School Reform: Thoughts?

hiddendriver34 said:It really looks like they're just clearing the path to oust Jokic and slide in one of the President's buddies to take over.

At this rate, the entire curriculum overhaul is going straight down the drain. 😢

I really hope not!
Honestly, either way would be pretty terrible—the first option sounds like a nightmare, and the second one? Just plain awful.

Robert Rodriguez9 said:Why act surprised? Every time there’s a change in administration, everything the previous one started just hits a wall. 🙄

This isn't just your typical change in administration.
It feels like we’re heading straight back into the Dark Ages.

And let's be real—it feels like the ultimate goal for this administration, and eventually through the school system too, is to make sure people just stop thinking for themselves. 🤮
One of the main goals of this reform is to encourage individuality, creativity, and critical thinking. However, during his interview, Paar basically tried to convince them that they should be shaping students into mindless followers instead. 🙄

Oh, right... that show was actually filmed on the exact same day they held the vote of no confidence against the administration.
Man, if that was their mindset back then, I can only imagine what they're thinking today—and more importantly, what kind of shady tactics they’re planning to pull next.

Susan James said:I really hope not!
Honestly, either way would be pretty terrible—the first option sounds like a nightmare, and the second one? Just plain awful.

This isn't just your typical change in administration.
It feels like we’re heading straight back into the Dark Ages.

And let's be real—it feels like the ultimate goal for this administration, and eventually through the school system too, is to make sure people just stop thinking for themselves. 🤮
One of the main goals of this reform is to encourage individuality, creativity, and critical thinking. However, during his interview, Paar basically tried to convince them that they should be shaping students into mindless followers instead. 🙄

Oh, right... that show was actually filmed on the exact same day they held the vote of no confidence against the administration.
Man, if that was their mindset back then, I can only imagine what they're thinking today—and more importantly, what kind of shady tactics they’re planning to pull next.

I was going to say that nothing about this surprises me. While everyone else here was celebrating, I was staying skeptical. I had a gut feeling that changing who's in charge wouldn't actually fix anything. Honestly, what makes it even worse is how much they seem intent on dragging us backward.

I was honestly a bit naive to think they’d just leave the reform alone. I really believed it was being handled by actual experts in the field who had nothing to do with politics from the start.

rowdypanther12 said:I was honestly a bit naive to think they’d just leave the reform alone. I really believed it was being handled by actual experts in the field who had nothing to do with politics from the start.

It’s never just about the experts; that much is obvious. Even if you try to strip away the political angle, there's definitely an ideological layer baked in. It's hard to imagine any sector—even culture—being completely immune to ideology.

Personally, I don't think the work of the experts designing this reform should be exempt from scrutiny. We need public debates, we need inspections... what really worried me is how easily any actual progress or meaningful movement could be halted or fundamentally derailed.

Now, I'm just waiting to see exactly what changes they're planning to implement and how they intend to pull it off.

If science has become an ideology, then yeah, I can see where the beginning of this post is coming from.

Susan James hit the nail on the head. It’s just that people rarely realize their own personal biases and worldview actually constitute an ideology. 😁

Like I said before—there is so much spin flying around regarding this whole situation.

Honestly, I haven't been able to find a single clear-cut article that actually highlights the core changes they're planning for the school system; it's all just vague, empty rhetoric about how we "need to become a knowledge-based society."

In my opinion, these reforms always end up being purely cosmetic—like debating whether grades should be issued mid-term or quarterly, or if we should switch from letter grades to descriptive feedback—when what we actually need is a total paradigm shift. We're talking about things like letting students actually choose their electives, completely restructuring class schedules, or moving away from traditional lectures toward more interactive learning models.

But let's be real, there’s neither the political will nor the budget for that. Apparently, even the teachers are pushing back hard (or at least that's what the news is saying, though I don't know if it's the full story).

I honestly can't tell if this curriculum overhaul was ever intended to bring about any meaningful change.

Are there any actual teachers in here who could break down what the most significant shifts would look like within their specific subjects?

As for whether they'll scrap it or pause it, I'm just waiting for a serious statement from the new administration. First, the word was they were halting everything, then they said it would move forward with some modifications, but nobody has a clue what those changes actually entail.

Karen Richardson3 said:Susan James hit the nail on the head. It’s just that people rarely realize their own personal biases and worldview actually constitute an ideology. 😁

Like I said before—there is so much spin flying around regarding this whole situation.

