Reflection 1: Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry
For my first reflection, I am going to write about our field trip to the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry. I did not anticipate how much my interest would be piqued by the ways in which the school operates and educates their students, as I was confident in my beliefs regarding the success of the practices followed in public schools. However, seeing how many students have managed to succeed at a school that draws focus on personal interests rather than the common curriculum definitely left me with some food for thought.
My understanding of the school is as follows: the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry draws its focus on the personal interests, passions, and hobbies of students. In short, each student picks an inquiry they are to explore for the semester/year (I am unsure if there is a strict duration, from what I understood work is self paced to a certain extent) and progress is tracked through collaboration between the learner and educators. Though PSII still ensures BC Curriculum requirements are being met, it is in a manner that allows students the freedom to explore whatever they choose, in a more flexible time frame, and with allowance to stretch their creative muscles.
What?: First, to address the what, we began our introduction to PSII with a tour of the school led by the founder, who explained his motivation behind wanting to create the school, as well as the process in doing so. What I learned about the school I already outlined above, as for what we did, he toured us through all of the sections of the school, which I found very interesting: my personal favourite section was the textiles section, where students have the option to create their own clothing lines, unique art pieces, etc.; I have never seen a school where sewing and art are encouraged outside of their primary classes. For what I expected, I would say I thought the school would have little to no structure, and would be contained within one space the same way public schools are. The school ended up being extremely different, as there were multiple spaces learners could complete their work, some areas were partially outside, and there was more structure than I thought would be possible to incorporate. My reaction was that I was pleasantly surprised, as I could see myself as an educator actually incorporating some of the ideas presented, and can see their genuine benefits.
So What?: I would say why this experience mattered is because as future educators, it is extremely important for us to observe different experiences and weigh the pros and cons of them, so we have an understanding of what we would like to incorporate into our future classrooms. Not only is it valuable to understand the reasons why establishments like this are developed, but to see firsthand how they benefit their students.
Now What?: As a result of this experience, I think I will put much more consideration into the ways in which I meet curriculum requirements. As future educators, I think it is very important to be flexible when it comes to the ways we teach, as all children are different, and will benefit from different things. With this experience, I think I will be more open to implementing structures that are not as common in public schools, as they sometimes prove to be superior to more “traditional” structures/lessons.
Below I will hyperlink the school’s website, as it explains the school more in depth.