Shelley's School!!

If I was able to create my own school, I would first focus on the curriculum that would be in place.  I would want to incorporate some of Gee's Game Theory into the curriculum to motivate students and keep them interested.  I would also want a constructivist atmosphere where the students are semi-self taught.  The curriculum follow a set of standards, but the standards would focus on higher order thinking and discovery.  Many authentic activities would be emphasized and assessed accordingly (rubrics) .  I would emphasize these aspects because I believe that students will pay attention and learn better if the material is more relatable to things they like doing (playing games, winning).  In addition, I feel that learning independently and with groups is a big challenge and is necessary for the real world.  The students will be more prepared to take care of themselves when they grow up, and many employers seek and demand employees who will work with others and who work well with others.  In life you must collaborate with many people, thus collaborating is a critical skill.

After curriculum, I would attend to the staff.  The teacher's would need to aline with my goals and curriculum, as well as challenge the status quo and bring in new ideas (in a productive manner).  All teachers would need to be a little free spirited to allow students to work constructively, and would need to know subject matter completely.  I would also want to hire teachers with a sense of humor who can laugh at themselves and keep the class interested.  They need to have the student's best interest in mind.  Teachers would need to be experienced with technology and constructivist classrooms.  If they cannot properly use technology or the structure of the classroom to create higher order thinking, then the students will suffer.

After hiring teachers, I would focus on the technology that needed to be implemented to enhance the instruction.  I would give every teacher a SMART board, and every student a laptop.  This would allow the greatest ways for students to learn with technology (accessibility).  I would also collaborate with the teachers and have them go through trainings to develop a plan as to how technology will be best implemented.  I believe that technology would be good for simulations, presentations, video representations, blogs, and research.  It is also good for students to know how to use technology so that they will have the skills necessary for the future.  Younger students will be taught basic, as well as more advanced skills, while older students will use technology for purely advanced, higher order thinking.