Honestly, I haven't been able to find a single clear-cut article that actually highlights the core changes they're planning for the school system; it's all just vague, empty rhetoric about how we "need to become a knowledge-based society."

In my opinion, these reforms always end up being purely cosmetic—like debating whether grades should be issued mid-term or quarterly, or if we should switch from letter grades to descriptive feedback—when what we actually need is a total paradigm shift. We're talking about things like letting students actually choose their electives, completely restructuring class schedules, or moving away from traditional lectures toward more interactive learning models.

But let's be real, there’s neither the political will nor the budget for that. Apparently, even the teachers are pushing back hard (or at least that's what the news is saying, though I don't know if it's the full story).

I honestly can't tell if this curriculum overhaul was ever intended to bring about any meaningful change.

Are there any actual teachers in here who could break down what the most significant shifts would look like within their specific subjects?

As for whether they'll scrap it or pause it, I'm just waiting for a serious statement from the new administration. First, the word was they were halting everything, then they said it would move forward with some modifications, but nobody has a clue what those changes actually entail.

So... here we go.

The way our current school curriculum is set up feels like a massive data dump. Most subjects are just a endless stream of facts that kids are expected to swallow whole, memorize, and then spit back out during a test. It’s basically rote learning at its worst. The real problem? All this information is served up as absolute gospel. Students aren't really encouraged to pull anything apart, ask "why?", or apply a bit of critical thinking to what they're being taught. They're just expected to accept it all without question.
School curriculum is basically just a massive pile of extra data. Most of it is totally useless. It’s actually pretty ironic when you think about it—so many practical life skills that people actually need are completely ignored in the classroom. Take high school seniors, for example. You’ll see these straight-A students sitting in the hallway, feeling completely helpless because they want to file an appeal against their state exam results. They’re stuck waiting around for a teacher to draft the formal complaint for them because they have absolutely no clue how to write one. It's wild. These kids can tell you exactly what an onomatopoeia is, who Vladimir Mayakovsky was, or define imagism in their sleep, yet they're totally lost when it comes to navigating a basic administrative process.
Let’s be honest: most teaching ends up being front-facing because, frankly, there just isn't enough time to do anything else. If you try to get fancy with it, you'll never finish the curriculum.
Project-based learning is basically a ghost in our schools right now. It’s almost non-existent, and even when people do talk about it, nobody actually takes it seriously. It’s like everyone knows it's a great idea on paper, but when it comes down to actually implementing it in the classroom, they just shrug their shoulders and go back to the old ways. It’s a total missed opportunity.
I’ve always been a huge believer that project-based learning is hands down the best way to teach anything. But if you stop and think about it, what does that actually look like in practice?
So, I decided to try something a little different with my students recently. I gave them this assignment: go out into the real world and find someone whose life story or personality mirrors one of those Romantic era characters we’ve been dissecting in class. Then, they have to film an interview with them. The catch? The interview itself has to be so well done that you can actually figure out which literary figure they're channeling just by listening to the person's story.
But honestly, aside from a handful of true enthusiasts, nobody’s actually putting any real muscle into this project. It’s just the way it is—students in our current school system don't exactly treat project-based learning like it's anything serious. They just don't buy into it.
So, this year, a colleague and I had this big, ambitious idea to pull off an "Avant-Garde Day" at our school. The whole vision was to give our seniors a platform to showcase their most experimental art pieces and put on some wild, boundary-pushing performances. We wanted it to be this huge, creative explosion for the students. Sadly, the principal shot us down completely, so the whole project just went up in smoke. Total bummer.

Under this new curriculum, project-based learning is taking center stage. It’s easily one of the most important teaching methods they're rolling out. Basically, we're looking at dedicated "project weeks" being organized several times throughout the school year.

The scope of what we’re covering is shrinking, but honestly? That’s actually a good thing. Instead of just skimming the surface of a thousand different topics, we’re finally diving deep. We’re taking a much smaller amount of material and really tearing into it—looking at it from every possible angle and exploring it through different lenses. It’s all about quality over quantity now.

So, instead of forcing them through ten different realistic authors just to check a box for a reading list, they’ll focus on maybe two or three—whatever the professor picks (and hey, they could even let the students vote on it). By really diving deep into those few, doing the actual legwork of researching, writing papers, thinking critically, and tackling hands-on projects, the students will actually grasp what realism is all about. It makes way more sense than just skimming the surface of a dozen books.

