/ients and what is b ig h t ^ob Hike as educators. I t is Interview 40— Karla Skinner and Lyn Hollwhich Karla and Lynn are the teachers of The Guided Open Classroom at Delta Center. Both teachers taught in self-contained classroom until last year when they created the alternative environment. They are both very excited and enthusiastic about what they are doing and what is happening for them. What I'd like to deal with first is why the alternative started in this building? Why did it come about? Karla: I t a l l began one day when we were j u s t s i t t i n g in the te a ch er's lounge, and we were t i r e d o f the same old ro u tin e , and we decided th at i t would be nice to make a change. I guess why i t s ta rte d was our d is s a t is f a c t io n w ith the reading Lyn: program. We were saying th a t we sho uld n't confine reading to one period o f tim e, and we shouldn't confine math to one period o f time. The c h ild re n should be able to move around more and be able to choose 184 what they want to do. We s ta rte d ta lk in g about knocking out w a lls . We started t a lk in g about t h a t a t the end o f January, and they s a id , “No, you c a n 't do t h a t ." Karla: We went to our p r in c ip a l and he s a id , " F in e , i f you can fig u re out a way to do i t . " I t j u s t happened th a t they were b u ild in g a new wing, and we were Lyn: lucky enough to get one o f the rooms. We fought f o r i t . Our p rin c ip a l at th a t time s a id , "Yes, t h is is what Karla and Lyn are doing and i t would be stupid not to use the room the way i t was intended." The fourth and f i f t h grade teachers had planned to have th is be t h e i r wing. Karla: That was a d i f f e r e n t p rin c ip a l than the one we have r i g h t now. What resources did you have to use to get it started? Karla: The only thing we r e a l l y did was v i s i t some schools and see how they s ta rte d . Lyn: time, I happened to be taking a class on the open classroom a t th at I th in k . Karla: We brought some things to gether out o f the books, and nobody ever questioned us. That was one of the things we said to Dwayne, who was the p rin c ip a l then, the Board and lay out a l l our plans?" And he s a id , "W e'll "Are we going to have to go in f r o n t o f j u s t do i t . " Lyn: I would say th a t the b u ild in g s are p r e t t y autonomous here. You have something th a t you have to be responsible f o r , but i t ' s not the e d ic t from above th a t says, "You w i l l do t h i s . You w i l l use t h is book and you w i l l use th is math book." They d o n 't do t h a t . Every building kind o f does t h e i r own th in g . Karla: So we went ahead and did i t and r e a l l y Mr. M i l l e r , the super­ intendent, with him. Board a t t h a t time. is a l l f o r t h is concept. So we w ouldn't have had any tro u ble I th in k the biggest thing would have been convincing the So what procedures did you have to go through to get this alternative going this year? I guess our biggest th in g was g e ttin g i t around in our own Karla: minds and then s e llin g i t to the parents. Trying to decide how we were going to do t h a t , we knew th a t i t would have to be a voluntary thing. Lyn: We made i t v o lu n ta ry , and i f they d i d n 't say anything one way or the o th e r , and i f we needed more c h ild re n , we kind o f picked from 185 the ones who were on the fence* F i r s t , we talk ed to the p r i n c ip a l, Dwayne, and cleared i t w ith him so we could do i t . we even talked to the parents we t r i e d to get th is room. I th in k before Karla: That's because we had what we thought would be done here in the new end o f the b u ild in g . Then we ta lk e d w ith Dale Alam and he gave us some ideas and said he'd help us whenever we needed i t . Then you had th e p a re n t m eeting? Karla: And then a f t e r th a t i t snowballed, and, in the beginning, we thought i t was going to go very poorly. Not many people signed up. Lyn: And then a l l o f a sudden, we had too many, and we had to turn them down. We had l i k e a w a itin g l i s t . Karla: We had one who wanted out t h is y e a r. camping. She was not allowed to go camping w ith us so she was placed in the other room, and she decided th a t she lik e d having her own desk. t h e i r a r t p ro je c t f o r the day and so her mother took her out She lik e d She has to of the room and put her in th e re . come down here to do her math because she's f u r t h e r ahead than any o f the f i r s t graders in th a t room. So, she s t i l l comes down here f o r her math. I t is r e a l l y accepted. T h a t's when we went But i t i s p o s s ib le to move o u t. Lyn: We had one boy move in to our room from another room and another one moved in to our school d i s t r i c t who came in to our room. So, we have a give and take both ways. The boy who came from another room in the b u ild in g , f i r s t came down here f o r reading because he was way beyond any o f the o th e r kids t h a t the o ther teacher had f o r reading. I t turned out t h a t he was 'a d is c i p li n e problem' down th e re , and he w asn't down here. So we s a id , "This is r e a l l y kind o f rid ic u lo u s . He enjoys being in t h is room, and he can fu nctio n in th is room, then he might as w ell be in here." So he switched. You ta lk e d about yo u r r o le in s e t t in g i t up; d id the a d m in is tra to r take a r o le in s e t t in g i t up o r Das anyone e ls e invo lved? Karla: I would probably say th a t the only other person th a t was r e a l l y involved was the reading s p e c i a l i s t . She t r i e d to get us many d i f f e r e n t m a t e r ia ls , lo ts o f things a t d i f f e r e n t le v e ls to have in the room. We have a l o t o f things th a t nobody else has in the b u ild in g . I th in k th a t she has r e a l l y helped us q u ite a b i t , and she has been a g re a t supporter. 186 Lyn: Dwayne [th e p r in c ip a l] backed us, and both o f them came to our parents meeting. I th in k , ju s t to show t h e ir support fo r what we wanted to do. Not th a t they f e l t th a t ours was the thought i t was w orthw hile and backed and supported us. In case any comments were d ire c te d toward them, and, ' a l l and end a l l 1 o f education, but they How d id you say th e studen ts were p tac ed in t h is room? I th in k one o f our problems was th a t a t the end o f the ye ar Karla: there was some t a l k , maybe not d ir e c t ly to us, th a t Karla and Lyn are going to get the cream o f the crop. That r e a lly d id n 't happen because we have some very low. But I th in k the parents th a t we got coming from kindergarten in to com pletely new things were the ones who were w illin g to s tic k out t h e i r necks a l i t t l e . Lyn: These were parents who thought t h e ir c h ild could handle the room. K arla: We have some th a t d id n 't make a choice. But not very many. in Lyn: There were more th a t had requested i t . We s t i l l have several each age le v e l th a t were p re tty much l e f t up to the school to choose. There were some parents who s a id , " I d e f in it e ly d o n 't want my c h ild in th a t room," and some who s a id , " I d e f in it e ly d o," and a l l the in - betweens who d id n 't c a ll o r l e t us know one way or the o th er. The only ones who were put in here were second graders who had no choice. The kindergarteners were a l l signed up. We had one mother who wanted two o f her c h ild re n in here. One th a t was going to be a f i r s t grader and one th a t was going to be a second g rad er, and we turned down the request. We ju s t took one because we ju s t d id n 't know how th a t was going to work o u t. But next ye ar we are taking two b ro th e rs , one who has been in the room a year and one coming up. K arla: We ju s t had conferences, and e ig h t names fo r sure from them, and then everybody e ls e w il l be coming to the meeting to n ig h t. Bruce would l ik e to g e t a l i s t o f about 40 names from the kindergarten room and then we could go through them. I th in k we g o t, maybe, seven or Lyn: So then i t ' s not the f i r s t tw e n ty -fiv e th a t vo lu n teer th a t w il l be the ones th a t come in here, maybe the tw e n ty -s ix th one would work b e tte r than somebody e ls e . So the teachers make the d e c is io n ? K arla: W e 'll s i t down w ith the kindergarten teachers. Lyn: We've ta lk e d about i f they can fu n c tio n , not t o t a l l y independently, I th in k th a t th is year we have gotten but i f they can fo llo w d ire c tio n s . a t le a s t the f i r s t grade le v e l who are b e tte r students. Just th in k in g o f the ch ild re n who are good readers. 187 Karla: Many came knowing a l l t h e i r sounds and th in g s . got more than maybe another c la s s , but I d o n 't know th a t th a t w ill happen next y e a r. I th in k we've Lyn: Our c r i t e r i a was not th a t you have to be super smart to get here, but th a t you could fo llo w d ire c tio n s . in What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o f t h is environment? I fe e l d if f e r e n t ly about the c h ild re n and I have more time to I m yself fe e l th a t I'm not up in fro n t o f Karla: know the c h ild re n . the class they hand fe e l lik e I know these k id s , and I th in k th a t's because we see them in a l l d iffe r e n t ranges. We see them in a l l d if f e r e n t ways. le c tu rin g a l l the tim e , and th e y 're doing what I say, and th a t i n , and then we go on to the next th in g . I r e a lly I guess As you took a t what is th e one th in g th a t you want to happen f o r every a h ild , what i s th a t? I th in k before even le a rn in g the s k i l l s , we wanted them to fe e l Lyn: p o s itiv e about themselves and fe e l good about school. We wanted them to fe e l th a t i t was a neat place because le a rn in g went on th e re and not learn in g out o f the math book or lea rn in g out o f the reading book, but learn in g in a l l aspects o f l i f e . I th in k we've r e a lly accomplished th a t because we have many Karla: children who are not fe e lin g w ell a t home but want to come to school, and th a t's a l i t t l e unusual. We've never had th a t happen b efo re. Their mothers w i l l w rite a note and say they were sick in the n ig h t or they have a fe v e r th is m orning, but I r e a lly th in k they have a very good a ttitu d e about school. Some o f the things they w rite show th a t they have a good a t t it u d e about them­ selves. We have a Focus program h ere, and, I guess, we have t r ie d to make the room a liv in g place where Focus happens every day— not ju s t where we g et together fo r 20 minutes and t a lk about fe e lin g s and things lik e t h a t , but you ta lk about i t a l l the tim e , or deal w ith fe e lin g s a ll the tim e. classroom, but maybe not as much as goes on in here. I t ' s p ossible to some exten t in the t r a d it io n a l they want to come to school. Are th e re o th e r a c t i v i t i e s th a t you f e e l a re th e re to meet th e purpose o f c h ild re n f e e lin g good about themselves? Karla: s i t down and we ta lk an awful l o t . I don’ t th in k th a t th ere is anything s p e c ific we do, but we Lyn: We have t r ie d to remove f a i l u r e , fo r example, w ith the math k i t I'v e ever heard one th a t we have, th e re 's no c h ild , or I d o n 't th in k say, " I'm r e a lly a dunrniy because I'm way back h ere ." When they fe e l 188 th a t way, th e ir s e lf-c o n fid e n c e goes r ig h t down the tubes and here nobody can r e a lly g e t together and say th a t happens. I th in k reading is the same way because we d o n 't use a l l one Karla: s e rie s . We may have two groups on th e same level but th e y 'r e in a d if f e r e n t s e rie s . They d o n 't know i f th e y 're any slow er than anybody els e . Which can o n ly give them p o s itiv e feedback on themselves. I d o n 't th in k we should make i t a l l roses fo r them and s a y, "You know yo u 're doing ju s t b e a u tif u lly ," but I d o n 't think th a t th is is the place where you need to t e l l them, "No, you're not doing w e ll." I th in k another thing about our room is th a t th e re are other I f th e y 'r e good Lyn: things besides academics in which th ey can excel. a r t i s t s , we have the a r t center and they can go th ere and do things th a t they want to do. We have one boy who is a g re a t in v e n to r. He wants to be an e le c t r ic ia n , and he j u s t is r e a lly good in th a t a re a , and when his work is fin is h e d , the assignments th a t we have each day, he can go and s i t someplace and in v e n t u n til his h e a rt's co n ten t, and I know th a t his mother has commented he fe e ls r e a lly good about th is . th a t he r e a lly fe e ls good about h im s e lf a f t e r th is y e a r , and she would lik e to see him go on to another classroom lik e t h is . We d o n 't have a class lik e th is to o f f e r in th ir d grade. There are some people i n t e r ­ ested but the people in te re sted a r e n 't c e rta in th a t t h e y 'l l be back next ye ar. You were t a lk in g about how the tim e was scheduled., oan you go in to t h a t in a l i t t l e more d e t a il ? In the morning when we f i r s t g e t in , we have a rug session where K arla: we give the ch ild re n t h e ir a c t i v i t ie s f o r the day. At about approxi­ I t mately 9:10 they s t a r t the a c t i v i t ie s th a t must be done by noon. u su ally includes re a d in g , math, h an d w ritin g , and s p e llin g fo r the second graders. Noon here is 12:20 and the ch ild re n have recess from 10:30 to 11:00. And o f course, there are the days th at we have gym and music, but u su ally when we have a lo t o f a c t i v i t i e s to do, such as gym and music and l ib r a r y , we cu t back on what they have to do. So gym, music, and lib r a r y a re r e q u ir e d ; does everyone go a t the same tim e? Lyn: For gym they go s e p a ra te ly , because the gym teach er thinks there is a d iffe re n c e between f i r s t and second grade a b i l i t i e s . We d o n 't want to change th a t because I d o n 't th in k th e gym teachers would want to , but instead o f designating th a t the f i r s t graders go and second graders go, we are going to c a ll them group A and group B so nobody r e a lly knows what grade le v e l th e y 'r e in . K arla: I th in k the music teacher would be a ll fo r sending them mixed because t h e ir a b i l i t i e s a r e n 't th a t much d iffe r e n t. The same is tru e 189 So both those things w i l l be set up so th a t whoever fo r lib r a r y a ls o . wants to go today, and whoever wants to go tomorrow. But gym w i l l have The afternoon we come back a t 1 :2 0 , and we read a to stay as i t is . in the story and th e boys and g i r l s who have not had t h e ir work done morning have to work in the aftern oo n . The others get to choose one of the o th er centers or e ls e we have an a r t p r o je c t, a fun a c t i v i t y , fo r them to do. You s a id they have to choose one o f th e o th e r c e n te rs ; can they make make th a t choice? I t ' s up to them. Lyn: re a lly p ickin g a center but taking lib r a r y books out ju s t because they wanted to do i t , or ju s t s i t t i n g and ta lk in g w ith frie n d s . Sometimes they p u ll out reading games or math games and do those, because th e y 're motivated to do i t . I have seen kids up here ju s t re ad in g , not What do you see as your r o le in the a lt e r n a t iv e ? I guess I c a n 't r e a lly say I fe e l Karla: you th in k o f a teach er, you u su ally th in k o f a teacher as somebody who stands up th e re s p e llin g out a lo t o f things and g e ttin g back some. l ik e a teacher because when I fe e l I d o n 't know, I guess lik e a te a c h e r, but the o th e r times I fe e l Lyn: lik e more o f a m o tiv a to r, because we give them many d if f e r e n t ways o f o b tain in g a s k i l l . L ik e , during reading tim e I fe e l helper. Not r e a lly a counseling r o le , but when somebody has a problem, they come and w e 'll ta lk i t over and u s u ally t h e y 'l l say, "Wow, yeh, I got th a t now." You know when you are standing in fro n t o f 30 kids and Susie over th e re ju s t d o e sn 't catch on, you never get to know th a t u n til a fte r she does the paper and t o t a l l y bombs out on i t , and here we can pick i t up r ig h t away. lik e a What do you see as the b ig g e s t d iffe r e n c e from when you ta u g h t in th e t r a d it io n a l classroom? Karla: The biggest d iffe re n c e is in the way the kids take r e s p o n s ib ility . I th in k they are w illin g to take more r e s p o n s ib ility fo r t h e ir a c tio n s . I th in k they know themselves b e tte r . T h ey're more independent. they th in k things through b e tte r . We had one wanted to put on a play fo r some kindergarten people. So they came up to me and asked i f they could put on a p la y . the kindergarten teach er, th in k in g they would do i t the next day. When I turned around they were gone, they had gone down and asked h er. They came back and s a id , "We're going to give the p la y ." You could have knocked me over. At 2:20 I s a id , "Okay," they got dressed, went over to the door and watched the c lo c k , went down and gave t h e ir p la y , and came back. We did have to t a lk to them about leaving the room w ithout being to ld and those th in g s , but r e a lly they d id th a t whole th in g a l l by themselves. I said I would t a lk to instance where some kids I th in k 190 Lyn: And th a t r e a lly goes along w ith how they fe e l about themselves. How do you see th e t r a d it i o n a l schools purpose as being d if f e r e n t ? I d o n 't know th a t I see t h e ir purpose d if f e r e n t . Lyn: th a t th e y 're always achieving t h e ir purpose. You know everybody, supposedly everybody, is dedicated to the c h ild and le t t in g him succeed where he's a t , but I'm not sure th a t always happens. T h at's what everybody's r e a lly s tr iv in g f o r , the id e a l s itu a tio n . You come out o f c o lle g e b e lie v in g th a t the c h ild should succeed, and pick him up where he's a t . can do th a t very s u c c e s s fu lly . rows anymore, but a c h ild , maybe, needs to move around a l o t , and he has to s i t in th a t seat fo r a period o f tim e. In a t r a d it io n a l classroom I'm not sure th a t you I d o n 't see very many people in l i t t l e I d o n 't know I t looks lik e most l i k e , everybody I th in k he's lim ite d by his a c t i v i t i e s . I d o n 't th in k th a t gives c h ild re n much room to grow w ith in Karla: o f the rooms in the b u ild in g th a t are t r a d i t i o n a l , has the same math book and th e y 're doing the same thing a t the same tim e. themselves. Now, we have one l i t t l e f i r s t grader th a t has by-passed a l l the second graders and a l l the f i r s t grad ers. He's through w ith a l l the math. We decided in th e beginning th a t we would go through ju s t so much because when they are in the high th ir d grade s k i l l s , we thought th a t was fa r enough. W e ll, he's fin is h e d , and he is r e a lly proud o f h im se lf. he would be in a book, and they would a l l be on the same page and they would hand those in and they would get them back. r e a lly fe e ls good about h im self in th a t a rea . I f he were in a re g u la r f i r s t grade room I th in k he Do you see your r o l e in t h is environm ent as d i f f e r e n t than when you were in a t r a d i t i o n a l classroom? I th in k so. Lyn: Just the f a c t th a t we ta lk to the c h ild re n more. You're doing more, but th e re 's more time to t a lk