Hey Cloggers!

This past Tuesday, I visited the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. It is a inquiry based independent school located downtown Victoria, BC. Here are some facts about the school:

  • This school is for students in grades 9 – 12.
  • There are only 7 teachers.
  • It costs $7500 tuition to attend this school (but, there’s a discount if you have more than one child attending).
  • They don’t have a timetable with scheduled blocks.
  • They allow students to select their own topics for assignments.
  • The only weekly scheduled subject is math.
  • School subjects and grades are all integrated.

Now that you have a bit of an understanding of the school, let me tell you what I think about it. PSII offers an alternate learning environment (different from that of a traditional school) which allows students to take control of their own learning. This occurs through the use of inquiry assignments; this concept allows student to dive into assignments that truly interest them, all while learning the various components of the curriculum. Although this type of learning sounds ideal, I still have several concerns and doubts about it. If I, a student who thrived in the traditional school system, were placed in this type of school, I would feel so overwhelmed by disorganization that I wouldn’t even be able to learn. Everyone can choose where and when they want to be working, and I simply think that not all students will benefit from the lack of structure. I also think it is hard to implement this concept into elementary schools because I believe students would not stay on track as much as is necessary for this structure to be beneficial for students. Finally, although I think this concept is great, I am concerned about how students will transition into a university setting where they are being tested and sitting in lectures. Perhaps they will be able to stay on task better than others, but perhaps they will struggle with traditional testing.

An inquiry school, such as PSII, is a great idea and I hope that our current school system adapts more of these ideas.

CLogging off now, (outtro inspired by Aria)

COordt 🙂