At least, that's how I'm reading the situation.🕺😁

More than just the usual talk about cutting curriculum content, scrapping grades, adding ninth grades, civics classes, or masking new disciplinary systems under the guise of "project-based learning," what really keeps me up at night is this:

1. What does this reform actually say about training educators to meet these new working conditions?

2. How does the reform address the dynamics between student and teacher, teacher and student, parent and child, and how all those relationships overlap?

3. Where is the funding for decent project-based learning supposed to come from, considering most schools today can barely afford basic supplies?

4. Who is going to oversee the workflow and ensure these new reforms actually mesh with existing systems?

5. How much attention is being paid to correlative teaching—you know, interdisciplinary work? This requires a whole faculty to collaborate and build shared educational and developmental goals, then actually follow through.

6. Were parents even involved in any of this through their representative councils?

7. How was the academic community brought into the fold? Is there going to be a reform of the higher education system, or will universities finally take responsibility for producing such underprepared graduates who struggle once they enter the workforce?

Regarding project-based learning, I honestly don't get why people are acting like it's some massive revolution. This is stuff capable educators were doing fifty years ago. It’s a fundamental way of working for anyone who takes their profession seriously; it’s been in the literature since the earliest studies on teaching methodology. So, where's the catch? I suspect the issue is simply that very few people actually implement it, and no memo from the Department of Education or fancy document titled "Curriculum Reform" is going to fix that. Even if you mandate that we MUST have a "project day"...

Since I’ve actually worked under one of the main architects of this reform—and I hold him in extremely high regard; in fact, I'm writing my thesis based on his work—I do have certain fears.

My fear is that we're expecting a total paradigm shift without actually changing our mindset. I'm worried that the smallest part of this reform misses the actual root of our educational and developmental issues in this society: that endless loop of dysfunctional relationships I mentioned in my questions earlier.

And look, the mere fact that a paradigm shift is necessary—Summer, to answer you specifically—is itself a sign of an ideological war within our own society.
The truth is, I believe this could happen without leaning into any specific ideology we recognize, but my verdict is that we won't see anything concrete from this for at least the next twenty years. As a society, we aren't mature enough for such a shift or even for that kind of thinking. Honestly, we aren't even ready for scientific knowledge paired with the core civilizational values we were raised on. We're basically a post-communist, post-tyrannical little village that is miles away from being a true democratic civil society built on equality.

It’s like feminism or the movement for LGBTQ+ rights—real change isn't just imposed from above. It has to trickle down to the lowest levels of society, meeting resistance with tolerance, acknowledging people's refusals, showing better paths, and gradually bringing individuals back into the fold.

To me, it feels like our children are just the casualties of our own failure to communicate with one another as human beings. That failure reflects everything: our entire social landscape, our politics, and our culture.

edit: nobody needs to answer these questions above. I was just getting the things that are weighing on me off my chest; it's easier to process things when I lay them out like this. 😁

silentraven6 said:More than just the usual talk about cutting curriculum content, scrapping grades, adding ninth grades, civics classes, or masking new disciplinary systems under the guise of "project-based learning," what really keeps me up at night is this:

1. What does this reform actually say about training educators to meet these new working conditions?

2. How does the reform address the dynamics between student and teacher, teacher and student, parent and child, and how all those relationships overlap?

3. Where is the funding for decent project-based learning supposed to come from, considering most schools today can barely afford basic supplies?

4. Who is going to oversee the workflow and ensure these new reforms actually mesh with existing systems?

5. How much attention is being paid to correlative teaching—you know, interdisciplinary work? This requires a whole faculty to collaborate and build shared educational and developmental goals, then actually follow through.

6. Were parents even involved in any of this through their representative councils?

7. How was the academic community brought into the fold? Is there going to be a reform of the higher education system, or will universities finally take responsibility for producing such underprepared graduates who struggle once they enter the workforce?

Regarding project-based learning, I honestly don't get why people are acting like it's some massive revolution. This is stuff capable educators were doing fifty years ago. It’s a fundamental way of working for anyone who takes their profession seriously; it’s been in the literature since the earliest studies on teaching methodology. So, where's the catch? I suspect the issue is simply that very few people actually implement it, and no memo from the Department of Education or fancy document titled "Curriculum Reform" is going to fix that. Even if you mandate that we MUST have a "project day"...