to each c h ild . We have the time out to laugh w ith the c h ild re n o r be w ith somebody who's maybe having a rough day. We can s i t down and t a lk about th a t rough day. In a t r a d it io n a l classroom , a t le a s t la s t y e a r when I was in a modified s e lf-c o n ta in e d classroom, th a t. have taken the tim e. I t might have been my perception o f the tim e. Maybe I should I f e l t lik e I had no tim e to do K arla: No, because we were r e a lly boxed in la s t year in the morning w ith reading. We changed a t 9:00 and then they came back a t 11:00 so, you had a l l these things th a t you had to g et done w ith in th a t time span. T h a t's the way i t was and you r e a lly d id n 't have time to s i t down and get to know those kid s. You had c e rta in m a te ria ls th a t you had to get in th a t day i f you wanted them to gain by the end o f the y e ar. 191 Lyn: That was our d is s a tis fa c tio n . That was one o f the things th a t we were r e a lly d is s a tis fie d w ith . We f e l t boxed in , and I guess we were extending th a t same fe e lin g to the kids. They probably f e l t boxed in too. The ones th a t are in here now seem to lik e the fa c t th a t they can do math, maybe, before reading and save reading u n til la s t or whatever they want to do. But we were d is s a tis fie d w ith th a t boxed-in fe e lin g . much n e a te r than what I was doing la s t y e a r. Once you get to know them, I th in k you can meet t h e ir needs b e tte r , t h e i r academics as well as t h e i r so c ia l growth. I r e a lly fe e l th a t g e ttin g to know the kids is so You m entioned some changes th a t you were e it h e r going to make o r have made w ith in the environm ent. Karla: W e ll, next year the f i r s t graders w ill not leave the room as they do th is y e a r. T h e y 'll stay in the room a l l the tim e. T h a t's one thing f o r sure. When some kids leave fo r re a d in g , th a t takes a big chunk out o f our day. So w e 're s t i l l a l i t t l e boxed in in th a t area. We've changed since the beginning o f the y e a r. Last summer we were ta lk in g th a t id e a lly we'd have them have a l l t h e ir work done by noon, and we'd do th a t up u n til Christmas. Then by March we would t e l l them th a t i t would have to be done sometime, and then we would ju s t l e t them go. And we h aven 't done th a t. We're s t i l l a t the point th a t w e 're t e l l i n g them th a t i t ' s got to be done by noon. We ju s t haven't brought ourselves to do th a t. We're com fortable w ith the way i t is now. The kids are com fortable w ith i t th a t way. They know e x a c tly t h e ir tim e l i m i t and then t h a t's th a t. I t r u s t them to g et t h e ir things done when they know they have Lyn: I d o n 't know about you, K a rla , but I th in k I'm a l i t t l e w orried th a t th e y 're going to go to the a r t cen ter and never get to the o th er th in gs. those to do, but I'm not sure i f I s a id , "You have to get these done sometime to day," when th ey'd do i t , plus the f a c t th a t the kids go to reading and then come back. to the noise le v e l. tr a d itio n a l classroom would be. I guess the le v e l o f commotion is higher than the I th in k we've come a long way in a d ju s tin g K arla: That is one th in g th a t took aw hile to a d ju s t to . Lyn: The kids have developed th is y e a r. They can work and b lo t out everything e ls e t h a t's going around. when I went to c o lle g e th a t was something th a t I h ad n 't learned to do because our house was very q u ie t. One o f my roommates liv e d w ith nine o th e r kids and so, she had to lea rn to do t h a t. I th in k th a t's a good th in g to le a r n , to work in a q u ie t a re a , but also be ab le to block out noise when you need to . I th in k t h a t 's good because Vhat k in d o f r e a c tio n have you g o tte n from k id s o u ts id e the environm ent? Do you have any c o n ta c t w ith them? 192 Lyn: I c a n 't th in k o f any o f f hand. Do you g e t any re a c tio n s from o th e r te ac h e rs in the b u ild in g o r o u ts id e the b u ild in g ? Karla: We've had good re a c tio n outside the b u ild in g . We have an awful lo t o f people th a t come and v i s i t here and then go back to t h e ir b u ild ­ ing and say good things about the room. So, in th a t way th a t's p o s itiv e . Iule had a second grade teacher come down when she had a student teach er. She loves the room. She c o u ld n 't b e lie v e how w ell these kids were doing and what they were doing. Her only comment was, " I could never do any­ I ju s t c a n 't get m yself to g et around to do a l l those thing lik e t h is . th in g s ." But she thought i t was r e a lly n eat. She also had some o f the second graders th a t c o u ld n 't go camping, and she s a id , "You know, we gave them packets o f homework and th e y 'd s i t th ere and do th a t a l l , plus do what they were to do th e re ." She s a id , "They never had one b i t o f tro u b le w ith them." So th a t was p o s itiv e . I know th e re 's a fo u rth and f i f t h grade teacher th a t would lyn: We've had o th e r people who are very in te re s te d who would l ik e to come down and see the room. There is one teacher who passes through here on her way back from recess because she lik e s our room so much. She comes in th a t door and ju s t goes out th a t door. There are some others th a t are in te re s te d in s e ttin g up a room s im ila r to th is next year. Now, lik e to do i t . But ag a in , th e re 's one teacher th a t th e y 're not sure is going to be back. some o th e r people is th a t we d id n 't say th a t o th er people should be doing t h is . Just l ik e we gave the c h ild re n a choice to be in h ere, teachers need a choice to o , and you r e a lly have to want to do i t . more demanding o f you p e rs o n a lly . You use th e same teach er s k i l l s , I know I fe e l th in k , but you, as a person, have to open up to the k id s . I have been forced t o , because the kids are so open to you. You have to respond the same. I would say on the whole, the o th er teachers support the a lt e r n a tiv e . They r e a liz e th a t th is is the best fo r us. We're not saying i t ' s the best fo r them. not down on i t . I th in k what saved us from any negative comments from I f they d o n 't support i t a t le a s t th e y 're I t ' s I Karla: We've had them say, "You do some r e a lly neat th in g s ." Sure there are going to be some negative things about i t , but r e a l l y , on the whole, th e y 're ta lk in g about i t a t the high school then t h a t 's good. we've made q u ite an impact. I th in k , the p o s itiv e has come out a l l the way around. I f I th in k Have th e re been any c o n f lic t s a r is e because o f the a l t e r n a t i v e ? Karla: Not th a t we know o f. because o f the classroom. I f th ere have been, I d o n 't th in k th e y 're KaAla. and Lyn afie. veAy c o n f id e n t uUXh KfhaX t h e y oac d o in g and o b vio u A Z y (5 were there any o th e r proce­ dures th a t the a lt e r n a t iv e had to go through? 194 I do not know th a t the Board lik e d Not th a t I*m aware o f , but a ls o , th is . Right now, i t ' s q u ite loose and l e f t up to the b u ild in g le v e l as to what you can do w ith o u t going through procedures. There is a curriculum c o u n c il, and they s t i l l would lik e things lik e th is to go through i t . Were th e re any procedures they Dent through in th e b u ild in g . I d o n 't b e lie v e so. supportive o f each o th e r's ideas. I could be wrong, but the s t a f f is g e n e ra lly What i s the most im p o rta n t th in g th a t they want every h id to oome out o f th e re w ith ? Independence is one thing th a t I think they are r e a lly s tr iv in g f o r . I th in k they a llo w i t much more than in o th e r classrooms. The c h ild has to be independent. There are some checks and balances in i t , but he has to be independent. The freedom is th e re but i t has some d e f in it e lim its . Many o f the things th a t they do in th e re could be done in a tra d itio n a l classroom. I th in k , even academ ically they want the kid to go much fu r th e r ahead than in the t r a d itio n a l system, and they can allow i t because o f the way the room is s e t-u p . The lea rn in g centers I th in k th e y 'v e made i t fun fo r allow fo r th a t being s e lf-c o n ta in e d . the kid s, which a g a in , rooms, but I'm sure i t could be fun fo r the kids th a t way too. With the two o f them to g e th e r, they are always comparing ideas. They have the vo lun teer mothers th a t come in , so t h e ir ideas are p a rt o f i t . Their goals changed, but I th in k those would be the b iggest. I d o n 't know how they did i t in tr a d itio n a l Would you say t h a t t h e i r purposes o r goals a re d i f f e r e n t than the t r a d it io n a l classroom ? I th in k they a r e , but I d o n 't th in k they have to be. Although th ere are some teachers who handle t h e i r tr a d itio n a l rooms in much the same way, but i f y o u 're ta lk in g in g e n e r a litie s , y e s, no, i t also d o e s n 't have to be. i t is d if f e r e n t . But What do you see as the b ig g e s t d iffe r e n c e ? I see a la rg e room and a relaxed atmosphere. When there are two doors and a person walks in one door, they r e a lly d o n 't n o tice i t as they do in a tr a d itio n a l classroom because o f the s iz e fa c to r . They become very used to people walking through and th is kind o f th in g . the biggest d iffe re n c e is t h e ir acceptance o f others and th a t i t ' s not ju s t somebody in tru d in g on a classroom. Everybody is p a rt o f the classroom. than a t r a d it io n a l classroom. I th in k t h e ir classroom reaches out more in to the school I th in k Do you see i t as accepted by the o th e r teachers? 195 I th in k the only p e tty jealo u sy th a t has occurred is very minor Yes, and involved two teachers long before th is came up. is th e re , and i t looks as though i t w i l l be th e re . to do w ith the a lt e r n a t iv e education program. I t was th e re , i t 6u t i t has nothing Were th e re any steps taken to h e lp the o th e r te ac h ers in th e acceptance o f the a lt e r n a t iv e program? I'm sure the re s t o f the s t a f f was aware o f When i t was f i r s t s ta r te d , i t . For next y e a r , we met w ith the f i r s t grade teachers to see whether they f e l t they were being shortchanged. Then we met w ith the second grade teachers to see i f they f e l t they were g e ttin g a poor brand o f k id , whether they f e l t the top was being scooped o f f fo r th is room. Again, o ther than th is one p e rs o n a lity c o n f li c t , no one has spoken out against i t . We also met w ith the th ir d grade teachers to see how they f e l t w ith the second graders coming out o f th is room and going in to t h e ir rooms. Most o f them honestly said they d id n 't fe e l a problem. come o u t, but a g a in , i t would only deal w ith p e rs o n a litie s and not the educational aspect o f i t . They d id n 't say a n y th in g , but I honestly think th a t they d id not have any se lf-d o u b ts about i t . There are the same d iffe re n c e s between two classrooms across the h a ll th a t are t r a d i­ tio n a l. A l o t o f d if f e r e n t th in gs happen. lems. We've t r ie d t o , a t le a s t , consult a l l groups so th a t th e y 'v e had a chance to speak, so la t e r they c a n 't say they d id n 't . I f they d id n 't speak up, t h a t ’ s t h e i r problem. i t would be I'm sure th ere were some below surface things th a t d id n 't I d id n 't see any big prob­ How has i t been accepted by stu d en ts no t in t h a t environment? No problem a t a l l . in te re s tin g . I 'd never thought o f th a t question. T h a t's Has th e re been any c o n f l i c t because o f the environm ent in any way? No, in th in kin g about th a t, though, f i r s t o r second graders r e a lly d o n 't do a l o t o f comparison between t h e ir rooms and o th e r rooms. I f there was an a lt e r n a t iv e in th e high grades, i t would be d if f e r e n t . They do have a tendency by th a t age to compare teachers and programs to each o th e r. I t ' s something th a t d e f in it e ly would have to be d e a lt w ith and, e s p e c ia lly , the o ther teachers who did not have the program would have to be aware o f , and agree on, what the answer would be when I th in k i t would come up th e re , where f i r s t kids asked them questions. and second graders have a tendency to love whoever th e y 're w ith and not worry about what anyone e ls e Is doing. There's been some parent apprehension, e s p e c ia lly e a rly in the year. They were saying things l i k e , "Boy, i t ' s noisy in here" or "Boy th is " or "Boy t h a t ." When K arla and I o ffe re d to change th a t c h ild , "No, my c h ild loves i t . " So I th in k the biggest problem was the ad u lts adjusting to i t . They saw and read some things in to i t th a t w eren 't 196 a c tu a lly th e re . Karla and Lyn thought the noise fa c to r was louder than what th e y ’ d been used to anyway. I never r e a lly f e l t th a t i t was th a t noisy. A few o f the parents have mentioned i t , but I s t i l l never f e l t th a t i t was n oiser than some s e lf-c o n ta in e d rooms. Are th e re any o th e r o u tsta n d in g fa c to r s about the a l t e r n a t iv e t h a t stan d out in your mind? I th in k a t times I a ls o th in k th a t I th in k the big thing is to go w ith good teach ers. the two teachers have to g et along w ell to g e th e r. one or the o th e r wants to be too dominating or one does something th a t rubs the o th e r one the wrong way because th e y ’ re not fe e lin g w ell th a t day. Lyn and Karla are very good frie n d s which o verrid es a lo t o f problems th a t th ey've changed a l o t o f things since the beginning o f th e y e a r, from o rg an iza tio n al type things they a c tu a lly do in the room. There’ s been some changes th e re . I t ' s hard to p in p o in t the change, as w e're th in k in g o f i t as i t is now, but checking i t ag ain st the videotape which was done around Christm as, th e re 's been changes since then. type th in g . kids who want I t works w e ll, and I th in k w e 'l l have p le n ty o f parents and could a r is e . They have to be w illin g to change, to t r y th a t fo r next year w ith o u t any problem. I t ' s been an evolving as su p po rtive o f ike. a lt e r n a t iv e and can see a need Brace is very a lte rn a tiv e s In his b u ild in g . He sees th e importance o f th e understand­ ing ! o th e rs , such cu> teachers and parents and t r i e s to make sure th e re is no opening f a r people to f e e t m isinform ed. f a r more CHAPTER V I A SUMMARY This study was designed to look a t th ree a lte r n a tiv e environments in p u b lic schools in an attem pt to determine why these a lte rn a tiv e s were c re a te d , what procedure each program follow ed to get s ta rte d , how each program was d if f e r e n t from the re g u la r school, and what kinds o f things were happening fo r the people involved in the a lte r n a tiv e s . In order to look a t these a rea s, in te rv ie w s were made w ith teachers from the a lt e r n a tiv e s , a d m in is tra to rs from the schools, and a random s e le c tio n o f 10 percent o f the students involved and t h e ir parents. These a lte r n a tiv e s included one high school program c a lle d "The Student Option Block" from Edwardsburg, M ichigan; one m iddle school program c a lle d "School W ithin a School" from Okemos, Michigan; and one elementary program c a lle d "The Guided Open Classroom" from D e lta Center in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Chapter I I described the procedure fo r c re a tin g a lte r n a t iv e environments and d e a lt w ith i n i t i a t i o n and im plem entation. Chapters I I I , IV , and V described th e th ree a lte r n a t iv e environments studied and Included tran scrib ed in te rv ie w s o f teach ers, a d m in is tra to rs , s tu ­ dents, and t h e ir parents along w ith reactio n s from the in te rv ie w e r. This f in a l chapter w i l l answer the q u e stio n s, why and how these a lte rn a tiv e s were s ta r te d , how they are d if f e r e n t from the re g u la r 197 198 programs in the sc h o o l, and what 1s happening f o r the people in v o lv e d . I t w i l l als o In c lu d e co n clu sio n s, reconvnendations, new questions th a t were generated from t h is stu d y, and personal r e f le c t io n s . Questions f o r th e Study 1. Why a re a l t e r n a t i v e environm ents b ein g c r e a te d as p e r c e iv e d by te a c h e rs, a d m in is t r a t o r s, s tu d e n ts * and p a re n ts ? The community o f Edwardsburg was going through a g re a t deal o f re o rg a n iz a tio n in the schools 1n developing the Q u a lity Curriculum before th e Student Option Block was c re a te d . The Q u a lity Curriculum c a lle d f o r a lt e r n a t iv e le a rn in g environments w ith in the schools. When some teachers decided th ey wanted to do something d if f e r e n t and saw a need f o r a d if f e r e n t environment f o r some s tu d e n ts , th e a d m in is tra tio n and conmunity supported th e id e a . This a lt e r n a t iv e came about because o f th e d is s a tis f a c t io n o f some teachers and the d is s a tis fa c tio n they saw w ith some o f th e stu d en ts. The School W ith in a School came about f o r two reasons. Some students were unhappy w ith many th in g s a t school and expressed t h e ir fe e lin g s by dem onstrating a g a in s t c la s s e s . The school recognized th a t they would have to do something to begin responding to the needs o f the stu d en ts. At th is same tim e , th e re was a te a c h e r in the school who believed students should be involved in the decision-m aking process in school but found t h is to be d i f f i c u l t to in c o rp o ra te in h is classroom w ith a random group o f stu d en ts. This te a c h e r decided to s t a r t School W ith in a School where decision-m aking was th e p rim ary purpose and a ls o make i t an a lt e r n a t iv e where parents and students could d ecid e i f they 199 also wanted the same th in g s . The support o f th e a d m in is tra tio n , the d is s a tis fa c tio n o f one teacher and the unhappiness o f some stu d en ts, led to th e c re a tio n o f an a lt e r n a t iv e to the re g u la r school program. At D elta Center in Grand Ledge, the d is s a tis fa c tio n came from two teachers who were fru s tr a te d w ith the reading program and f e l t "boxed in" because o f the schedule. This d is s a tis fa c tio n caused these teachers to exp lo re what they r e a l l y wanted to do d if f e r e n t ly and then determine i f th ere were parents who also wanted th is f o r t h e ir c h ild re n . They found support from t h e ir a d m in is tra tio n and then from the paren ts. The a lt e r n a t iv e is c a lle d the Guided Open Classroom. A ll th ree o f these a lte r n a tiv e s were created because teachers saw a need to change what they were doing in the classroom. A fte r making the decision to change and gaining support from the a d m in is tra ­ tio n and some p a re n ts , they began steps to implement the a lte r n a tiv e s in t h e ir re s p e c tiv e schools. 