I may be starting to sound like a broken record, but I am just going to say it again, there is so much goodness happening in Detroit. While browsing model D, I discovered an article that brought even more “snaps” of excitement and support. The article is called Detroit Future Schools program offers a new classroom paradigm, and it highlights creative solutions to one of our country’s largest issues: education. Access to a high quality individualized education should be guaranteed to all because knowledge is power, right?
Statistics get tossed around about graduation rate, retention, literacy rate, etc. Of course these numbers vary greatly across the country. But with nearly half of property revenue used for public elementary and secondary education, systematic inequality is bound to happen. Educational discrepancies are vast, but I think reevaluating the format and consequent teaching style will help us take steps in the right direction.
Detroit Future Schools (DFS) is doing just that. DFS is a digital media arts program that replaces “traditional teacher-and-textbook instruction” with technology that gives students ownership of their education. By “humaniz[ing] schooling,” DFS grounds “the curriculum in real world community problems that the students try to solve by integrating both the curriculum and their real life experiences.” DFS staff, also known as artists, transform the typical classroom into graphic design, video, and audio production studios that allow one to explore their own creativity and venture into the fields of math, history, and physics. DFS has brought its program to ~3,000 students in over 25 different Metro Detroit schools. DFS has increased standardized test scores, and most importantly, self-confidence.
School is intended to be a place where quests for knowledge are planted, not stunted. DFS allows students to assume responsibility and become actively engaged citizens in the classroom, community, and beyond. Valuing individuals as human beings and making learning fun allows DFS to truly succeed.
http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/DetFutureSchools061714.aspx