Since I’ve actually worked under one of the main architects of this reform—and I hold him in extremely high regard; in fact, I'm writing my thesis based on his work—I do have certain fears.

My fear is that we're expecting a total paradigm shift without actually changing our mindset. I'm worried that the smallest part of this reform misses the actual root of our educational and developmental issues in this society: that endless loop of dysfunctional relationships I mentioned in my questions earlier.

And look, the mere fact that a paradigm shift is necessary—Summer, to answer you specifically—is itself a sign of an ideological war within our own society.
The truth is, I believe this could happen without leaning into any specific ideology we recognize, but my verdict is that we won't see anything concrete from this for at least the next twenty years. As a society, we aren't mature enough for such a shift or even for that kind of thinking. Honestly, we aren't even ready for scientific knowledge paired with the core civilizational values we were raised on. We're basically a post-communist, post-tyrannical little village that is miles away from being a true democratic civil society built on equality.

It’s like feminism or the movement for LGBTQ+ rights—real change isn't just imposed from above. It has to trickle down to the lowest levels of society, meeting resistance with tolerance, acknowledging people's refusals, showing better paths, and gradually bringing individuals back into the fold.

To me, it feels like our children are just the casualties of our own failure to communicate with one another as human beings. That failure reflects everything: our entire social landscape, our politics, and our culture.

edit: nobody needs to answer these questions above. I was just getting the things that are weighing on me off my chest; it's easier to process things when I lay them out like this. 😁

I was reading through hiddendriver34’s post, and honestly, those questions hit me immediately.

hiddendriver34 mentions how high school seniors can't even draft a formal appeal against their standardized test results. But let's be real—even people graduating from top-tier law schools struggle with that kind of thing.

When I was at the University of Rijeka, everything was just old-school lecture style; writing papers felt more like a mindless chore than actual learning. And the teaching methodology? It was just a one-semester course that nobody gave a second thought to.

I think a real reform could actually work, but only if we start by fixing higher education first.
We have a massive sprawl of universities and colleges that basically exist just to hand out diplomas and get people jobs.
The quality at these newer universities is pretty shaky, and the community colleges feel like they're just teaching single, isolated courses rather than providing a real foundation.
We're essentially inflating the number of people with advanced degrees and hiring PhDs for roles they aren't trained for, which is really the only reason the whole system stays upright.

To be totally honest, looking at the state of our schools—from the lack of funding to the low morale and varying levels of teacher training—the pessimist in me hears hiddendriver34’s list and thinks, "Great, now they'll just make everyone memorize even more useless data." It feels like more rigid, forced memorization is coming.

I should also mention that I knew people finishing degrees in English Literature who couldn't even grasp basic grammar or spelling rules.

silentraven6 said:More than just the usual talk about cutting curriculum content, scrapping grades, adding ninth grades, civics classes, or masking new disciplinary systems under the guise of "project-based learning," what really keeps me up at night is this:

1. What does this reform actually say about training educators to meet these new working conditions?

2. How does the reform address the dynamics between student and teacher, teacher and student, parent and child, and how all those relationships overlap?

3. Where is the funding for decent project-based learning supposed to come from, considering most schools today can barely afford basic supplies?

4. Who is going to oversee the workflow and ensure these new reforms actually mesh with existing systems?

5. How much attention is being paid to correlative teaching—you know, interdisciplinary work? This requires a whole faculty to collaborate and build shared educational and developmental goals, then actually follow through.

6. Were parents even involved in any of this through their representative councils?

7. How was the academic community brought into the fold? Is there going to be a reform of the higher education system, or will universities finally take responsibility for producing such underprepared graduates who struggle once they enter the workforce?

Regarding project-based learning, I honestly don't get why people are acting like it's some massive revolution. This is stuff capable educators were doing fifty years ago. It’s a fundamental way of working for anyone who takes their profession seriously; it’s been in the literature since the earliest studies on teaching methodology. So, where's the catch? I suspect the issue is simply that very few people actually implement it, and no memo from the Department of Education or fancy document titled "Curriculum Reform" is going to fix that. Even if you mandate that we MUST have a "project day"...

Since I’ve actually worked under one of the main architects of this reform—and I hold him in extremely high regard; in fact, I'm writing my thesis based on his work—I do have certain fears.

My fear is that we're expecting a total paradigm shift without actually changing our mindset. I'm worried that the smallest part of this reform misses the actual root of our educational and developmental issues in this society: that endless loop of dysfunctional relationships I mentioned in my questions earlier.