2. What a re the procedures f o r s t a r t in g a l t e r n a t iv e environm ents as p e rc e iv e d by te ac h e rs t a d m in is tra to r s, s tu d en ts and p a r e n ts. The idea o f cre a tin g an a lte r n a tiv e environment 1n Edwardsburg, Michigan,came about in an August workshop contracted through Michigan S tate U n iv e rs ity th a t was o ffe re d a t the Edwardsburg High School. I t was during th is workshop th a t the two teachers from the Student Option Block and o th er in te re s te d teachers began c re a tin g a high school a l t e r ­ n a tiv e . Since the workshop was la t e in the summer, the teachers decided to use the f i r s t semester to g ather inform ation about o th e r high school a lte rn a tiv e s in order to fu r th e r develop one o f t h e ir own. During th is semester one o f the teachers applied fo r a m a te rn ity leave and Susan 2 0 0 Nelson was h ire d by Edwardsburg to f i l l the vacancy. Susan had been a teacher in Howell* M ichigan, where she had created an a lte r n a tiv e th a t was s im ila r to the program th a t was being proposed in Edwardsburg. This made i t e a s ie r f o r the continued planning o f the Student Option Block. An environmental d e s c rip tio n was drawn up and w ith the support of the p rin c ip a l and the su p erin ten d en t, i t was then presented to the Board. A fte r Board ap p ro va l, the teachers began co n tactin g students and parents to ex p la in th e program and began plans fo r the second semester o f 1974. The teachers also presented th is a lt e r n a t iv e to the re s t o f the s t a f f to make them aware o f what was happening and help them understand the concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s . When the teachers began developing the idea o f a lte rn a tiv e s fo r Edwardsburg, they met w ith a g re a t deal o f support from the a & n in is tra tio n . Both the p rin c ip a l o f the high school and the superintendent attended many sessions o f the o rig in a l workshop and encouraged the v is ita tio n s throughout the f i r s t semester. A fte r the approval from the Board, they continued g iv in g t h e ir support throughout the Implementation stages. There were some students and parents involved in the summer workshop and th a t helped in looking a t some expectations fo r the a lt e r n a t iv e , but most o f the students and parents were not a p a rt o f the a lt e r n a t iv e u n t il placement was being considered. The students were informed o f the Student Option Block through handouts and word- of-mouth and i f they were in te re s te d , got fu r th e r info rm ation from the teachers. They then a p p lie d fo r admission in to the program which 201 n ecessitated p a re n ta l consent. Parents were In v ite d to an open house fo r an ex p la n a tio n o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f the program and were als o encouraged to t a lk w ith th e teach ers a t any tim e about questions or concerns th a t they m ight have. The School W ith in a School a lt e r n a t iv e came about when Frank Blom, a te a c h e r, came up w ith a plan to o f f e r a s tu d e n t-c e n te re d program. His s tro n g e s t support was from a counselor 1n the sc h o o l, Jim J a r r e t t . They then approached th e p rin c ip a l who encouraged them to go to the superintendent w ith the p lan. The plan was then presented to the School Board w ith th e support o f both th e p r in c ip a l and the s u p e rin te n d e n t. A fte r g a in in g approval from the Board, parents o f m iddle school students were in v ite d to a m eeting to hear an ex p la n a tio n o f the program. Par­ ents were asked to make a choice o f whether they wanted t h e i r c h ild placed 1n th e School W ith in a School o r the re g u la r school program. The plan f o r t h is a lt e r n a t iv e was als o presented to th e o th e r teachers a t Kinawa to help them understand what was happening. Since th a t tim e , th e re have been o th e r a lt e r n a t iv e s crea ted 1n the same school. This concept is accepted and supported by most s t a f f members in the school. Students and t h e i r p aren ts a re asked to make a choice o f which environment w i l l b es t meet th e s tu d e n t's needs. The a lt e r n a t iv e environment a t D e lta Center came about when two teachers became fr u s tr a te d w ith the reading program a t the school and f e l t "boxed in " by scheduling. They decided to propose a c h ild - centered classroom th a t gave students and teachers more c o n tro l o f t h e ir tim e . The teachers approached the p rin c ip a l o f th e school who gave them support to present th e id ea to parents to determ ine i f th e re 202 was a need fo r th is type o f program in the community. The in d iv id u a l schools w ith in th e system had the autonomy to make th is type o f decision w ithout Board approval. The teachers then wrote an environmental d e s c rip tio n and sent i t out to a l l the parents who had th is o p tion fo r t h e ir c h ild . A meeting was then held fo r a l l in te re s te d parents to help c l a r i f y the purposes o f the a lt e r n a t iv e environment and to respond to any questions or concerns. The parents were then asked to respond i f they wanted t h e ir c h ild to experience The Guided Open Classroom. The a lte r n a tiv e was also presented to the o th e r teachers to help them understand what was happening. The support seemed strong from the re s t o f the s t a f f . These th re e programs follow ed very s im ila r procedures in i n i t i a t i n g a lte r n a tiv e s in t h e ir schools. The teachers were a l l responsible fo r communicating t h e ir ideas to the a d m in is tra tio n , s t a f f members, and parents. The high school and m iddle school also conmuni- cated w ith students, where the elem entary program d e a lt mostly w ith parents. The a d m in is tra tio n in a l l th ree schools gave enough support to encourage the teachers to pursue the concept. Two o f the schools went to the Board o f Education fo r ap p ro v a l, but they a l l then went to the parents fo r t h e i r support and p a r tic ip a tio n in decision-m aking. A ll three programs follow ed the steps e s ta b lis h e d in the procedure presented in Chapter I I . Each a lte r n a tiv e was defined through an environmental d e s c rip tio n , approved by b u ild in g a d m in is tra to rs , approved by the superintendent and Board o f Education when deemed necessary, c irc u la te d and discussed w ith o ther teachers in the b u ild in g , and 20 3 c irc u la te d and discussed w ith parents so th a t decisions could be made by them f o r placement. 3. Sow a re theee a l t e r n a t i v e environm ents d i f f e r e n t from the programs in th e t r a d it i o n a l school as p e rc e iv e d by te a c h e rs, a d m in is tra to r s, s tu d e n ts and p a re n ts ? When th is study was designed, the In te n t o f th is was to examine the need fo r a lte r n a tiv e s because o f the d iv e r s it y w ith in our s o c ie ty and the schools. This b e l ie f Is s t i l l stro n g , but i t became obvious, a f t e r lis te n in g to the in te rv ie w s th a t i t was impossible to be f a i r to both the a lt e r n a t iv e and the tr a d it io n a l school, i f only people from the a lte r n a tiv e were In te rv ie w e d . I t became c le a r th a t th is question put these two areas in a co m p etitive s itu a tio n which is very d e s tru c tiv e to the concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s . Most o f the people interview ed were biased to the d iffe re n c e s in th e two programs, which would be expected since they are a l l In a program they chose to experience. The responses are very honest, but tend to make the t r a d itio n a l program o r o th e r programs look less e f f e c ­ t iv e . This is probably tru e f o r these people because they were o r ig ­ in a lly asked to make a choice as to which environment would b e tte r meet t h e ir needs o r exp ectatio n s. The inform ation gathered through the in te rv ie w s Is in te re s tin g and e x c itin g but cannot be used to compare the tr a d it io n a l program and a lt e r n a tiv e programs since th is study was not designed to look a t the tr a d itio n a l p a rt o f the school. Many a lte r n a tiv e s are created to reduce com petition by g iv in g people more choices r a th e r than fo rc in g them to be winners o r losers In an a lre a d y e x is tin g system. 2 04 I t has also been estab lis h e d th a t a lte rn a tiv e s a re defined by the people Involved 1n them so they can have purposes th a t are very d if f e r e n t . I f the in te rv ie w responses are used to examine the d i f ­ ferences between the a lte r n a tiv e and the tr a d itio n a l sch o o l, I t would lead th e reader to b e lie v e th a t th ere 1s o n ly one type o f a lt e r n a tiv e . This 1s In opposition to the concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s . They are created so th a t the schools can begin responding to d iv e r s ity . I t would be a great m istake 1 f they a l l began looking a l i k e . Let 1t be understood th a t the a lte rn a tiv e s 1n th is study a re ju s t three th a t a re 1n o p eratio n . They a re not models or the answers to a l l the problems 1n the schools. The concept o f a lte rn a tiv e s can answer many problems 1 f they are created to meet the needs o f the people 1n the system where they e x is t . The reader is encouraged to read th e in terview s and determine how some o f the people see t h e ir a lt e r n a tiv e d iff e r e n t than the t r a d i ­ tio n a l school. Then t r y to understand th a t fo r th a t person, who chose to be In the a lt e r n a t iv e , th a t is probably the best p lace f o r him /her. I f a person chooses to be in the t r a d it io n a l school, th a t is probably the best place fo r him /her and h is /h e r responses might be very d iffe r e n t from the ones in th is study. That does not g ive e ith e r program any more worth f o r anyone o th e r than the person making the choice. 4. What th in g s a re happening f o r the p eo ple in v o lv e d i n th e a lt e r n a t i v e environm ents as p e rc e iv e d by te a c h e rs, a d m in is tra to r s, s tu d e n ts, and p a re n ts ? The in terview s in t h is study focus mostly on what was happening fo r the students in these programs. Although the schools a re u su ally most concerned w ith the stu d en ts, something has to happen f o r the teach ers, acfen1n1strators, and p aren ts, a ls o . The most common thing 205 th a t happened fo r the teachers in th is study was th a t they were able to get to know the students much b e tte r because o f the way tim e was used In these a lte r n a tiv e s . The students were making decisions about th e ir use o f tim e and resources, so the time they chose to spend w ith the teachers was very personal and had meaning. I t als o seems th a t most o f the teachers in th is study were e x c ite d and e n th u s ia s tic about what they were doing in the schools. They b elieved so stro n g ly in what they were doing and f e l t so much support as they worked w ith students and parents th a t also held the same b e lie f s , th a t excitem ent was generated through the experience. The a d m in is tra to rs in these a lte r n a tiv e s d id not ta lk about themselves through the in te rv ie w s , but th e assumption may be made th a t the ro le o f the p rin c ip a l has changed in some ways. The tr a d itio n a l ro le o f the p rin c ip a l is o fte n th a t o f supporting a ra th e r r ig id norm and using the power o f the p o s itio n to m aintain th a t norm. The concept of a lte r n a tiv e s changes the ro le to one o f supporting d iffe re n c e s . The p rin c ip a l must support the many d if f e r e n t ways o f teaching and also d if f e r e n t purposes in the classroom. The one statem ent th a t can be made about the parents in th is study is th a t most o f them were e x c ite d and e n th u s ia s tic about t h e ir c h ild 's experience in the a lt e r n a t iv e . On the w hole, they were very supportive o f the programs. Some o f the parents n o ticed a change in t h e ir ro le because o f t h e i r c h ild 's fe e lin g s about h im s e lf/h e rs e lf and also the change in the types o f a c t i v i t i e s he/she engaged in a t home because o f the school experience. Some o f the parents saw the in t e r ­ action very d if f e r e n t l y , now, as compared w ith the beginning o f the experience. 20 6 Most o f the In te rv ie w s focused on the things th a t were happening f o r students. For most o f the stu d en ts, the experience 1n the a lt e r n a tiv e was fun and e x c itin g . Although th is was not n e c e s s a rily a d ir e c t r e s u lt o f the a lt e r n a t iv e , th ere were some students from the Student Option Block and School W ith in a School who would d is lik e school or drop out o f school, i f 1 t were not f o r the a lte r n a tiv e program. The students o ften ta lk e d o f the many choices o r options they had in school. They seemed to enjoy the fa c t th a t they had something to say about what they could do and how they could do i t . At the high school l e v e l , the students spoke o f being able to study some areas th a t were not a v a ila b le In any o th e r way o r being ab le to g et c r e d it fo r doing things th a t they r e a l l y wanted to exp lo re. In the middle school, some ta lk e d about doing a c t i v i t ie s th a t u s u a lly d o n 't happen a t school. They seemed to understand th a t they were responsible f o r how they f e l t about what they were doing. Many students enjoyed the independence th a t they f e l t because o f the way the in d iv id u a l a lt e r n a t iv e was s tru c tu re d . They seemed to enjoy c o n tro llin g t h e ir own time and found t h a t , given the o p p o rtu n ity , they made wise decisions fo r themselves. Many students had developed a g reat deal o f confidence 1n themselves which seemed to focus on making decisions fo r themselves ra th e r than what they thought someone else would l ik e them to do o r be. They seemed to fe e l good about doing things fo r themselves which kept them in touch w ith t h e ir own need s tru c tu re . The cooperative environments have helped many to understand the concept o f d iv e r s ity . They seemed to understand th a t people are 207 d iffe r e n t and accepted those d iffe re n c e s as long as those d iffe re n c e s d id n 't a f f e c t them. Many spoke o f the o p p o rtu n ity they had to speak out on issues th a t were Im portant to them w ith ou t causing negative repercussions. They talk ed about others in the environment who would lis te n to them and the genuine atmosphere o f caring th a t they f e l t . The re la tio n s h ip s th a t were formed in these a lte r n a tiv e s seem very strong. Many students f e l t very close to the teachers and saw them as people r a th e r than s u p erio rs . The re la tio n s h ip s between stu ­ dents was one o f helping and c a rin g . The la b e ls o f boys, g i r l s , teachers and a d u lts , seemed to vanish and everyone became a person w ith whom fe e lin g s and concerns were shared. Some parents commented on the nice re la tio n s h ip s th a t boys and g ir ls had w ith o u t the romantic overtones. They were able to see each o ther as people. Conclusions Given th e nature o f th is study, the conclusions presented here are s u b je c tiv e . I t is hoped t h a t , even though s u b je c tiv e , they may serve to fo s te r the concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s . The n ature o f the study here, re fe rs to in te n t or purpose and design, and i t is recognized th a t any reader w i l l draw conclusions which may or may not be s im ila r to the a u th o r's . Conclusions w il l be presented as conclusions re la te d to the questions fo r th e study and conclusions re la te d to the model. Conclusions R elated to the Questions fo r the Study 1. The a lte r n a tiv e s in th is study were a l l created by teachers who were d is s a tis fie d w ith what they were doing in t h e i r classrooms. 208 They f i n a l l y got c lo s e r to t h e ir b e l ie f systems when they created an a lte r n a tiv e In which they were com fortable. 2. From th is study, I t Is obvious th a t teachers who c re a te a lte rn a tiv e s must be strong in t h e ir b e lie f s . Because they are breaking away from the norm, th ere w i l l be many times th a t they w il l be asked to j u s t i f y t h e i r behavior. 3. I t 1s obvious through the in te rv ie w s , th a t the teachers in these a lte rn a tiv e s were excited and e n th u s ia s tic about what they were doing. In the one program where the teachers seemed less excited than the o th e rs , the fr u s t r a t io n rested w ith t h e ir i n a b i l i t y to functio n as they o r ig in a lly planned. 4. The teachers in these a lte rn a tiv e s were responsive to the needs o f the in d iv id u a l students. Time was a c r i t i c a l v a r­ ia b le . When students made decisions on how they were going to use t h e ir own tim e , most o f t h e ir co n tact w ith teachers was in d iv id u a l. This gave the teacher an o pportunity to understand the in d iv id u a l person. 5. Adm inistrators in th is study became more responsive to the expectations o f parents through the c re a tio n o f a lte r n a t iv e environments in the schools. 6 . There is some evidence in th is study th a t suggests th a t the ro le o f the p rin c ip a l changes in a school w ith a lte r n a tiv e s . He must be more supportive o f d iffe re n c e s . I t is necessary to support programs and people th a t d i f f e r from h is /h e r own b e lie f system. 2 09 7. There was no a d d itio n a l cost to operate the a lte rn a tiv e s included 1n t h is study. There a re d if f e r e n t ways to use the resources th a t are re g u la rly a v a ila b le * but i t Is no more expensive than a tr a d it io n a l program, 8 . Host o f the students in th is study enjoyed t h e ir experience in an a lt e r n a tiv e environment. 9. There 1s some In d ic a tio n th a t most o f the students in the a lte r n a tiv e programs were very com fortable w ith a d u lts . 10. Students from the a lt e r n a t iv e programs viewed* tended to form close re la tio n s h ip s w ith others 1n t h e ir environment. 11. Hany parents who were in terview ed recognized the s im il a r it i e s between the school environment and the c h ild -re a r in g p ra c tic e s in the home. 12. Most o f the parents included in th is study became more involved In the school experience o f t h e ir c h ild when they were responsible fo r the d ecisio n o f p lacin g t h e ir c h ild in the a lte r n a t iv e . 13. For the a lte r n a tiv e s Included in th is stu d y, an attem pt was made to reduce f a ilu r e by c re a tin g a cooperative environment. I t can be concluded th a t f a i l u r e was reduced. Conclusions Related to the Procedure fo r C reating A lte r n a tiv e Environments 1. This study In d ic a te s th a t th e re is a need fo r a lte r n a tiv e environments in the pub lic schools. 2. Although th e re is r is k involved in c re a tin g a lt e r n a t iv e s , there is less r is k once i t is i n i t i a t e d . Parents make the 21 0 choice o f having t h e i r c h ild placed In th e a lt e r n a t iv e , and, as long as , the a c t i v i t i e s in the environment are c o n siste n t w ith the purpose o f th e classroom, the r is k is reduced. 3. From th is study i t is apparent th a t support fo r d iv e r s it y is e s s e n tia l In a school w ith a lte r n a tiv e s . 4. This study In d ica te s t h a t an environmental d e s c rip tio n is an e f f e c t iv e tool to use in the conrtunication process. 5. From th is study i t is apparent th a t most parents are supportive o f the educational process fo r t h e ir c h ild when they are a p a rt o f the decision-m aking process. Recommendat i on s General Recommendations I t 1s reconmended th a t 1 . teachers who are d is s a tis fie d w ith what is happening fo r them in the classroom create an a lt e r n a tiv e environment th a t is clo ser to t h e i r b e lie f system. 