We visited the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation:
I must admit that at first I was skeptical about the mission of the school. The reason that I was skeptical was because I thought it would be impossible to provide a comprehensive education through a variety of fields through an inquiry approach. Although the “principal” of the school assured us that the curricular topics would be I covered, I still remain skeptical. However, was also inspired by the decentralized, uncoupled approach that the school provides. It seemed like teachers and students were more integrated into a common mission, where both teacher and student alike are learning along side. Additionally, many skills not provided by traditional school are being inculcated in the students. These include self sufficiency and non directed exploration. The reason why these are important to develop is that in “real life” these are the skills one truly needs to be successful. Life is not as simple and closed system style as that presented in school. Indeed, much of life outside of traditional schooling lies in the realm of complex systems which have multiple solutions. I have experienced this phenomenon first hand with many of the construction projects I have had to work through at home! Invariably, the task becomes much more complex than originally thought, and it is the skills of resilience and independence and problem solving which has moved these projects from conception to completion. By instilling these values and competencies into students at an early age, we are providing context for functional citizens. Indeed, this school seems to be teaching how to learn, and even if every piece of curriculum is not covered, the students will leave with the capability to learn it later, anyway, if need arises.
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