And look, the mere fact that a paradigm shift is necessary—Summer, to answer you specifically—is itself a sign of an ideological war within our own society.
The truth is, I believe this could happen without leaning into any specific ideology we recognize, but my verdict is that we won't see anything concrete from this for at least the next twenty years. As a society, we aren't mature enough for such a shift or even for that kind of thinking. Honestly, we aren't even ready for scientific knowledge paired with the core civilizational values we were raised on. We're basically a post-communist, post-tyrannical little village that is miles away from being a true democratic civil society built on equality.

It’s like feminism or the movement for LGBTQ+ rights—real change isn't just imposed from above. It has to trickle down to the lowest levels of society, meeting resistance with tolerance, acknowledging people's refusals, showing better paths, and gradually bringing individuals back into the fold.

To me, it feels like our children are just the casualties of our own failure to communicate with one another as human beings. That failure reflects everything: our entire social landscape, our politics, and our culture.

edit: nobody needs to answer these questions above. I was just getting the things that are weighing on me off my chest; it's easier to process things when I lay them out like this. 😁

Honestly, I don't even think the ideologies themselves matter much. Ideologies are really just a coat people hide under while they're busy scratching for a paycheck.

A project doesn't get shut down because someone has legitimate concerns; instead, those objections are manufactured just so new leeches can latch onto the government's teat.
And in the process, people actually end up believing they're fighting for some noble cause.

This hits both our political camps equally hard (and I mean truly equal, regardless of how much uglier one side might look than the other 😁 ).

The staff will get some training. As for whether they'll actually get a raise, who knows?

The proposal is officially moving into the public comment phase.

Speaking from my perspective as someone working right inside the education system, let me tell you: the current curriculum hasn't changed since my grandmother was in school, and frankly, it’s broken. It’s so outdated that it doesn't just kill the motivation for the students—it drains the teachers too.

I have to tip my hat to whoever had the guts to dig this deep and attempt some real, fundamental changes. We haven't seen anything this transformative in... what, a hundred years? Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it feels that way.

Look, some parts might not work perfectly out of the gate, but hey, that's how we learn, right? The most important thing is just to get moving.

The absolute worst thing we could do is just leave these kids stuck memorizing useless facts without changing a single thing. At least now, they're learning *something* new.

hiddendriver34 said:The staff will get some training. As for whether they'll actually get a raise, who knows?

The proposal is officially moving into the public comment phase.

Speaking from my perspective as someone working right inside the education system, let me tell you: the current curriculum hasn't changed since my grandmother was in school, and frankly, it’s broken. It’s so outdated that it doesn't just kill the motivation for the students—it drains the teachers too.

I have to tip my hat to whoever had the guts to dig this deep and attempt some real, fundamental changes. We haven't seen anything this transformative in... what, a hundred years? Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it feels that way.

Look, some parts might not work perfectly out of the gate, but hey, that's how we learn, right? The most important thing is just to get moving.

The absolute worst thing we could do is just leave these kids stuck memorizing useless facts without changing a single thing. At least now, they're learning *something* new.

Last night, Nikola Jokić said something incredibly profound during his interview regarding that whole mess in San Francisco. School is boring for kids; they aren't learning anything practical, and they aren't facing any challenges that actually build character—they're just memorizing because someone told them they have to. The moment kids are in schools and institutions where they are actually engaged in studying the systems imposed upon them—basically, when they are actually challenged to think throughout their education—violence will decrease.

Such a beautiful thought.

If we add digital literacy starting from first grade—and I mean based on modern tech, not some textbook from 1993—it could actually work.

If we consider that this will foster group work, teamwork, project-based learning, true inclusion, and better teacher training, we might actually see results in 20 years. It won't happen sooner than that, because we won't produce academic experts capable of reaching their potential and becoming great educators before then.

I was reading through that entire thread about autism over on the health forum the other day, and I was stunned by one example of how an autistic child is integrated into our community, almost as if it were some alien world I've never had the chance to witness. The way children can influence one another, push each other forward, understand, comfort, stand by each other, and learn from each other... I truly believe that is the only way forward. It's a path where we learn from them by giving them the chance to act like little organized societies.