2 . teachers who wish to break away from the norm, can c l a r i f y t h e i r own b e lie fs by w ritin g an environmental d e s c rip tio n and crea tin g an a lt e r n a t iv e to the t r a d itio n a l program. C reating an a lt e r n a t iv e environment w i l l reduce the ris k when parents make the decision o f placement fo r t h e i r c h ild . 3. i f teachers wish to become more responsive to the needs of th e in d iv id u a l s tu d e n t, the decision-m aking process w ith in th e classroom must be examined. The more decisions the 211 students a re responsible f o r , the c lo s e r they g et to meeting t h e i r own needs. 4. a d m in is tra to rs become more responsive to the expectations o f parents and the needs o f students through the c re a tio n o f a lte r n a tiv e s in the p u b lic schools. 5. a d m in is tra to rs be more responsive to the concept o f d iv e r ­ s it y by supporting programs and people who have d if f e r e n t b e lie f systems than t h e i r own. 6 . since 1 t does not cost more to Implement a lte r n a tiv e s such as those Included 1n th is study, l e t th a t no longer be the excuse! 7. the schools begin synchronizing the school experience w ith c h ild -r e a r in g p ra c tic e s through th e c re a tio n o f a lte r n a tiv e s , 8 . schools develop a lte r n a tiv e environments as a way o f g e ttin g parents more involved in the school experience o f the c h ild , through th e decision-m aking process. 9. cooperative environments be created as a lte r n a tiv e s fo r the students and parents who choose to experience a noncompeti­ t iv e environment. S p e c ific Recommendations to the A lte rn a tiv e s Included In the Study I t Is reconmended th a t 1 . th ere be more communication between the a d m in is tra to rs and the teachers in the Student Option Block regarding t h e ir in d iv id u a l expectations f o r the program. 2. the amount o f time spent 1n Option Block each day be extended to g ive the students the time to exp lo re what t h e i r needs r e a lly are and to respond to those needs. 3. The Guided Open Classroom teacher review t h e i r student placement procedures to make the program a v a ila b le to a l l parents and use random placement 1 f th e re is more in te r e s t than space a v a ila b le * and thus avoid teach er s e le c tio n s . 4. an in te re s te d woman teacher be placed in School W ithin a School fo r a designated length o f time each day. 5. an a lte r n a t iv e s im ila r to The Guided Open Classroom be created fo r the o ld e r students a t D elta C enter. New Questions Generated From the Study How is the ro le o f the school a d m in is tra to r d efin e d d if f e r e n t ly in a school w ith a lte rn a tiv e s ? What happens to student achievement scores in an environment where the prim ary purpose is something o ther than academic achievement? What does the concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s mean to parents? What does the concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s mean to teachers who are teaching In a re g u la r classroom? What do te a ch ers, a d m in is tra to rs , students, and parents mean by s tru c tu red and unstructured? What are le g itim a te purposes f o r the school as perceived by te a c h e rs , a d m in is tra to rs , p a re n ts , and teachers? 21 3 7. How do the expectations o f parents change toward the school as a re s u lt o f t h e ir c h ild 's experience in an a lte r n a tiv e classroom? 8 . Can i t be determined whether i t is simply the teacher o r is i t the philosophy expressed w ith in the environment th a t makes the d iffe ren c e? Personal R e fle ctio n s This study has given me so much besides strengthening my b e lie fs supporting a lte r n a tiv e s . I enjoyed each and every in te rv ie w and re a liz e d through them, how much people have to give o f themselves and how so o ften th is does not happen. In our busy world we seldom take tim e to t a lk about the things we r e a lly fe e l stro n g ly about. I w ill always treasure the tim e I have had w ith each o f these people and w ill take the small p a rt I have o f them w ith me always. I t was such a pleasure to spend the small amount o f tim e I had w ith the students from the th ree a lte r n a tiv e s . How e a s ily we fo rg e t what b e a u tifu l people they are. They are so o ften thought o f as c h ild re n who have not y e t a r r iv e d , but my experience w ith them made me r e a liz e how l i t t l e c r e d it we g iv e them. They have In sig h ts o f the world around them th a t would educate most a d u lts beyond t h e ir g re a te s t exp ectation s. T h e ir understanding o f themselves and those around them renewed iny f a it h in people and made me r e a liz e th a t th ere is hope f o r a cooperative and caring s o c ie ty i f we only look to ourselves fo r d ire c tio n ra th e r than always a t what everyone e ls e is doing. 214 The one th in g th a t amazed me is th e understanding o f d iv e r s ity th at young people have. They re a liz e d th a t people a re d if f e r e n t and seem to enjoy th is r e a l i t y . They o ften pointed out to me how some people in school lik e one th in g , w hile o thers enjoy o th e r things and how they lik e d to spend tim e w ith some a t c e rta in tim e s , and some a t o th er tim es. The d iffe re n c e s In these people were accepted and encouraged. My re a l awakening came when I looked a t each name when I fin is h e d the in te rv ie w s and understood the d if fe r e n t things th a t were im portant fo r each person. How lucky these young people were to be in a lte r n a tiv e programs where they were able to pursue what was im portant fo r them. My g re a te s t hope is th a t each o f these young people can continue to recognize and understand the d iffe re n c e s in people and not get to the p o in t where many ad u lts are today o f expecting the same things from everyone. 1 o fte n wonder why so many a d u lts cannot, or w i l l n o t, look a t the concept o f d iv e r s ity and understand th a t a l l people do not want the same th in gs out o f l i f e and should not fe e l wrong o r bad because they want d if f e r e n t th in g s . People in our s o c ie ty , so o fte n , say they r e a liz e people are d if f e r e n t but then expect them to do things in the same way and learn the same th in gs. Through the in te rv ie w s , I found th a t some teachers could not accept o th e r teachers who wanted to do something d if f e r e n t and even said things to students th a t put them down fo r wanting d if f e r e n t th in g s . There were also c o n flic t s with the a d m in is tra tio n and fa c u lty th a t seemed to say, "You should do things lik e I would do them." People o fte n seem to put things in to a " r ig h t way" and "wrong way" approach. 215 Must we always continue to put people in to the com petitive model th a t says. "My way is the best way"? This concept seems so d es tru c tiv e to me. I t does not g ive people the o p p o rtu n ity to look a t what they want fo r themselves or how they go about g e ttin g i t . I t forces people to c o n tin u a lly look a t what is Im portant to someone else and c o n s ta n tly sets people up to lo s e . Competition seems to be one o f the prim ary ways the schools b u ild f a i l u r e in to the system. The concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s in the p u b lic schools responds to the d iv e r s ity in our s o c ie ty and also to cooperation among people. Competitive environments would be o ffe re d f o r those who p re fe r th a t and cooperative environments fo r those who want something d if f e r e n t . This concept accepts th a t people are d if f e r e n t and makes i t p ossible fo r people to develop these d iffe re n c e s . 215 Must we always continue to put people in to the co m p etitive model th a t says, "My way is the best way"? This concept seems so d e s tru c tiv e to me. I t does not give people the o p p ortun ity to look a t what they want fo r themselves or how they go about g e ttin g i t . I t forces people to c o n tin u a lly look a t what Is im portant to someone else and c o n sta n tly sets people up to lose. Competition seems to be one o f the prim ary ways the schools b u ild f a i l u r e in to the system. The concept o f a lte r n a tiv e s in the p u b lic schools responds to the d iv e r s ity in our s o c ie ty and also to cooperation among people. Competitive environments would be o ffe re d f o r those who p re fe r th a t and cooperative environments f o r those who want something d if f e r e n t . This concept accepts th a t people are d if f e r e n t and makes i t p ossible fo r people to develop these d iffe re n c e s . APPENDIX A THE PILOT STUDY: DESCRIPTION AND INTERVIEWS FROM “THE K .I.D .S .S . ROOM" AT CORNELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN OKEMOS, MICHIGAN APPENDIX A THE PILOT STUDY: DESCRIPTION AND INTERVIEWS FROM "THE K .I.D .S .S . (KIDS INVOLVED IN DOING SUPER STUFF) ROOM"AT CORNELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN OKEMOS, MICHIGAN (Coteen Cranet E d ucator) Environmental D escriptio n Purposes: To help in te r n a liz e the concept o f peace. O b je c tiv e s : • To provide the o p p o rtu n ity f o r the mastery o f the basic s k i l l s . • To develop the c h ild 's awareness o f personal worth and uniqueness. • To crea te an atmosphere th a t w i l l fo s te r c r e a tiv e and inde­ pendent th in k in g . • To help develop in each c h ild so c ia l s k i ll s in d ea lin g w ith peers and a d u lts . I B e lie v e : • C hildren have a n atu ral c u r io s ity to learn . • A c h ild w illin g ly and v o lu n ta r ily learns s k i ll s when he/she recognizes a personal need fo r the s k i ll s . • The classroom educator should a c t as a f a c i l i t a t o r in the development o f c h ild re n 's in t e r e s t areas. • Each person is unique and responds to d if f e r e n t s tim u li. • C hildren should le a rn fo r t h e ir own pleasure and understanding ra th e r than under the pressure o f com petition. • Decision making 1s a s k i l l th a t needs to be p ra c tic e d beginning as a young c h ild . • Developing a c r e a tiv e mind is e s s e n tia l in the development o f the to ta l s e lf . • The a c q u is itio n o f the basic s k i l l s is important in enlarging a c h ild 's frame o f re feren ce . • Using knowledge in p ra c tic a l a p p lic a tio n provides fo r g re a te r understanding. 21 6 217 • Human emotion 1s n a tu ra l and should be understood. • Peace involves an In n e r s e c u rity and confidence in o n e s e lf th a t allow s th a t person to accept others w ith o u t fe a r or th r e a t. • To love and be loved is the basis o f human growth. P a rtic ip a n ts : Twenty-four 7-10 y e a r olds from C ornell w i l l have the o p p o rtu n ity to p a rtic ip a te in the K .I.D .S .S . program. Numbers per grade le v e l are as fo llo w s: 7 Second grade Third grade 5 Fourth grade 12 Q u a lific a tio n s : A parent/guardian signature is req u ired to e n te r the c h ild in to the program. This sig nature im p lies th a t the p arent/guardian has read, and agrees w ith , the environmental d e s c rip tio n and desires t h e i r c h ild be placed in the K .I.D .S .S . Room. Learning Environment: • The le a rn in g environment w il l include the l ib r a r y , the o u t-o f-d o o rs , the community and the classroom. • The room w i l l be organized in to le a rn in g cen ters. These centers w i l l house the various m a te ria ls necessary to meet each c h ild 's needs and s tim u la te h is /h e r c u r io s ity . Some of the centers provided w i l l be: sewing, science, in d u s tria l a r t s , and gardening. language a r t s , mathematics, • Large ta b le s and c h a irs w il l be provided as a study area fo r those who wish to use them although the student may choose to study where he/she fe e ls most com fortable. • Personal items o f the student w il l be kept in h is /h e r p riv a te cubbie h ole. Student E valuatio n : • There w i l l be two o ral and two w ritte n conferences. At each conference the p a re n t, the c h ild and the educator w i l l have in p u t. The evalu atio n w i l l cen ter around the stated o b jec tiv es o f the program. 21 8 • The purpose o f the e v a lu a tio n w i l l be to re p o rt each stu d en t's growth and to add in s ig h t concerning the to ta l c h ild . • A d d itio n al conferences w i l l be scheduled according to in d iv id u a l need. C reative Dance O ption: Joey Latterman w il l conduct a c r e a tiv e dance program fo r those in te re s te d students. The fo llo w in g is her program d e s c rip tio n : "Since we c a n 't escape our bodies or moving w ith them, lea rn in g to enjoy and fe e l com fortable about i t and it s movements means doing something p re tty s p e c ia l fo r o u rs e lv e s ." C reative Dance O b je c tiv e s : • Gain in awareness o f surrounding space. • Free our bodies to merge w ith or express an idea in rhythm. • In c re a s e in o p p o rtu n itie s o f s h a rin g group in vo lvem en t. • R elate movement experience w ith a l l the o ther means o f expression— a r t , drama, p o e try , prose, e tc . * * * * * * A teacher "should not beg you to e n te r the house o f his wisdom, but ra th e r lead you to the threshold o f your own m ind." Kahil G ibran— The Prophet 2 1 9 In te rv ie w s from "The K .I.D .S .S . Room" Greg Latterman Greg i s a s e v e n -y e a r-o ld who i s in h is f i r s t y e ar in The K .I.D .S .S . Room a t C o rn e ll Elem entary School in Okemos, M ichigan. How do you f e e l about scho ol, Greg? P re tty good. What k in d s o f th in g s do you do in school? Me can play games w ith people, go o u ts id e , play b a s k e tb a ll, o r something. Me can do things a t school we c a n 't do a t home because we d o n 't have the s t u f f . Have you always f e l t abo ut school l i k e you do t h is y e a r ? Have you always lik e d school? Sometimes. Do you mean, l i k e , some days? Yes, t h is year. W hat's d if f e r e n t abo ut school t h is y e a r? New w r it in g . D id you decide to do th is ? Yes, and lis te n to re c o rd s , th is ye ar we do. But l a s t y e a r you c o u ld n 't? No. How were you put in t o t h is classroom? By my Mom. So she made the d e c is io n ? You d i d n 't have a n y th in g to say about i t ? I wanted to be in i t . Why d id you want to be in i t ? Do you know? Uh-uh. [N o .] 22 0 Were th e re some o th e r classrooms you c o u ld have gone in to ? Yeah, but I w o u ld n 't lik e them. How d id you know t h a t you would one? l i k e t h is one and w o u ld n 't l i k e a n o th e r I was in one before and 1 lik e d th is one b est. What kinds o f th in g s were happening in here th a t you lik e d ? I d o n 't know. Do you see t h is classroom as being d if f e r e n t ? Yes, most classrooms d o n 't have have a l l kinds o f s tr in g . the kinds o f s t u f f we do. Like we I lik e to make s t u f f w ith i t . So t h a t 's th e b ig g e s t d iffe re n c e ? Yeah. Do you know what th e most im p o rta n t th in g i s th a t youi‘ p a re n ts o r th e program want you to g e t out o f t h is classroom? No. What d id you do today? I ju s t lis te n e d to records and went out fo r recess. D id you do some d i f f e r e n t th in g s today? Yeah, I made s t u f f out o f socks. D id everyone do th a t? No. What types o f th in g s do you do when you g e t home from school? I play w ith my frie n d s . Are they the same fr ie n d s you have here in school? No, th e y 're b ig g e r. They're tw elve and th ir te e n . What kinds o f th in g s do you do w ith your frie n d s ? Just play baseball and s t u f f . 221 This i s you r f i r s t y e a r in The K .I.D .S .S . Room? Yes. Do you have some f r ie n d s who a re i n o th e r classrooms in the school? Yes. How do they f e e l about you being i n The K .I.D .S .S . Room? Do they ever say an y th in g to you about i t b ein g d if f e r e n t ? No, o th e r kids do. They say we d o n 't do anything. Do you th in k you do a n y th in g in th e re? Yes. So i t d o e s n 't b o th e r you when they say th a t? No. I f I asked you what was th e most s p e c ia l th in g about The K .I.D .S .S . Room, what would you say? I d o n 't know. Do you have lo ts o f fr ie n d s ? No. Some r e a l l y s p e c ia l fr ie n d s ? Yes. Patty Latterman P a tty i s an e ig h t - y e a r - o ld who has spent two y ears in The K .I.D .S .S . Room a t C o rn e ll Elem entary in Okemos, M ichigan. How do you f e e l about sch o o l, P a tty ? I lik e i t . Why do you l i k e i t ? Because my frie n d s are here. Would you r a t h e r be do in g something d if f e r e n t ? Yes. 22 2 What would you. r a t h e r do? Be a t home. What would you do i f you were a t home? Play w ith my cousin. Is your cousin a t home? No, she liv e s in East Lansing. My Mom would b rin g me over th e re . Have you always lik e d school? Nope, when I was a t Lansing, 1 d id n 't l ik e i t . What d i d n ' t you li k e about i t ? My teacher th ere was mean. How do you see school as d i f f e r e n t now? The p rin c ip a l is nice and the teacher is n ic e . How a re th e y nice? I d o n 't know. Some o f th e teachers a t the lo ts o f work and i f you d id n 't do i t r i g h t , they made you do o th e r school made you do i t over. How were you p laced in t h is classroom? By my Mom. What d id she have to do to g e t you in t h is classroom? She asked me, and gave me something. What d id she g iv e you? She said i f I 'd be in i t she'd give me money f o r chocolate m ilk . I th in k th a t 's what i t was. She gave me something. She wanted you in h e re, but you d i d n 't want to be in here? I wanted t o , but I als o wanted something. Is t h is classroom d i f f e r e n t from o th e r classrooms? W ell, you do as much work but you can play other classrooms you have desks. and I lik e to p la y . In 2 23 What would you say i s the most im p o rta n t th in g th a t happens in the classroom? That everyone lik e s each o th e r in the c la s s . What kinds o f th in g s do you do d u rin g the day? We do language a r ts and math every day o f the week and then we can use fre e time to do more math and language or p la y . W e ll, what th in g s do you do? I play th a t game where you take the s tic k s and jump over them w ith o u t g e ttin g your fo o t caught. Then we play paper d o lls and then I u s u ally do my work and put on plays and puppet shows. So you J u s t k in d o f d ecid e when i t ' s time? I go to the lib r a r y sometimes, when I fe e l lik e i t . What th in g s do you do when you come home from school? I have a b a b y s ittin g job across the s tr e e t . Today I'm having a p arty or I in v it e someone over to p lay w ith me or I go to my cousin's or my grandma1s . What kind s o f th in g s do you do when you p la y ? I play w ith my paper d o lls m yself and sometimes cook something o r watch TV o r p a in t. My Mom u s u a lly needs typing done or stamping and I u s u ally do t h a t . So I u s u ally have lo ts o f s t u f f to do. Me and my b ro th e r lik e to play games. How long have you been in th e a lt e r n a t iv e ? This y e a r and la s t . What i s the r e a c tio n o f stu d en ts who a r e n 't in the c la s s to you being in the classroom? That we d o n 't do any work. Does i t b o th e r you when they say th a t? No, 'cause i t ' s not tru e . 224 Ms. Latterman M b . L atterm an i s the m other o f P a tty and Greg who are in The K .I.D .S .S . Room a t C o rn e ll Elem entary School in Okemos, M ich igan . How do you f e e l about Greg and P a tty * s experiences in th e a l t e r n a t iv e classroom? The n e a te s t th in g fo r Gregory is th a t now he seems to be com fortable about academics even though he c a n 't do i t . He knows he c a n 't do i t , but I th in k he's more w illin g to go over i t slow ly and lea rn i t . B ut, we have p r e tty much l e t him go th is y e a r, academ ically. A smidgin a day, s o rt o f th in g , w ith reading. We've pushed him a l i t t l e b i t because, o th e rw is e, he w o u ld n 't do any o f i t . He is capable o f doing I th in k Coleen has t r ie d to help him work w ith the things he can i t . do, so he knows he can do some th in g s . p s y c h o lo g ic a lly . He is a non-reader and in second grade. T h a t's tough on your ego. So, fo r him, reading was very much mixed up w ith his ego, and I th in k he's learned to accept the fa c t th a t he c a n 't read and w il l someday. He's very in te re s te d in horses and he brings books home from the l ib r a r y and he s its down and reads a book. So, t h a t 's a big step. He wants to read. So, I fe e l com fortable and t h a t's why we want him in here n e x t y e a r. H e 'll probably be re ta in e d , but i t ' s so much less n oticeab le in a room lik e t h is . We want him re ta in e d to g ive him an I th in k i t ' s stupid extra y e a r so th a t Greg can go a t h is own pace. in ten years o r whatever. to say t h a t a kid should get through school Some kids need f if t e e n y e a rs . I th in k th a t has played on him How w i l l r e t a in in g him help him ? th a t Give him an e x tra year before he has to go to middle school, so he can read when he gets ready to . He's the youngest kid in the c la s s , agewise. He was a b o rd e rlin e kid when I put him in k in d e rg a rte n , so he won't be th a t much o ld e r. He's sm aller p h y s ic a lly , so i t w on't h u rt. He needs an e x tra year a l l the way around. the time to go a t his own r a te . We d o n 't want to throw school. see the p o in t in rushing kids through school. extra y e a r, and i f he gets ahead and catches up, g re a t. fun place to be and i t ' l l t o t a l l y take the pressure o f f , which I th in k is im portant in school. My fe e lin g s as to what a kid should lea rn in is to fe e l com fortable about h im se lf and w illin g to elementary school learn and not be scared. him in middle I t w on't hurt to keep him in here next y e a r because I d o n 't I t ' s g iv in g him an This is a B ut, m ostly to g ive him How do you f e e l about h is exp erie n c e s now as compared to b e fo re ? W ell, he had p re tty calm, p a tie n t teachers b e fo re , but I th in k the biggest problem was in a u d ito ry reading. He was presented w ith th a t program and everybody was in i t . W e ll, 1 t was p re tty a u d ito ry and one of the th in g s we found out was th a t Greg does not re ta in a u d ito ry 225 I t was, lis te n in g w ith your ear to symbols very w e ll. That was a l l sounds and having to remember them. He was under th a t program fo r two years and i t was very s e lf-d e fe a tin g f o r Gregory. So, I th in k t h a t's the biggest th in g . He was always put in these groups since kindergarten and he was aware o f what le v e l he was a t , the lowest le v e l, which I th in k increased his a n x ie ty . But you get him in h ere , fo r one th in g , th e re 's no grouping. They t r y to remove the co m p e titive element which In here th e re 's no competi­ I d o n 't th in k they do in other classrooms. tio n . You d o n 't fe e l you have to be on the same reading le v e l as o th e r kids. So, th e re are two sources o f a n x ie ty which is very im portant fo r a kid . Along w ith t h a t , I th in k i t ' s ju s t the general fe e lin g o f being w ith his s is t e r . o f ju s t p laying a t home. They have to resolve i t and deal w ith i t a l l the time instead o f ignoring i t or running o f f . I th in k th a t's r e a lly good. I th in k they have to deal w ith t h e ir c o n flic ts in stead Do you see t h a t c a rry in g over in t o th e home? Yes, the o th e r th in g t h a t's changed, which may be because o f age, or because I'm home every morning, they come in from school d if f e r e n t ly than they did la s t y e a r. Last y e a r they would come i n , throw t h e ir things down, say " H i, Mom," and were gone l ik e a ro c k e t. They were very high strung coming in through th e door. This year they come in , I t ' s l ik e the day has no give me a s m ile , and put t h e ir th in g s away. d iv is io n , school and home. T here's not g re a t d iv id in g lin e between school and home. So, t h e i r home l i f e s t y le ? l i f e s t y l e is ju s t a c o n tin u a tio n o f t h e i r school I th in k . I 'v e found from th is R ig h t, which is r e a lly im p ortan t, environment th a t i t helped me to c a rry on a t home the way th e y 're carrying on a t school. We t r y to t i e i t a l l to g e th e r. What the ru les are a t school, the ru les are a t home. W e're able to carry i t on, which is a heck o f a l o t more b e n e fic ia l than me being per­ missive w ith some ru les a t home, and the teacher being s t r i c t and s trin g e n t. the school d is c ip lin e , th a t a c h ild c a n 't get away w ith one thing someplace and another thing elsew here. which brings us to the fa c t th a t maybe how parents decide where to put t h e ir c h ild in school, r e f le c t s the kind o f d is c ip lin e you use, so th a t you'd be carryin g over. I th in k i t ' s im portant th a t the home d is c ip lin e is lik e I t ' s much less c o n flic tin g , R e la tin g to t h a t t how were you in v o lv e d as a p a re n t in p la c in g your c h ild re n in th e classroom? We read through the environmental o b je c tiv e s so th a t we knew e x a c tly what was going to go on in the classroom and we agreed w ith them. I b elieve th a t parents should have th e say-so about what kind o f c la s s ­ room t h e ir c h ild re n should be in . O therw ise, th e communication gets 226 a ll messed up about what the teach er is t r y in g to do and what y o u 're try in g to do. My f e e lin g is th a t school should be ju s t a c o n tin u a tio n of home. A c h ild le a rn s a t home and a c h ild lea rn s a t school. A c h ild should le a rn how to g e t along w ith people a t school j u s t l i k e a t home. There r e a l l y s h o u ld n 't be a big d iv id in g l in e between th e two. What do you see as th e p rim a ry purpose o f t h i s classroom ? I see the purpose as th e environm ental o b je c tiv e s . c h ild fin d peace w ith in h im s e lf and re s o lv e and deal h o n estly w ith h is problems, communication w ith people th a t make him mad, fin d in g out how to fe e l good about h im s e lf. I t ' s to help each How do you see t h is purpose as d i f f e r e n t th a n th e t r a d i t i o n a l school? I f you do re a l w e ll acad em ically then y o u 're looked on as I th in k one th in g , th is in v o lv e s P a tty . P a tty c a n 't make up her mind whether she wants to be in th is classroom n e x t y e a r or n o t. One o f the reasons why I th in k w e 're going to la y down the law and say she has to be 1n h e re , is because in most r e g u la r classrooms th e re are p a y -o ffs . a marvelous s tu d e n t, so t h a t 's a p a y -o ff and t h a t 's why you do w e ll in math. You g e t a gold s t a r . P a tty fu n c tio n s extrem ely w ell aca­ d e m ic a lly , but I fe e l P a tty 's problem is m an ip u la tin g p eo ple. She's fe e lin g b e t te r about h e r s e lf than she used to la s t y e a r , I t h in k , but I s t i l l d o n 't th in k she fe e ls r e a lly good about h e r s e lf. I th in k th e most im portant th in g f o r P a tty to le a rn is to fe e l good about h e r s e lf. I d o n 't care i f she le a rn s one new th in g ac ad e m ica lly next y e a r. Where Greg needs academ ics, P a tty d o e s n 't. So y o u fr e s a y in g th e d if f e r e n c e s a re aca d e m ic? I th in k I f you g e t i t done e a r l i e r , you can do t h is l i s t This classroom meets both. Greg needs academics to fe e l good about h im s e lf, he c a n 't read and fe e ls l ik e he should. P a tty , academics are a p a y -o ff f o r h er. She can do e v e ry th in g r e a lly w e ll. th a t's why she wants to go in to a re g u la r classroom , because the teachers say, “Whoever g ets th is done the soonest and th e b e s t, can go o u ts id e . o f th in g s ." P a tty th r iv e s on t h is . She does ve ry w e l l , so she gets a l l kinds o f p a y -o ffs f o r the fa c t th a t s h e 's a smart l i t t l e g i r l . Then she uses t h is in m an ip u latin g people. She's a very p e rc e p tiv e c h ild and she has i t down to a 'T ' how to do t h a t . So i t ' s re in fo rc in g what th e k id a lre a d y knows how to do. r ic h . Some people would th in k t h a t was a marvelous goal I want to squelch i t r i g h t now. g et where she wants to g e t. So, I see a r e g u la r classroom as very c o m p e titiv e . look even, but I th in k in s id e the k id 's head, i t comes out even. see the classroom 's d iffe r e n c e as p u re ly p s y c h o lo g ic a l. One th in g P a tty mentioned is th a t kid s make fun o f her f o r being in th e r e . She d id n 't want to be in here next year because people make fun o f h e r. I t ' s the way to become c o rp o ra tio n p re s id e n t o f General M otors. in l i f e f o r a c h ild . I th in k th e academic s t u f f comes out even. I d o n 't want her to step on people to I t ' s a way to become s u c c e s s fu lly I t d o e s n 't I 227 In a re g u la r classroom, she fe e ls good about h e rs e lf I see the basic cause o f th is because P atty d o esn 't fe e l re a l good about h e r s e lf. Down deep she i s n 't too sure o f h e rs e lf and she wants to be where people th in k w ell about h er. My basic concern fo r P a tty is to have her in a room next y e a r where she's going to fe e l good about h e r s e lf. because she's doing re al w e ll, but strokes come from a co n d itio n a l nature, not an u n c o n d itio n al. We need to give her more unconditional strokes a t home and somehow in the a lte r n a tiv e classroom next y e a r, set up some kind o f a program, w ith in the a lt e r n a t iv e , where she is g ettin g unconditional strokes f o r being P a tty . does th is anyway, but I th in k P a tty needs a l i t t l e more. The question is , can you do that? the program, are you r e a lly g iv in g unconditional strokes? I f y o u 're g iv in g the kid u nconditional strokes in I th in k the classroom Have Greg and P a tty alw ays f e l t good about school? No, they hated where we were in Waverly. P atty doesn’ t l ik e th is classroom th a t w e ll, but Greg does. As I said b e fo re , P a tty lik e s structured cla ss es . She says Ms. Crane is always bossing her around, t e llin g her what to do every m inute, which is a bunch o f m alarky. Again, t h a t 's P a tty being re b e llio u s towards me, knowing t h a t's not the tr u th . Does Greg say s im ila r th in g s? No, he d o e s n 't g et in to i t . He th in ks Coleen is g re a t. He has a lo t o f respect f o r h er. I 'v e watched his reactio n s and i f he's goofing o f f and she says something to him, his face gets a l i t t l e flu sh ed . But she lik e s horses and he loves horses so he has a deep resp ect fo r her because she lik e s horses. him to . I th in k he'd walk o f f a c l i f f i f she asked So you see him loo kin g a t school d i f f e r e n t l y than he d id la s t year? Yes, i t ' s not so much what he says, but I can t e l l from his re ac tio n when he comes in the door. He's not bursting in . He walks in calm but e x c ite d , ju s t normal. He d o esn 't have to deluge a l l those emotional fe e lin g s . Do you see any d iffe r e n c e s in th e types o f a c t i v i t i e s they engage in now, a f t e r school and on weekends? Patty h a s n 't changed much. Greg has become more sports-m inded. That might be age. He does a l o t more things lik e s p o rts . But the biggest d iffe re n c e I s , they do more c o n s tru c tiv e things. T h e y're not spending q u ite as much tim e f ig h tin g , in f a c t , th ey've calmed down. 228 Betsy Schneider Betey i s a l i v e l y re d -h e a d who i s n in e y e a rs o ld . She has spent two years in The K .I.D .S .S . Boom a t C o rn e ll Elem entary School in Okemos, M ichigan. How do you f e e l about school t h is y e a r ? I lik e i t . I th in k i t ' s fun. You've been in The K .I . D . S . S . Boom a long tim e , so i t ' s hard to th in k back but have you alw ays f e l t the same way about school? No, I f e l t d i f f e r e n t l y , but I d id n 't hate school. How d id you f e e l ? I d o n 't know. School w asn't as fu n . We did d if f e r e n t s t u f f and we did s t u f f a t the same tim e. How i s i t d i f f e r e n t now? We can do a l o t o f things we want. Who decides what y o u 're going to d o ? Me. How were you p la c e d in t h is classroom ? Who decided you should be here? I d id . Once you decided t h a t , what had to happen f o r you to be here? My Mom and Dad had to , w e ll, la s t y e a r they went to a m eeting. They had to say th a t they wanted you to be in th e re? Yeah, they d id n 't care i f I wanted to . When you th in k about the purpose, th e most im p o rta n t th in g about t h is classroom , do you know what th a t is ? I d o n 't know. I f n o th in g e ls e happened t h is whole y e a r , what do you th in k is the most im p o rtan t th in g in t h is classroom ? To be happy. 22 9 What kind s o f th in g s do you do d u rin g th e day? I d o n 't know. We do lo ts o f kinds o f s t u f f . Can you name some o f yo u r f a v o r it e th in g s to do? I lik e to do maps. Whenever we get new s t u f f , tr y them out and see what th e y 're l i k e . I lik e to do th a t. I lik e to do those, Did you do maps today? No, I did i t yesterday because everyone d id them f o r a re p o rt. What do you do when you go home from school? Tuesday I go to scouts. What do you do on j u s t a r e g u la r day? I u su ally watch TV. What do you t ik e to do on weekends? my Dad. Sometimes we go to baseball games I lik e to go swimming w ith and in fo o tb a ll season, sometimes I go to them tw ice a y e a r on Sundays because Saturdays my Dad is busy 'cause he's w ritin g his book. baseball and sometimes I play f o o t b a ll. Sometimes my Dad when he has e x tra tim e. I play ten n is w ith I p lay How long have you been in The K .I.D .S .S . Room? W ell, next year w i l l be my th ir d y e a r, so th is must be my second. was in your room, and then i t was c a lle d The K .I.D .S .S . Room. I How do o th e r k id s t h a t a re no t in your room re a c t? W ell, we had a problem fo r a l i t t l e w h ile w ith some. We had a big problem, so we ta lk e d to the p rin c ip a l and we f i n a l l y got i t worked out. We c a n 't say anything about t h e ir room and they w on't say any­ thing about our room. They’ re jea lo u s they c a n 't be in th is room. Some kids a c t ju s t lik e i t ' s another room. Some r e a lly lik e Ms. Crane and they come in and v i s i t her and s t u f f ’ cause they th in k i t ' s a neat classroom. So they d o n 't make fun o f i t . 230 Hr. and Ms. Schneider Mr. and Me. Schneider a r e th e p a ren ts o f Betsy who has been in The K . I . D . S . S . Room a t C o rn e ll Elem entary S ch oo l, Okemos, M ich igan . So how do you f e e l about B e ts y 's experien ces in The K .I.D .S .S . Room? i t s hard to compare* but i t ' s c e r ta in ly d if f e r e n t than the I t f i t s her b e a u t if u lly . W e ll, she has some Mr: W e ll* tr a d itio n a l classroom. control over what she wants to engage in , and fo r the f i r s t tim e , th ere are more a lte r n a tiv e s . There is not as much pressure. learning s t y le . The f i r s t experience I had w ith an open classroom was in graduate school. I th in k th a ts a very Im p ortan t th in g . things. I see th e same s i m il a r it i e s w ith " S q u irt's " energy. I f y o u 're in te re s te d , you do I t s u its her I admit th ere were times when my f a i t h waivered in the things I enjoy the chance to do things w ithout Ms: W ell* th at I d id th a t are s tru c tu re d . people t e l l i n g you th a t y o u 'r e crazy- because o f t h is . I was a fr a id to do th in gs before I f you never give a kid a chance to c o n tro l his own b eh avio r, then Mr: you never g iv e him t r u s t . S e lf d ire c tio n is im portant. Ms: This is how you fin d o u t about y o u rs e lf. I f you’ re to ld every day fo r fo u r years th a t you are not respon­ Mr: s ib le * then you begin to doubt y o u rs e lf. How d id you g e t in v o lv e d i n th e program? What th in g s as p a re n ts d id you do? Ms: As I remember, we got together w ith Coleen* and she ta lk e d to us about th e program. Mr: I th in k a t the beginning o f the y e a r, we decided to g ive her a choice. We had a conference but I d o n 't remember i t being a big th in g . We were sure i t was a good th in g , a good le a rn in g environment fo r h er, and th a t i t was. We were very p o s itiv e about i t . We d o n 't have any apprehension about her being th ere. What do you see as the purposes o f the classroom? Ms: I th in k i t would be th e method maybe more than the purpose. I guess maybe the whole idea of le a rn in g by doing is th e cen tral Mr: th in g. Both the method and learning on t h e i r own, th is is very d if f e r e n t . 231 Do you see The K. I.D .D . S . Room as d i f f e r e n t from the t r a d it i o n a l rooms? Mr: Yes. I agree. Ms: programs, f l e x ib l e types o f th in g s . Maybe I'm g e n e ra liz in g . I see many people In fa v o r o f a lt e r n a tiv e education I t ' s a l o t l ik e lea rn in g in the one-room school house long ago, Mr: and the d iffe re n c e in essence is the excitem ent they have about le a rn in g . What i s the most s ig n if ic a n t a re a o f growth f o r Betsy i n th e la s t two years? Ms: S e lf-c o n fid e n c e * m aturation . Mr: Tremendous gain in s e lf-c o n fid e n c e . There are r e a lly very few s itu a tio n s where she is threatened. Ms: She fo llo w s through; she d o esn 't avoid th in g s . She s ta rte d w ritin g le t t e r s to GRIT, they a d v e rtis e fo r boys to s e ll t h e ir newspapers. The kids wrote a l l those l e t t e r s . She had a l l the kids in the neighborhood a l l f ir e d up fo r one aftern o o n . The le t t e r s never got m ailed. Mr: Coleen has encouraged her. She is s ta r tin g to assume a leadership ro le . What kinds o f th in g s does she do on weekends? Ms: She d o e sn 't read very much. She spends tim e w ith frie n d s . She spends a l o t o f tim e w ith people, o th e r k id s . She d o esn 't handle s o litu d e very w e ll, y e t . She needs to be w ith o ther people. L a te ly she's been playing ca rd s, p eo p le-o rien ted p ro je c ts . The tape broke a t t h is p o in t, so I was unable to com plete the t r a n s c r ip tio n o f t h is in te r v ie w . Wendy Convey Wendy i s an e ig h t-y e a r ~ o ld who i s in h er second ye a r in The K . I.D .5 . S. Room a t C o rn e ll Elem entary School in Okemos, M ich igan . How do you f e e l about school t h is year? I fe e l f in e . How do you f e e l f in e ? What does th a t mean? I lik e s t u f f l ik e math. 232 Have you always lik e d school? Hy Mom says I have to be In th is class ag ain . Do you want to be in t h is c la s s again? Yes. When you th in k about o th e r classroom s, a re they d i f f e r e n t than your classroom? Yes, they have a w all a t the end o f every room. When you th in k about the th in g s they do> do they seem d if f e r e n t ? Yes, the classroom is d if f e r e n t . Do you know how you g o t in t o t h is classroom? My Mommy put me here because I had a problem w ith my math and she thought I 'd do b e tte r . D id you want to be in here b e fo re your m other s a id she wanted you to be in here? I wanted to be in th is class because I 'v e been in th is class fo r Yes, two years and i f I go in next y e a r, i t ' l l be my th ir d y e a r. Do you want to go in t o i t again? Yes. Why do you want to go in t o i t again? Because 1 lik e the centers and 1 lik e Ms. Crane. What would you say Ms. Crane would say i s the most im p o rta n t she wants to have happen i n t h is classroom? th in g th a t Math. What kinds o f th in g s do you do in school? U s u a lly , play on the piano and do math. How do you decide what y o u *re going to do? Right now, I'm doing my paper on fo llo w in g d ire c tio n s . Then there was music, I th in k i t was. How do you decide y o u *re going to do th is ? 