In our rush to chase quantity, we've missed out on the best part of them: their humanity. We forgot to guide them toward one another while nurturing their individuality. Instead, we give them metrics to compete over, rather than realizing—for once in human history—that the evolutionary "survival of the fittest" doesn't apply to the spiritual greatness a human can achieve simply by breaking down barriers and opening up to our shared existence. Our evolution should be about spiritual enrichment and discovering the best in all of us.

I'll never forget the beginning of the novel *ja dijete sa kolodvor zoo*, that description of the endless competition among children fueled by indifferent institutions and parents. Nothing has changed.

silentraven6 said:Last night, Nikola Jokić said something incredibly profound during his interview regarding that whole mess in San Francisco. School is boring for kids; they aren't learning anything practical, and they aren't facing any challenges that actually build character—they're just memorizing because someone told them they have to. The moment kids are in schools and institutions where they are actually engaged in studying the systems imposed upon them—basically, when they are actually challenged to think throughout their education—violence will decrease.

Such a beautiful thought.

If we add digital literacy starting from first grade—and I mean based on modern tech, not some textbook from 1993—it could actually work.

If we consider that this will foster group work, teamwork, project-based learning, true inclusion, and better teacher training, we might actually see results in 20 years. It won't happen sooner than that, because we won't produce academic experts capable of reaching their potential and becoming great educators before then.

I was reading through that entire thread about autism over on the health forum the other day, and I was stunned by one example of how an autistic child is integrated into our community, almost as if it were some alien world I've never had the chance to witness. The way children can influence one another, push each other forward, understand, comfort, stand by each other, and learn from each other... I truly believe that is the only way forward. It's a path where we learn from them by giving them the chance to act like little organized societies.

In our rush to chase quantity, we've missed out on the best part of them: their humanity. We forgot to guide them toward one another while nurturing their individuality. Instead, we give them metrics to compete over, rather than realizing—for once in human history—that the evolutionary "survival of the fittest" doesn't apply to the spiritual greatness a human can achieve simply by breaking down barriers and opening up to our shared existence. Our evolution should be about spiritual enrichment and discovering the best in all of us.

I'll never forget the beginning of the novel *ja dijete sa kolodvor zoo*, that description of the endless competition among children fueled by indifferent institutions and parents. Nothing has changed.

Spot on. School was incredibly dull for me, and I hated cramming. It’s funny, I actually had to retake a history exam in high school. Pure boredom. You sit there for an hour listening to a teacher drone on and on. Then, the weird thing happens: the night before the retake, I ended up learning the entire high school textbook. There wasn't a single thing I didn't know by morning. 😂Not even a gun could have forced me to study during the regular school year.

hiddendriver34 said:The staff will get some training. As for whether they'll actually get a raise, who knows?

The proposal is officially moving into the public comment phase.

Speaking from my perspective as someone working right inside the education system, let me tell you: the current curriculum hasn't changed since my grandmother was in school, and frankly, it’s broken. It’s so outdated that it doesn't just kill the motivation for the students—it drains the teachers too.

I have to tip my hat to whoever had the guts to dig this deep and attempt some real, fundamental changes. We haven't seen anything this transformative in... what, a hundred years? Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it feels that way.

Look, some parts might not work perfectly out of the gate, but hey, that's how we learn, right? The most important thing is just to get moving.

The absolute worst thing we could do is just leave these kids stuck memorizing useless facts without changing a single thing. At least now, they're learning *something* new.

I was chatting with one of your colleagues the other day, and his take on this is pretty different from yours.
For instance, he’s skeptical about all those phrases like "teachers will have more freedom to design their lessons," because he feels like even now, there’s plenty of room to basically wing a lesson whenever you feel like it.

That really got me thinking, so I’m curious—what has held you back from doing more project-based learning or collaborative group work so far?
Was it just a matter of trying to squeeze everything into an already jam-packed daily schedule?

I'm guessing the differences between subjects are massive; like with American history classes, you might finish the core lecture in ten minutes and then the rest of the period is entirely up to your own creativity or whatever mood you're in.
(Thinking about it that way, I realized my high school history teacher, who was super strict and always grilling us with questions, was actually just being lazy. Since he didn't want to bother prepping for class at home, he'd just read the chapter straight from the textbook and spend the rest of the hour interrogating us).

He also mentioned that while there are various professional development seminars available for teachers to sharpen their skills, hardly anyone at his school actually takes advantage of them.

And he's convinced we won't see any real overhaul of the school schedule—like cutting down hours for certain subjects—because the internal resistance within the system is just too intense.