233 I d o n 't know. I'm not su re. Does someone t e l l you to do those things? Yes. Does Coleen t e l l you? When you oome in th e room in the morningt does she say y o u 're going to do math today? Sometimes I ask her to do math w ith me. So you ask h er i f s h e ' l l do i t w ith you. So you decide y o u 're going to do math? I decide to do fla s h cards and she t e l l s me to do fla s h cards. What do you do when you g e t home from school? S traig h ten up my room. Then what do you do? Have a snack and watch TV and go outsid e. But when my Mom's away, I have to do my chores. What do you l i k e to do most when you g et home? Match TV. What do you lik e to do on weekends? Play o u ts id e. What do you do outside? I play k ic k -b a ll or I p lay a t my f r ie n d ’ s house. We b u i l t a snow f o r t th a t is a l l melted down. We made a big p i l e . We made i t hold so the stop w o u ld n 't f a l l down and we made a round th in g . We p ile d up snow across from the driveway, a weather house, my frie n d Andrea, she had a l i t t l e weather th in g . How do p eo ple th a t a re no t i n t h is classroom r e a c t to your being in the classroom? Does i t make a d iffe re n c e ? Some kids say th a t we d o n 't do what they do, th a t. l ik e math and s t u f f lik e Do you do math? Yes. 23 4 So you know you do? Yes. Coleen Crane Coleen is the te a c h e r in The K .I.D .S .S . Room a t C o rn e ll Elem entary School in Okemos, M ic h ig a n . She has been a p a r t o f th e a lt e r n a t iv e classroom a t C o rn e ll f o r two y e a rs . How d id The K. I . D . S . S . Room come about? I th in k both o f us re a liz e d th a t we wanted to do something d if f e r e n t . I was r e a lly happy to fin d someone who shared my own personal philosophy and I th in k she r e a l l y helped me take a look a t what I wanted to do. th in k i t ' s e a s ie r i f someone e ls e kind o f goes along w ith i t . We f e l t the parents and kids were rip e fo r something lik e t h is , so we went in to a team teaching s itu a tio n f i r s t , because both o f us f e l t th a t th a t was the way to go, and we found parents who agreed. I What procedure d id you fo llo w ? I th in k f i r s t , as ed u cators, we had to d e fin e how we f e l t c h ild re n learn ed , and a c tu a lly what was r e a lly im portant fo r k id s . From th e re we went on try in g to g e t kids in the room. What procedures were in v o lv e d in th is ? The f i r s t year we had parental m eetings, but the whole school did a ls o . Everyone described t h e i r environment to those parents who came and wished to fin d out what was o ffe re d a t Cornell th a t y e a r. At th a t tim e , we described what our plans looked lik e fo r the next y e a r and answered questions. They made choices as to where they wanted t h e i r ch ild re n placed, in what environm ent, as they heard i t described. This y e a r, parents th a t a lre a d y had kids in the program wanted them back. They r e a lly wanted the program back and showed enough support f o r us to go on. So, we sent out l e t t e r s to a l l the kids who were o f the grade requirem ent, f i r s t , second, th ir d and fo u rth fo r th is y e a r. A ll kids in those grades a t C o rn ell received a l e t t e r , b r ie f ly s ta tin g th a t th e re would be a program th is y e a r, w ith a b i t o f the philosophy. were in te re s te d , th ey could come to a parent meeting. At the meeting fo r those in te re s te d , we talk ed about philosophy, the program, who would be involved, and answered questions fo r parents. A fte r a l l th a t I had w r itte n up an environmental d e s c rip tio n which stated happened, my purpose and o b je c tiv e s . So, th e permission s lip th a t th e parents signed g en erally said th a t they had read the environmental d e s c rip tio n , agreed w ith the philosophy and purpose o f the program, and wanted t h e ir c h ild placed in the program. I f they 235 Did the a d m in is tra tio n have a n y th in g to do w ith the c re a tio n o f the a lt e r n a t iv e ? Not the c re a tio n . was here a year ago, she encouraged us to go ahead w ith i t . see the a d m in is tra tio n involved in the crea tio n o f i t but in the support o f i t . I ' d say s u p p o rtiv e , lik e when Lynn Cherryholmes I d o n 't What kinds o f reso urces d id you need to s t a r t the program? I'm not a book person. So, I t als o helped me to hash i t out w ith someone, I have a hard time r e la tin g to what somebody I th in k t h a t 's where the o th er teacher was r e a lly I'm a re a l people person. I d id n 't r e a lly use books. w rite s down. Every once in aw hile I ' l l p ick up an a r t i c l e . Where my whole b e l ie f system came from, I th in k , was a l o t o f d if f e r e n t observations about how things a ffe c te d k id s . to t a lk i t over. h e lp fu l to me. Ue spent one summer hashing over how things a ffe c te d people, how kids re a c t to d if f e r e n t th in g s. r e a lly young ch ild re n In th e m igrant education program helped me, how kids le a rn and the excitem ent kids have fo r le a rn in g a t a r e a lly young age. But I th in k I r e a lly became convinced when I s ta rte d seeing l i t t l e kids g e ttin g so com pletely turned o f f to education, growing as a person, looking a t the kids in p u b lic education and seeing them a l l turned o f f and then wondering what happened. So, I th in k i t was a l o t o f hashing i t over in my own head and ta lk in g i t over w ith people. Once you go t t h is f a r „ d id you use e x tr a resources? I th in k my experience w ith I took a couple o f classes a t Michigan S tate U n iv e rs ity , and I r e a lly enjoyed those. I th in k i t was a personal s itu a tio n . Did you f in d in s e tt in g up th e program th a t d i f f e r e n t types o f resources were needed? I d o n 't know i f I r e a lly scraped over m a te ria ls way back when. W e ll, i t was my in flu e n c e o r n o t, but we have a whole d if f e r e n t v a rie ty o f reading books and th a t s o rt o f th in g in here now. a t the budget, we use the m a te ria ls th a t were here, only we use them in a d if f e r e n t s o rt o f way. r e a lly a big resource. They could come up w ith the w ild e s t things th a t I'v e never thought o f b efo re. I to ld my student teacher th is year th a t you could come up w ith the most fabulous plan you could ever dream up, bring i t in and i t ' l l bomb out com pletely i f no one wanted to do i t , and you'd be ab s o lu te ly crushed. But when they come up w ith the Id e a , then u s u a lly i t w i l l go over because they thought o f i t . But even I f you turned on one k id , then i t was w orthw hile. So, what we do in h e re , I th in k o f some th in g s , they th in k o f o th e rs , and sometimes i t ' s a mutual th in g . I also use kids as a resource. Kids are I th in k , looking 23 6 What do you see as the p rim a ry purpose o f the a lt e r n a t iv e ? I th in k t h a t 's what is im portant. The kids and The purpose as sta ted in the environmental d e s c rip tio n is to in te r n a liz e the concept o f peace. parents th in k t h a t 's im portant. So i t ' s based on how you fe e l about y o u rs e lf as a person and g e ttin g kids to take a look a t who they are and what works fo r them. I want them to fe e l com fortable about them­ s e lve s, how they le a r n , what they l i k e , and th a t s o rt o f th in g . When you fe e l th a t way, you can also accept o th e r people w ith o u t th re a t. So, to me, the purpose o f the program is to get kids fe e lin g r e a lly good about themselves and then we go from th ere . What a c t i v i t i e s do you have th a t meet t h is purpose? I th in k I th in k t h a t 's where I s ta rte d from. the room is neat and everyone Is so d if f e r e n t . I th in k one o f the biggest things is liv in g i t . We have a liv in g philosophy. We c a n 't ju s t s i t down and t a lk about fe e lin g good about ourselves. The room has to liv e t h a t . O bviously, in o rd er to liv e i t , you have to b e lie v e i t . I f you everyone in express th a t to kids w ith the hand on th e shoulder, the hug in the morning, and " I s n 't th a t a t e r r i f i c p ic tu r e you’ ve done," and "I r e a lly lik e the d o ll house you have," and th is s o rt o f th in g , then a l l those things are kind o f liv in g experiences where y o u 're co n stan tly saying to kids th a t th is person th in k s y o u 're neat. kids g iv in g kids support and saying, "That was r e a lly a neat f o r t you b u i l t , " o r something lik e th a t. " I lik e you as you are and as a person." From the kids th a t have been in the program b e fo re , about themselves and t h a t 's ju s t not a t school. too. The kids th a t have the hardest tim e in here, I would say, are I d o n 't know i f i t ' s a those who get i t a t school but not a t home. cross message or w hat, but we do have times when we s i t down and t a lk about i t . We s i t down in d iv id u a lly w ith kids who are having problems and help them take a look a t what is happening, how they are a ffe c tin g other kids and a d u lts . We have class discussions th a t sometimes dips in to the problem, e s p e c ia lly i f th e re 's a problem th a t comes out th a t involves q u ite a few people. We t a lk about i t , so lu tio n s and fe e lin g s and how they fe e l about the whole d e a l. w orthw hile and I expect t h a t's because t h e ir opinion is honored. a l i v e - i n th in g . As you have to liv e what y o u 're doing in here. I am r e a lly e x c ite d about how good they fe e l I described i t b e fo re , i t ’ s a liv in g model, because I th in k i t ' s co n sta n tly saying to k id s , I th in k i t makes kids fe e l I t ' s coming from home I t ' s also other I t ' s What types o f th in g s do the s tu d en ts do d u rin g the day? You were s ay in g t h a t everyone i s in v o lv e d in l i v i n g i t . Are th e re some th in g s you r e q u ir e th a t they do? Not as f a r as academics are concerned. th ey've done during the day a t the end o f the day. me, in a sense, as i t s o rt o f 'covers m e.' I t ' s r e a lly f o r parents because I know what th e y 're doing and th ey know what th e y 'r e doing. I t ' s to make sure th a t th e re 's th a t lin e o f communication a l l the time and those are sent home every F rid a y . I req u ire th a t they record what I t ' s necessary fo r 2 3 7 l a th e re a n y th in g you look fo r? I used t o , but now a d if f e r e n t kid 1 d o n 't c o lle c t them anymore. c o lle c ts them every day, so I d o n 't see them. having problems g e ttin g organized and is d is tu rb in g a l o t o f o th er c h ild re n , then w e 'll s i t down to g e th e r and t r y to make a plan as to what types o f th in gs they can do in the classroom. Sometimes we use th is sheet as a p iece o f paper th a t has a l o t o f things on i t so th a t they could look a t i t and see whether th e re 's anything on th e re they might be in te re s te d in . I f a k id 's r e a lly We have ta lk e d abo ut th e purposes o f t h is classroom , how do you see those purposes as d i f f e r e n t from the r e g u la r school? W e ll, the big d iffe re n c e is th a t I see p u b lic school's purpose as mainly academic. This classroom's main purpose is not academic. I t is an a ffe c t iv e goal ra th e r than academic. How i s tim e spent in th e classroom? I fin d th a t the f i r s t tim e in the morning should be a Very few o f the kids are on a schedule, except f o r the big scheduling, special c la ss es , th a t s o rt o f th in g and th e re 's not a whole l o t I can do about th a t. So, we have to work around those kinds o f th in g s . We have t r ie d to g iv e kids f l e x i b i l i t y and options about th e schedule by jo in in g another classroom in music. As f a r as t h e ir tim e spent in here during the day, calm, re la x in g tim e . We have assembly in the morning and take r o l l , the kids always tak e r o l l , and th is s o rt o f th in g . We ju s t s i t around and t a lk fo r ten o r f if t e e n m inutes, however long i t takes to l e t everyone get t h e ir s to rie s out and everyth in g they want to say to each o th e r. T h a t's a re a l re la x in g tim e f o r us and, in te r e s t in g ly , th a t time has gotten much longer. Everyone stays th ere and lis te n s and sometimes adds to what has been s a id . Sometimes i t ' s ta lk in g over problems. So, i t ' s a re la x and share time in the morning. A fte r th a t look some things up in the I do ask th a t they spend some tim e re ad in g , l ib r a r y , q u ie t a c t i v i t i e s a f t e r th e y 're dismissed from th a t. Maybe th a t's as much f o r me as i t is fo r them. But I fin d th a t when we s t a r t o f f in a re a l q u ie t a c t i v i t y l i k e t h a t , the re s t of the day. Two mornings they s t a r t o f f w ith music. They come back from th e re a l l wound up and a l o t o f problems r e s u lt from th a t. So, s ta r tin g o f f calm is ju s t as much fo r me as i t is f o r them. The only o ther tim e I take over fo r them is i f a c h ild has a le a rn in g co n tract w ith h is p aren ts. There are some in d iv id u a ls who a r e , i f the parents have in d ic a te d th a t th ere is a concern about something. Then I have to schedule some th in gs. i t sets the pace fo r What do you see as yo u r ro le ? I guess I see m yself here as a resource fo r kids as much as anything. I see myself as someone who may know where to get some m a te ria ls they d o n 't, and e x p la in some things they d o n 't understand. So I see m yself as a resource person. Sometimes I can pave the way fo r some things th a t they might not be able to do. 2 38 How do you eee t h is aa d i f f e r e n t from your r o le as a te ac h e r in th e past? In the past* I th in k th a t I set m yself up as a person who knew a l l the answers. I'm doing a l o t more lis te n in g now, and I th in k th is is a r e a lly big d iffe re n c e . d ire c tio n . I th in k I do a l o t less as f a r as What kinds o f a c t i v i t i e s do s tu d e n ts choose f o r themselves? I see I say, " W e ll, what a re we I see kids r e a lly g e ttin g in to the The room is set up in ce n te rs . There are academic centers where the kids can do math, language a r t s , in the tr a d it io n a l manner, but e q u a lly important are things l ik e the sewing c e n te r. The kids p re tty much go to those centers and do what they want as they see f i t . Now, streaks o f some th in g s . L ik e , sewing c e n te r. L ik e , one c h ild w i l l r e a lly be big on the sewing center fo r two days and then not even touch i t fo r two weeks. That kind o f goes along w ith how they fe e l about themselves th a t tim e o f day and what they come up w ith . Maybe someone e ls e has given them an id ea. Kids get ideas from each o th e r as to what th e y 're going to do. Now, i f a c h ild c a n 't make up h is mind, going to do about i t , walk around and t a lk about it ? Would you be bothering o ther people by doing th is ? " They sometimes get an idea by looking down the l i s t o f th in g s , and fin d in g some things they want to do. Sometimes I suggest th in g s . or "How about try in g something w ith the maps?" They make t h e ir choice as f a r as where they want to work. Now, a c t i v i t y , l ik e the d o ll house, o r paper d o lls , w ith some kids I know t h e ir parents would be r e a lly u p tig h t i f no papers went home F rid a y . So i f th ey've been p la yin g fo r an hour o r so, t h e ir tim e , look a t t h e ir goal sheets and see what e ls e is on th e re . I t ' s in te re s tin g th a t the kids who do avoid academics are also the kids whose parents are more pushy about i t . s itu a tio n . The kids whose parents a r e n 't pushing them on, d o n 't seem I was lis te n in g to Ruth and to be having those kinds o f problems. W illie today. They were p u ttin g on a p lay and then they s a id , "Oh gee, There are some parents who a r e n 't pushing t h e ir kids so th a t they can make the f l i p back, between the t r a d it io n a l academics and what is not considered academic by the re s t o f them. I th in k those kids have r e a lly s ta rte d to look a t what they do in the classroom s itu a tio n as being work and work being en jo yab le and having a productive end. I th in k I'm going to do my math today." They made th a t ch o ic e. i f they are involved in some I fin d th is an in te re s tin g I ask them to budget "Have you looked a t th is re c e n tly ," What re a c tio n s do o th e r studen ts have toward th e program? I t ' s very ty p ic a l o f s o c ie ty . people th a t a r e n 't very secure are the ones who cause us problems, both ad u lts and k id s . I th in k th e y 'r e threatened by the s it u a t io n . Two kids who were in here la s t y e a r , who d id n 't fe e l very good about themselves th en , have caused us the biggest problem th is y e a r. The I t ' s r e a lly very in te re s tin g . Those 239 general re a c tio n from people l i k e th a t i s , "Gee, i t ' s a dumb room," or "You're going to be dumb when you grow up," o r "A ll you do is play a l l day." Those kinds o f re a c tio n s . Those two kids were from th is room. The kids from th is room have been good about i t and I see th a t as a big growth s tr id e fo r them. They've been able to take th is p re tty much 1n s t r id e . I t does g e t to them a f t e r a w h ile , however. How do you see th e re a c tio n s fro m th e kids in school g e n e ra lly ? I perso nally d o n 't know. The kids see a lo t more than I do. they get ta lk e d a t some, but I d o n 't know how much. I'm ta lk in g about is the same 'some' a l l the tim e. 'some' to be the same kids th a t keep b rin g in g up those kinds o f comments. I hope th a t the I t appears I think How do o th e r te ac h e rs r e a c t tow ard the program? I t makes you fe e l b e tte r . I fe e l q u ite a few people were threatened I f you fe e l threatened by something, then I W e ll, la s t y e a r, those people th a t f e l t insecure about themselves, caused us the most problems. by th is program la s t y e a r. I th in k they guess you have to a tta c k i t . I th in k f e l t th a t we were saying th a t t h is was the only way to go. they f e l t threatened as educators and as people. This y e a r, I f e l t there was only one person who was bothered by th is classroom and we tr y to stay out o f each o th e r's way. some inroads th e re , but I ’ ve come to the conclusion th a t I'm not going to get very f a r . So, most o f the teachers re a liz e d th a t w e're not coming out and saying nasty things about t h e ir program. I t ' s been a re al hard job con­ s ta n tly saying to people, "Now, th is is r ig h t fo r us, these k id s , these p aren ts, and w e're not saying th a t everybody has to look a lik e . In f a c t , w e're saying th a t everybody should be themselves and everybody looks d if f e r e n t ." you to be you, as long as i t ' s ok f o r me to be me, has f i n a l l y sunk in . I th in k th is one thing d o esn 't th rea ten them as much anymore. I th in k th ey've f i n a l l y re a liz e d th a t we h aven 't come out swinging b a t t le axes. I th in k th a t constant reassurance th a t i t ' s ok fo r I fin d the best t a c t ic is avoidance. I t r ie d f o r a long tim e to make I th in k Lynn Cherr.yholmes Lynn Cherryholmes i s the p r i n c i p a l a t C o rn e ll Elem entary School in Okemost M ichigan where The K. I . D .S .S . Room was c re a te d . Why do you see a lt e r n a t iv e s as necessary in yo u r school? E s s e n tia lly , because of teacher in te r e s t ra th e r than parent demands fo r th a t kind o f th in g . Probably my d e fin itio n o f a lte r n a tiv e s does not match yours, e x a c tly . There are very few classrooms in which parents ask to have t h e ir youngsters placed where th ere r e a lly is a dram atic d iffe re n c e in terms o f o th e r kinds o f classrooms. o th er words, one te a c h e r's classroom is an a lte r n a tiv e to an o th er's In 2 4 0 classroom in the sense th a t a classroom is a r e f le c t io n o f the p e rs o n a lity o f the teacher* Considering th is as an a lt e r n a t iv e , I th in k you are r ig h t when you say th a t i t does not match the ty p ic a l kinds o f classrooms th a t you fin d in o th er schools. But I would say, e s s e n tia lly , th a t in th is school i t is the re s u lt o f teacher in te r e s t in th a t kind o f classroom and then parents who also f e l t th a t th a t matched t h e i r philosophies. I d o n 't know how much i n i t i a l demand from parents there may have been fo r th a t kind o f classroom but a ready audience was found. A fte r b ein g a p a r t o f th a t d e c is io n making process, which was two years ago, d id you f in d t h a t you p la y e d any o th e r r o le ? is one o f the goals th a t Coleen Understanding th a t those a lte r n a tiv e classrooms, as I understand i t , s t i l l have to meet those o b je c tiv e s as id e n tifie d by the board o f education, sometimes those o b je c tiv e s are cross purposed. The emphasis, f o r in s tan ce , on s k i l l s , has but i t might be held in higher esteem by some members o f the board o f ed u catio n, even though i t is one, o f course. d i f f i c u l t jobs o f an a d m in is tra to r is to , on the o th e r hand, support teachers who want to develop those kinds o f classrooms or any o th er kind and assure them th a t you want them to succeed and you support them, and a t the same tim e, w ith the o th e r eye, look out f o r those goals th a t the d i s t r i c t has set fo r us as im portant in elem entary. those two to mesh and s t i l l not destroy the o r ig in a l concept the teacher was try in g to promote, is sometimes hard. the end goals are d if f e r e n t , but I would say th a t the means o f g e ttin g there are q u ite d if f e r e n t . A lte r n a tiv e classrooms as you've described them, do o f f e r a very d if f e r e n t way o f g e ttin g to th e same goals th a t the board o f education would agree w ith . I th in k one of the I d o n 't know th a t In g e ttin g Ifhen t h a t c la s s was c re a te d two y ears ago, d id you see any resources as b ein g d if f e r e n t ? i t ' s been hard to ju g g le around and to e x p la in I d o n 't know i f I would say they used d iffe r e n t resources, but c e r t a in ly more f l e x ib l e use o f them. I suppose an example would be the IMC. Some teachers want and in s is t on a c e rta in time fo r t h e ir classroom to come in and they want use o f th a t tim e w ith no other class having the use o f i t . The K .I.D .S .S . Room wants more f le x ib le use o f the IMC and many o ther th in g s . At tim es, to o th er people th a t there is some way we can accommodate a compromise so th a t The K .I.D .S .S . Room can have what they want and others can have what they want. Then everyone can be happy. get what you want fo r kids is not to have scheduling. But I see no other way to make sure th a t everyone has an equal chance to spend time with the gym tea ch er, everyone has a chance fo r music and so on. th in k the way Coleen and a couple o f o th er teachers have responded to th a t is o ffe rin g th a t as a time s lo t fo r k id s , not n ecessarily demanding th a t everyone has to go out a t the same time but s t i l l making sure th a t I t ' s unfortunate th a t elementary schools they have the time a v a ila b le . run on schedules, and th a t those schedules d o n 't always match the kinds I th in k an ideal way to I 241 o f th in g s th a t teachers have 1n mind fo r youngsters. So, fo r those kinds o f resources, we've t r ie d to use them f l e x ib l y . I'm not sure th a t i t ' s demanded more resources, probably more f l e x ib l e use o f resources. Coleen has drawn on th e convnunity, the use o f people lik e Joey, a parent who works in th e classroom , and m a te ria ls th a t Coleen brings in . She's c e r t a in ly brought more things in to her classroom. In c r e a tin g the a l t e r n a t i v e 3 what procedures were fo llo w e d ? I 'd I th in k s t a f f I remember some h e c tic fa c u lty meetings when we ta lk e d about i t . say educating the s t a f f was one o f th e most d i f f i c u l t . was much more r e s is ta n t than community and I'm not sure what accounted fo r t h is . Maybe i t ' s being something new th a t we were not sure o f how i t would turn o u t, and a l i t t l e b i t o f reluctan ce to t r y something new even though they were not p ers o n a lly involved. sm artest things we did was to sign people (students and p aren ts) in who r e a lly had a commitment. fo r everybody. No teacher ought to be saddled w ith an unhappy p are n t. I t ' s u n fa ir to the teacher and to the kids and I suppose i t ' s u n fa ir to the parents. This y e a r's been a breeze compared to la s t y e a r when some parents d id n 't understand the philosophy. They were placed in th ere because th e re r e a lly w e re n 't any other places fo r the youngsters. in th a t category. You have I th in k i t ' s hard, e s p e c ia lly f o r te a ch ers, i t ' s a re al problem. to have parent support and when you d o n 't have i t , I th in k i t ' s made a tremendous d iffe re n c e I th in k one o f the What i s i t th a t you see as the purpose o f The K. I .D .S .S . Room? I th in k I'm not sure th a t o ther people would l ik e the I don’ t know th a t the end goals are so d if f e r e n t . W e ll, ag a in , th a t Coleen is in agreement w ith any o th er member o f the s t a f f as to what th e end goals a re . concept of peace n e c e s s a rily , but I d o n 't th in k anyone on the s t a f f would argue th a t youngsters need to be s e l f - r e l i a n t , th a t they need to be capable o f making independent and ra tio n a l d ec is io n s, th a t they should be d ec is iv e about accepting r e s p o n s ib ility . Who can argue w ith those kinds o f things? But in C oleen's room, youngsters are a c tiv e ly involved in b u ild in g those kinds o f th in g s . tea ch ers, a t le a s t a few tea ch ers, b e lie v e th a t u n til kids are a l i t t l e o ld e r , th a t they c a n 't handle those kinds o f d e c is io n s , so in the mean­ in tim e, tim e, you give them the academic s k i l l s th a t w il l enable them, to assume these r e s p o n s ib ilitie s . So, d if f e r e n t , ju s t a d if f e r e n t means o f accomplishing them. Coleen places much more f a it h in kids than o th e rs . She sees i t as an im portant s k i ll th a t's learned. c e rta in age. Other teach ers, perhaps w ithout r e a lly consciously th in k ­ ing i t through, th in k th a t there are c e rta in p riv ile g e s th a t go w ith adulthood and some r e s p o n s ib ilitie s th a t go w ith adulthood. in to the tr a p . You an ingrained p a rt o f p u b lic education th a t you f a l l see i t happen and you b e lie v e i t . You end up not g iv in g a kid responsi­ b i l i t y because i t ' s too e a r ly . possibly learn how to make decisions I t d o esn 't happen m ag ic ally when youngsters reach a I t ' s a dilemma and y e t how can they i f they are denied the o p p o rtu n ity I d o n 't see the end goals as so In o th e r rooms, I t ' s such I th in k 242 I t r y to give a l o t o f support to make them? So, as much as I can, to Coleen and s t i l l support o ther people who are try in g e q u a lly hard, but in d if f e r e n t ways, to educate k id s . One o f the things I 'v e done is in s is t on in d iv id u a lit y in the classroom and th is has helped, th in k . You s a id th in g s were r e a l l y rough r i g h t a t th e b eg in n in g, bu t how do you see teac h era a c c e p tin g The K. I . D . S . S . Room now? I I th in k th ere are exceptions to I th in k i t is p e rs o n a lity d iffe re n c e s . They are p o s itiv e about i t . Again, th a t. e n tir e ly c r itic is m about academics ra th e r than about the kid s doing what they want when they want. I'm not sure I know a l l the reasons f o r i t , but I ’ m pleased w ith the re s u lts . Some o f the new people on the s t a f f have t r ie d new things and provided support fo r Coleen. They've brought in new backgrounds so we've l e f t some o ld p attern s and t r ie d new th in g s . been h e lp fu l. th in k i t ’ s been a very smooth y e ar. I th in k t h a t ’ s I would say i t ' s almost I How about acceptance by s tu d en ts no t in the program? I ta lk e d to several o f the We had one in c id e n t during the y e a r when students from one o f the classes were making derogatory comments to youngsters in The K .I.D .S .S . In te r e s tin g ly enough, they were led by kids who had been in th e re Room. before. I'm not sure what accounts f o r th a t but i t is kind o f in t e r e s t­ ing. There was no teacher support fo r i t . When she found out about i t , she was upset and concerned th a t they were being unkind and th a t they were making a l l kinds o f accusations. ch ild re n in my o f fic e ra th e r than t a lk in fr o n t o f t h e ir peers and they adm itted what they were doing and w e re n 't r e a lly a b le to exp lain I had the fe e lin g they were m otivated by je a lo u s y , wishing they why. could s t i l l be in th e re . On the o th e r hand, s t i l l being proud o f what they were accomplishing and wanting to lo rd i t over the o th e r students who they thought were having o th e r kinds o f experiences. So, i t was a ra th e r complicated blend o f a lo t o f emotions. K .I.D .S .S . Room. They were very slow to respond to th a t kind o f t r e a t ­ ment, a g g re s s iv e ly , and they t r ie d to handle i t on an in t e lle c t u a l b as is . But they f i n a l l y c o u ld n 't stand i t any lo n g er. They c o u ld n 't take the verbal abuse any lo n g e r. Once we opened i t up and cle ared the a i r , there d o esn 't seem to be any d i f f i c u l t y . Other than th a t one in c id e n t, I would have to assume th a t th e re i s n 't anything e ls e . The kids seem to accept i t . They probably d o n 't know a lo t about i t but they come to a conclusion th a t a l l they do in th e re is p la y. I give c r e d it to The Are th e re any o th e r th in g s about the a l t e r n a t i v e th a t you see as im portant? I th in k th ere are several th in g s . For one, the kinds o f school behaviors th a t the kids in The K .I.D .S .S . Room e x h ib it. I th in k you g et a h in t about the kind o f r e s p o n s ib ility th e youngster In terms o f playground problems, h a ll d is c ip lin e problems, I am r e a lly impressed by 2 43 I 'v e got two kids coming in and y o u 're going I f I were to th in k o f youngsters who were to lead a to u r has accepted. o f the b u ild in g , youngsters who were h ig h ly verbal and could e x p la in what the school was about, e it h e r to v is it in g c h ild re n o r a d u lts , I can th in k o f s ix o r so kids from The K .I.D .S .S . Room who I would go to f i r s t . Those kids are so fr e e in ta lk in g to a d u lts . They are so sure o f themselves 1n some n ice kinds o f ways. You a re able to take them aside and say, "Look, to be ab le to t e l l th a t one has some problems, and I need some h e lp ." This is what I to ld one o f the boys and, "W ill you tak e him on a to u r o f the b u ild in g w h ile I ta lk to the p are n ts . T h e y 'll want to know a l l about what the school is l i k e . " W e ll, he not only d id i t , but in t r o ­ duced h im self to th e paren ts. He did a b e a u tifu l jo b . He should be in the d ip lo m atic corps. Maybe these same kinds o f s k i ll s could be developed in another kind o f classroom , but e ith e r th e youngsters from The K .I.D .S .S . Room develop those b e t t e r , or The K .I.D .S .S . Room a ttr a c ts youngsters l ik e th a t . When these kids make a m istake, they are very easy to deal w ith . They d o n 't deny i t . T h e y're very s t r a ig h t ­ forward about i t , in a kind o f a non-sm arty, non-sassy way, " I made a m istake." Not try in g to deny your r e s p o n s ib ility in c a llin g them on I t ' s i t , but they seem to be ab le to handle i t in a very mature way. n ic e . T hey're not try in g to b u tte r me up. T hey're not try in g to g et out o f i t . They can deal w ith i t openly. as they are modeling fo r o th e r kids and help do your job b e tte r . n ice to know th a t in some ways, th a t are not n e c e s s a rily measured o b je c tiv e ly , th e re are some p a y -o ffs . Those things a re also going on in o th e r rooms, but th ere are some special kinds o f youngsters in th a t room. As I say, At any r a t e , th e y 'r e in th e re . I d o n 't know i f i t brings i t out or a ttr a c ts them. I th in k i t ’ s a re a l advantage I t ' s APPENDIX B INTERVIEW GUIDES FOR TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, STUDENTS AND PARENTS APPENDIX B INTERVIEW GUIDES FOR TEACHERS* ADMINISTRATORS, STUDENTS AND PARENTS In te rv ie w Guide f o r Teachers Why did th e a lt e r n a t iv e environm ent g et c re a te d in th is b u ild in g ? Whose idea was i t ? What procedures were fo llo w e d to put th is a lt e r n a t iv e environment in to e ffe c t? • What r o le d id you p la y in the c re a tio n o f th is program? • What was the r o le o f th e a d m in is tra to r , s tu d e n ts , and parents in i t s c re a tio n ? • What resources were used in g e ttin g i t s ta rte d ? • How were students placed in th is environment? What are the purposes o f t h is a lt e r n a t iv e environment? • What a c t i v i t i e s in th e environment h elp students meet these purposes? • How a re the purposes d if f e r e n t than th e t r a d it io n a l school? What is your r o le in the environment? How is th is d if f e r e n t from your past experience as a teacher? Have th e re been any changes in th e program s in ce i t s beginning? Why? What is the re a c tio n o f o th e r students toward th is a lte r n a tiv e ? What is the a t t it u d e o f o th e r teachers toward t h is environment? What c o n f lic t s have a ris e n because o f the a lt e r n a t iv e environment? How were these c o n f lic t s handled? 244 245 I n t e r v i e w G u id e f o r A d m i n i s t r a t o r s Why was an a lt e r n a t iv e environment created in th is school? From whom d id the idea come? What procedures did the program have to fo llo w to put the a lt e r n a tiv e environment in to e ffe c t? • What ro le d id you play in the c re a tio n o f the a lte r n a tiv e environment? • What resources were needed? What a re the purposes or goals fo r the a lte r n a tiv e environment? How are they d if f e r e n t from the programs in the tr a d itio n a l school? How is th is environment accepted by o ther teachers? How is th is environment accepted by o ther students? What c o n flic ts have a ris e n because o f th is a lte r n a tiv e environment? How were these c o n flic ts handled? 246 I n t e r v i e w G u id e f o r S t u d e n ts How do you fe e l about school? • Have you always f e l t th is way? • What is d if f e r e n t now? How were you placed in th is class? What is the prim ary purpose o f t h is a lte r n a tiv e environment? is the most im portant thing th a t the teachers want to have happen?) (What What types o f th in gs do you do in school th is year? What do you lik e to do best? How long have you been in th is a lte r n a tiv e ? What re ac tio n o f o th e r students, not in the a lt e r n a t iv e environment, do you g et about th is program? 247 I n t e r v i e w G u id e f o r P a r e n t s How do you fe e l about your c h ild 's experience in school th is year? How do you fe e l about the experiences your c h ild has had in school in th e past? What p a rt d id you p lay in g e ttin g your c h ild in th is environment? What is the prim ary purpose o r goal o f the a lte r n a t iv e environment? How are these d if f e r e n t than o th er classrooms in which your c h ild has been involved? What has been the most s ig n ific a n t area o f growth fo r your c h ild th is year? • What types o f a c t i v i t i e s does your c h ild engaged in a f t e r school or on week-ends? • Have these a c t i v i t ie s changed since h is /h e r involvement in the a lte r n a tiv e program? Do you see any change in your ro le as a parent since your c h ild has been a p a rt o f the a lte r n a tiv e environment? How long has your c h ild p a rtic ip a te d in the a lte r n a tiv e environment? What re a c tio n do you get from parents th a t do not have t h e ir c h ild re n in th is environment? APPENDIX C INFORMATION AND THE FORMS USED IN "THE STUDENT OPTION BLOCK" APPENDIX C INFORMATION AND THE FORMS USED IN THE STUDENT OPTION BLOCK INFORMATION SHEET— STUDENT OPTION PROGRAM 1. FORUM ROOM—What happens here? a. Your f i l e s are located here f o r e v a lu a tio n . b. You sign in f o r d a ily attendance. c. In order to leave the b u ild in g you process and sign out in room on the s ig n -o u t sheet. In order to leave the S.O.B. wing you must sign out in th is room. d. th is e. The f i r s t 15 minutes o f your 2nd hour bjock w ill be spent w ith your forum teacher fo r purposes o f inform ation and c o n tra c ts . f . Seminars w i l l be held in th e forum rooms, 111, 112, also HalIw ay. 2. CREDITS a. F ile s w il l be checked every two weeks. This in d ica te s f iv e ev alu atio n s per u n it. equals probation and two f a ilu r e s means th a t y o u 're dropped from the program. A ll and any persons on probation must meet w ith th e forum teachers fo r conference concerning how we may b e tte r help you meet your needs. I t should be understood th a t one f a i l u r e b. A ll academic su b ject areas w i l l be l e t t e r graded. A ll S.O.B. "experience" c re d its w ill be pass or f a i l . 3. YOUR EVALUATION FILE— YOUR RESPONSIBILITY a. CONTRACT—must be s a t is f a c t o r ily completed to receive c r e d it each u n it. Your co n trac t d ead lin e is the end o f the f i r s t week o f each s h i f t , to be i n i t i a l l y slashed and signatured. b. LOGS— should be b r ie f sentences regarding your d a ily a c t i v i t y . This is more f o r forum teachers to get an idea o f w hat's happen­ ing w ith you. You must have two CURRENT logs per e v a lu a tio n . IT IS IN NO WAY used fo r ev a lu a tio n and c r e d it . c. ACADEMIC CREDITS—you must show us th a t you are earning c r e d it. PROGRESS NOTES from teachers working w ith you in a l l academic areas must be in your f i l e s every two weeks. 