Karen Richardson3 said:I was chatting with one of your colleagues the other day, and his take on this is pretty different from yours.
For instance, he’s skeptical about all those phrases like "teachers will have more freedom to design their lessons," because he feels like even now, there’s plenty of room to basically wing a lesson whenever you feel like it.

That really got me thinking, so I’m curious—what has held you back from doing more project-based learning or collaborative group work so far?
Was it just a matter of trying to squeeze everything into an already jam-packed daily schedule?

I'm guessing the differences between subjects are massive; like with American history classes, you might finish the core lecture in ten minutes and then the rest of the period is entirely up to your own creativity or whatever mood you're in.
(Thinking about it that way, I realized my high school history teacher, who was super strict and always grilling us with questions, was actually just being lazy. Since he didn't want to bother prepping for class at home, he'd just read the chapter straight from the textbook and spend the rest of the hour interrogating us).

He also mentioned that while there are various professional development seminars available for teachers to sharpen their skills, hardly anyone at his school actually takes advantage of them.

And he's convinced we won't see any real overhaul of the school schedule—like cutting down hours for certain subjects—because the internal resistance within the system is just too intense.

Exactly. Honestly, we have a unique headache because we're expected to squeeze a five-hour weekly lesson plan into just four hours.🙂.

But if you ask me, the big flaw in the current American curriculum is that it's obsessed with memorizing facts. It focuses way too much on rote knowledge and not nearly enough on building actual life skills and competencies. It wouldn't be such a tragedy if that factual stuff didn't vanish from your brain so quickly; otherwise, you walk away from school having learned almost nothing of substance.

hiddendriver34 said:Exactly. Honestly, we have a unique headache because we're expected to squeeze a five-hour weekly lesson plan into just four hours.🙂.

But if you ask me, the big flaw in the current American curriculum is that it's obsessed with memorizing facts. It focuses way too much on rote knowledge and not nearly enough on building actual life skills and competencies. It wouldn't be such a tragedy if that factual stuff didn't vanish from your brain so quickly; otherwise, you walk away from school having learned almost nothing of substance.

I find it pretty fascinating how you guys don't really bring this up with parents. These folks spend years doing their kids' homework, dealing with the sheer insanity of the American education system on a good day, venting when they finally hit a breaking point, and watching in horror as their own children struggle to function. They see their kids spending more time staring at textbooks than they ever did, yet somehow graduate without basic literacy or any real metacognitive tools.

They mentioned yesterday that about 50 schools will be starting an experimental reform this fall. Does anyone know which specific schools those are?

I haven't actually stumbled upon a formal list yet; I just took a quick peek at their website to see what was up.
It’s totally possible they’re keeping the specific roster under wraps just to dodge the inevitable backlash from parents who are either all for it being implemented at their kid's school or completely against it. 😁

On another note, I honestly think it's great how the mainstream media actually gave us the straight facts regarding the new administration's plans for the overhaul, and it’s pretty inspiring that regular Americans were able to push back through activism and protests to make sure those reforms actually stayed on the table. 🐔

😂
I'm not exactly expecting it to happen at my school, but I'd really love it if they brought it in, maybe by next year.

Karen Richardson3 said:I haven't actually stumbled upon a formal list yet; I just took a quick peek at their website to see what was up.
It’s totally possible they’re keeping the specific roster under wraps just to dodge the inevitable backlash from parents who are either all for it being implemented at their kid's school or completely against it. 😁

On another note, I honestly think it's great how the mainstream media actually gave us the straight facts regarding the new administration's plans for the overhaul, and it’s pretty inspiring that regular Americans were able to push back through activism and protests to make sure those reforms actually stayed on the table. 🐔

😂 🤣

About a year ago, I was scrolling through an article in a liberal newspaper, and it mentioned an AP project that was part of the push for the recent curriculum reforms. They listed certain schools that were essentially acting as the pilot leaders for these changes.
From what I recall, it wasn't a huge group of famous schools; in fact, there were only a handful of them in the Chicago area...

If I'm understanding the rollout correctly, they start with the first, third, fifth, and seventh grades, and then move to the even-numbered grades when the kids hit 17 or 18.

Also, I have this feeling—and I really hope I'm right—that the shift toward moving away from traditional grading starts for everyone this year. 😂
Basically, they'll be using descriptive feedback for individual students instead of letter grades, and numerical grades won't kick in until the third grade. 🤔