2 4 8 24 9 d. EXPERIENCE CREDITS— choose from these suggestions or arrange your own: Conference w ith forum teacher L e tte r from sponsor Journal o r tapes o r p ro je c ts o r career packets or Other e. See second in fo rm atio n sheet. f . ENVIROfWENT— 111, 112 and hallw ay belong to Student Option Program in a two hour block. Your teachers a re Ms. Ross and Ms. S in g le y . Please check th e b u lle tin boards in the hallway f o r d a ily and weekly c la s s e s , seminars, and happenings. 250 SEMINARS Each o f you who e le c t to c o n tra c t to p a r tic ip a te in seminars fo r S.O. c r e d it w i l l belong to the Seminar Coranittee. Others o f you, through contracts f o r o ther th in g s , may want to attend or s e t up seminars th a t are o f p a r tic u la r In te r e s t to you. Suggestions fo r Seminar Conmittee: • Monthly chairman • D iv is io n o f la b o r: contacting speakers arranging and confirm ing dates room re s e rv a tio n p u b lic ity fo llo w up (a d d itio n a l seminar?) We've found i t embarrassing to in v it e a busy person to speak and have only two people show up— e s p e c ia lly i f they expected more. Some welcome two! Check on your audience and speaker exp ectation s! Seminars can be based on: • Speakers from the community o r c a re e r and in te r e s t Resource F ile Log (on Ms. S in g le y 's d e s k ). • S tu dents/T each ers/A d m in istratio n — w ith sp ecial in te re s ts . • A r t ic le s — e . g . , Read "FOR THE YOUNG— LEAVE THE U .S ." Discuss— In v it e speaker or opposing speakers in . • Movies— e . g . , See "Godspell" o r p re fe ra b ly to g e th e r. Discuss in school, a t home, or wherever we can. ______ • In v it e s p e a k e r/a u th o rity in — Importance, Im pact, P o in t, Symbolism, Technique. • TV S p ecials— Congregate as many o f us as possible in any one place to view and discuss TV S p ec ia ls . Watch w ith an a u th o rity o r speaker, e . g . , p ro fesso r, p ro fession al person, person in the f i e l d or area covered in the s o c ia l (music, s p o rts , social work, e t c . ) • OR WHATEVER!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 251 STUDENT OPTION PROGRAM CONTRACT FOR INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING NAME _______________________________________ DATE ____________________ HOURS IN PROGRAM _________ FORUM TEACHER CREDITS _ LEARNING NEEDS AND INTERESTS 1. 2. I w i l l E n g lis h , o th e r _________________ le a rn ACADEMIC c r e d it . C ir c le : M ath, S cience, H is to ry , I w i l l earn S.O. c r e d it by lo c a tin g and le a rn in g w ith a resource person OUTSIDE o f the school. SPONSOR _____________________________________________ AREA ________________________________________________ DAYS-HOURS 3. I w i l l earn S.O. c r e d it by com pletion o f an independent study. SPONSOR _____________________________________________ SUBJECT AREA 4 . 5. 6 . 7. I w i l l earn S.O. c r e d it by c a re e r p o s s i b i l it i e s . This in fo rm a tio n I w i l l make a v a ila b le to o thers by EITHER having my own seminar OR b rin g in g in a resource person to g iv e a seminar on a c a re e r OR prep aring th re e "c a re e r packets" f o r S.O. in te rv ie w in g and e x p lo rin g th re e I w i l l earn S.O. c r e d it by a tte n d in g and p a r t ic ip a t in g in TEN seminars o ffe r e d . I w i l l EITHER be re sp o n s ib le f o r p re p a rin g and holding my own sem inar, OR making co n tact arrangements fo r o u ts id e resource person to g iv e a seminar in S.O. w eekly. I w i l l belong to the SEMINAR COMMITTEE which meets In a d d itio n , I w i l l earn S.O. c r e d it by s e le c tin g a v a r ie ty o f ONGOING le a rn in g experiences which I fe e l w i l l show my personal growth. I w i l l keep a dated in fo rm a tio n a l n otebo ok/or ta p e /o r have conferences r e g u la r ly . I w i l l earn S.O. c r e d it by atte n d in g a le a rn in g program OUTSIDE o f th e b u ild in g . PROGRAM/CLASS ___________________________________________ Scheduled DAYS-HOURS COMMITMENT STUDENT SIGNATURE FORUM TEACHER SIGNATURE Code p rescribed Code mastered Any student planning on earn ing a t h ir d c r e d it beyond the two c r e d its as scheduled should in d ic a te the circumstances below: 252 PROCESSING EXPERIENCE FORM student Op t io n program Yes No (W ill you share what you found out w ith others in S .O .B .? ) Because many o f you w i l l be leaving the b u ild in g to in v e s tig a te careers e t c . , and because the school is lia b le fo r you, th is sheet must by: 1. F ille d out by you 2. Signed by your in d iv id u a l FORUM TEACHER 3. Divided in to top p ortio n ( f i l e in your fo ld e r always) and bottom pass (ta k e w ith you out o f the b u ild in g ) YOU MUST SIGN OUT ON YELLOW o u t-o f-th e -b u ild in g form in YOUR FORUM ROOM . No f i l l out . NO GO ANYWHERE!!!!! . n o sign out . . . . . NAME _____________________________ FORUM TEACHER ________________________ I am leaving the b u ild in g to gain personal experience in an area I wish to explore f o r my personal growth. DESTINATION CITY ________________________ The day or days I w i l l be o u tsid e the b u ild in g are _____________________ The date or dates _________________________________________________________ Time you leave _________________________ RETURNING_________________________ B r ie fly e x p la in some s p e c ific kinds o f questions you hope to gain inform ation f o r w h ile o u tsid e. Also i f you know the name o f someone you Intend to t a lk w ith . describe what you w i l l be doing. I f you are involved w ith ONGOING EXPERIENCE, FORUM TEACHER SIGNATURE BELOW AND TEARS ALONG THIS LINE NAME _______________________________________________ FORUM TEACHER _____________________________________ TIME LEAVING ______________________________ RETURNING_________________ DESTINATION ___________________________________________________________ The above student is e n ro lle d in the Student Option Program and has permission o f the above teacher to leave the b u ild in g today. 25 3 Dear Academic Sponsor: The Student Option Program would lik e to in v it e you to become involved. In th is program a student can earn c r e d it through academic studies or experience c r e d it . As the program stands now, they can earn c r e d it in English and Social S tu dies. We would l ik e to expand th is option to include more areas o f study. For example, a student could gain Math c r e d it by working independently in the Option Block. We would, o f course, have several checks on th is program to assure you the student is working. These checks would include d a ily lo g s , c o n fe r­ ences and f i l e checks. You could meet w ith the student during the week to look over h is work, check his progress and give him a l e t t e r grade. We are anxious f o r you to become more f a m ilia r w ith the program. Come jo in us! Check the w a ll o utside rooms 111 and 112 f o r upcoming seminars you can a tte n d . We welcome everyone in to the Option Program. S in c e re ly , Vi Ross and Judy Singley 25 4 THIS SHEET IS TO BE COMPLETED AND PLACED IN THE STUDENT'S FILE Before beginning th is program we ask th a t both the Sponsor and the Student make a l i s t o f goals. What do you expect to teach th is student? What does the student expect to learn? These can be valuable in ev alu atin g the program a t i t ' s com pletion. SPONSOR GOALS: 1 . 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6 . STUDENT GOALS: 1. 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6 . Sponsor signature _____________________________________________________ Area o f sponsorship and lea rn in g ____________________________________ Sponsor's telephone ___________________________________________________ Days and hours student attends placement ____________________________ Student signature _____________________________________________________ Teacher signature _____________________________________________________ Date 255 TWO WEEK EVALUATION TO: Student Option Sponsor FROM: Ms. Ross and Ms. S in g ley , Edwardsburg High School Date: ___________ Please comment b r i e f l y on the progress o f your S.O. student regarding these questions. These comments from you a re VERY IMPORTANT and are needed every two weeks f o r the s tu d e n t's S.O. e v a lu a tio n . 1. How many days a week does your student work w ith you? 2. How many hours does the student u s u ally put in on these days? 3. Is your student u s u a lly on tim e and atten d in g when expected? Comment ( i f you would l i k e ) : 4. Please g iv e any general comments or observations regarding the a c t i v i t i e s and experience the student is re c e iv in g . What are his a c t iv it ie s w ith you lik e ? Do you fe e l he is b e n e fitin g from th is ? Does he seem to enjoy it? How is he working out w ith you and your p a r tic u la r s it u a tio n , e tc .? 256 NINE-WEEK EVALUATION Dear _________________________ : D a t e ___________________ The Student Option Program is to provide the Edwardsburg High School students w ith experience th a t would not have been possible w ithout you, and the other members o f Edwardsburg and her neighboring communities generous support. Your comments in the fo llo w in g areas w i l l help us e v a lu a te and improve our students' t o ta l Many thanks f o r p a r tic ip a tio n . involvement. S in c e re ly , Student Option Program Advisors EVALUATION Student Option Member __________________________________________________ Conmunity Resource (middle school, s h e r i f f d e p t., e t c . ) ______________ Name o f Community Supervisor ______________________________ 1. Please l i s t the agreed upon d u tie s o f the S.O. member 2. Was your S.O. member on time and in attendance re g u la rly ? 3. Did your S.O. member use h is /h e r time w isely? 4. Did your S.O. member abide by th e ru le s o f your o rg a n iza tio n and/or those set down by you? 257 2 5. 6. What aqe group did your S.O. member work with? I f a v a ila b le , would you want the same member again? 7. Would you be w illin g to take another S.O. member in the futu re? 8 . How long and how fre q u e n tly d id your S.O. member p a r tic ip a te w ith you? 9. Were th e re any hardships or inconveniences placed on you because o f th is Program? 10. Did you fe e l s u f f ic ie n t ly appraised o f the S.O. Program goals? 11. Was th ere adequate contact w ith the Edwardsburg High School advisors? 12. Please e v alu ate whether th is was a w orthw hile experience fo r the student by commenting on th is thought: student l i k e when I f i r s t met him and what is he lik e now in terms o f experience gained, a ttit u d e developed, s k i l l s le a rn e d , e t c ." o ther words, how has the student grown, as e la b o ra te ly as you wish and have time f o r . ) P lease answer below. "What was my Student Option (Please answer i f a t a l l . In 25 8 STUDENT OPTION BLOCK STAFF EVALUATION As you know, the Student Option Block was begun the second semester, 1974 as an a lt e r n a t iv e lea rn in g program f o r ju n io rs and seniors in Edwardsburg High School. Students have been involved in earning academic and/or experience c r e d it fo r approxim ately fo u r months. Because th is is a new program, we fe e l i t would be h elp fu l to the continuing improvement and success o f Student Option Block i f you would p a r tic ip a te in our e v a lu a tio n . Would you please comment on the fo llo w in g : 1. Did you encounter any d i f f i c u l t y w ith a ttitu d e s o f Student Option students as they moved from our a lte r n a tiv e lea rn in g environment in to your classroom in the re g u la r school s e ttin g ? I f so, please e x p la in . 2. One o f the options o f th is program enables students to leave the b u ild in g to earn experience c r e d it , or to go to t h e ir academic sponsor w ith in the b u ild in g . Has th is movement p erso nally in te rru p te d your class procedure in any way? E xplain. 3. One o f our goals in Student Option Block has been to encourage students to id e n t if y what they wanted to learn and how to best go about pursuing i t . S e lf-m o tiv a tio n and r e s p o n s ib ility f o r choices have been emphasized. Have you observed any a t t it u d e changes on the p a rt o f Student Option students in your c la s s ­ room in regard to these goals? 25 9 2 4. What do you see as the p o s itiv e aspects fo r o ffe r in g an a lt e r n a tiv e le a rn in g program in the Edwardsburg High School curriculum? Do you fe e l th a t the Student Option Program provides t h is o p p o rtu n ity fo r students to meet t h e i r in d iv id u a l le a rn in g needs? 5. We would a p p re ciate any o th e r comments you may have concerning the Improvement o f our program f o r next y e a r. Any reconmenda- tio n s from you a re appreciated and w il l be given c a re fu l c o n sid e ra tio n . Ms. Singley Ms. Ross 2 6 0 STUDENT OPTION BLOCK STUDENT EVALUATION As you must r e a liz e by now the atmosphere in Student Option is open, tr u s t in g , and honest. T h e re fo re , we would lik e your personal to be candid and s in c e re . Please address these l e t t e r s to both te a ch ers, regardless o f who your e v a lu a tio n person has been th is semester. We want to know your f e e lin g s , a t t it u d e s , ideas about the program, expressed in your own words and w ritin g s ty le . le t t e r s S p e c ific a lly , would you t r y to t e l l us something about the fo llo w in g : 1. What aspects o f the program d id you fin d best met your needs (acad em ic/experien ce)? 2. Id e n tify f i v e experiences th a t you have had in Student Option th is semester th a t have co n trib u ted to your personal growth. 3. Did you fin d the seminars an d /o r resource people v a lu a b le to your personal growth? S ta te as s p e c ific a lly as p ossible your responses an d /o r reactio n s to seminars and resource persons. 4. As you moved d a ily from the a lte r n a tiv e le a rn in g environment to the t r a d it io n a l school s e ttin g s , did you encounter any d if f i c u l t i e s ? I f so, what? 261 2 5. In terms o f s e l f - l n l t l a t l o n (Id e n tify in g what you wanted to lea rn and how to go about pursuing i t ) do you fe e l you are growing as a d ir e c t r e s u lt o f the Student Option program? I f so* g ive an example. I f n o t* ex p la in why not. 6 . What aspects o f “y o u rs e lf" a re you more f u l l y aware o f as a r e s u lt o f the program— because you have experienced th e Student Option le a rn in g environment ( f o r example, working w ith o thers* completing In d iv id u a l p ro je c ts , r e s p o n s ib ility , c r e a t iv i t y , cooperation* c u r io s ity * enthusiasm , lead ersh ip )? 7. The Student Option Program has considerable s tru c tu re in terms o f d a lly lo g s , attendance form s, sig n -o u t sh eets, e v a lu a tio n s , e tc . We would l ik e your opinion about t h is — too lo o s e , too t i g h t , o r what? Give examples o f suggested changes. 8 . One o f the tea ch ers' goals has been to t r y to fo s te r a c a rin g , co o perative environment ra th e r than a th re a te n in g , com p etitive environment. Did th e absence o f the "com petitive" atmosphere a f f e c t your m o tivatio n and learn in g ? or negative? I f so, was 1 t p o s itiv e 262 3 9. I f you were In charge o f planning th e Student Option learn in g environment fo r next f a l l , what changes would you make? suggestions th a t have to do w ith c o n tra c ts , e v a lu a tio n s , forms, seminars, resource p eople, teacher r o le s , and th e l i k e . Include 10. As a conclusion, we would lik e very much to know i f you fe e l I f you now your p a r tic ip a tio n in Student Option was worthy. r e a liz e you would have b en efited more by remaining in the tr a d it io n a l school s e ttin g , please t e l l us. Me ap p re ciate your l e t t e r , and e s p e c ia lly sharing liv in g and learn in g w ith you. Ms. S ingley Ms. Ross 263 PARENT SURVEY: STUDENT OPTION BLOCK As you know, the Student Option Block was begun the second sem ester, 1974, as an a lte rn a te program f o r ju n io rs and seniors in Edwardsburg High School. Your son o r daughter here now has been involved in earning academic and/or experience c r e d it fo r approxim ately fo ur months. Because th is is a new program, we fe e l an e v a lu a tio n would be h e lp fu l in order to improve the program f o r next y e a r and insure i t s continuing success. You, as a p a re n t, are in a unique p o s itio n to be aware o f your son o r d aughter's growth through his or her school experiences. Please conmvent in the space below on the fo llo w in g : 1. Your son or d aughter's a ttitu d e toward school in general and the Student Option Block in p a r tic u la r . 2. O p p ortun ities fo r le a rn in g and personal growth the Student Option Block has provided f o r your son or daughter. 3. Student Option Block experiences th a t your student shared w ith you and you fe e l are im portant to his p o s itiv e development as a young a d u lt. 4. Are you aware o f any problems as a r e s u lt o f your son or daughter's p a rtic ip a tio n in Student Option. 5. Any o th e r comments? We ap p re ciate your in te r e s t in and support o f our program; your response is very im portant to us. Ms. Judy S ingley Ms. V io la Ross BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Alam, Dale V. " A lte r n a tiv e Classrooms." In "Learning to L earn ." An A lte r n a tiv e Learning Environm ent, Hemmeter Elem entary S chool, Saginaw Township Community Schools, January 3 0 , 1975. B a rr, Robert D. "Whatever Happened to the Free School Movement?" Phi D e lta Kappan, March 1973. Blom, Frank S. " A lte rn a tiv e s in the Public S chools," Okemos, M ichigan, 1973. "Education by C hoice." A p p lic a tio n f o r O p eratio n al Grant Under E1ementary and Secondary Education A c t. P u b lic Law 8 9 -1 0 , T i t l e I I I , Submitted by Quincy P u blic "Schools, D i s t r i c t #172, Quincy, I l l i n o i s . F a n t in i, M ario D. " A lte rn a tiv e s in th e P u b lic Schools." Today*s Education, September-October 1974. P u b lic Schools o f Choice. New York: Simon and S c h u ste r, T 9 7 I. F in k e ls te in , Leonard B. "Im plem entation: E s s e n tia ls fo r Success." NASSP B u l l e t i n , September 1973. H ickey, Michael E. September 1973. "Education by C hoice." NASSP B u l l e t i n , K ohl, H e rb e rt. The Open Classroom. New York: V in ta g e Books, 1969. "Learning to L ea rn ." An A lte r n a t iv e Learning Environm ent, Hemmeter Elem entary School, Saginaw Township Community Schools, January 3 0 , 1975. (Mimeographed.) Lew is, Lew is, J r . A Contemporary Approach to Non-Graded E ducation. New York: P arker P ublishing Co. , 1969. " ' ' Murphy, H a r r ie t . E vents." Environm ent, Hemmeter Elem entary School, Saginaw Township Community Schools, January 3 0 , 1975. In "Learning to L e a rn ." An A lte r n a tiv e Learning "An A lte r n a tiv e Learning to Learn" and "Log o f 264 265 Pinch, Jesse. "P aren t-In vo lve d Curriculum Change in a P u blic School." Ph.D. d is s e r ta tio n , Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity , 1975. Shaw, W illia m . "An E xploratory Study o f Diverse Educational P h ilo so ph ies, Methodologies and Communication Networks o f Diverse Educational A lte r n a tiv e Learning Environments W ithin Public Schools." Ph.D. d is s e r ta tio n , Michigan S ta te U n iv e rs ity , 1975. Silberm an, Charles. C ris is In th e Classroom. New York: Random House, 1970.