During my last semester teaching at UCF, I'd give my students a set of assignments and ask them to choose 3, which were each due at different times. They had all of the assignment details in the syllabus, so they could choose an assignment in their interest area rather than something I thought they should learn. Plus, eager students could knock out the work in advance or do it early as it fit into their overall schedules. This made the due date simply a "do it by" a certain time, rather than "do it for". Hopefully this gave them more autonomy, I can't say for sure.
Thank you for these posts ... I just discovered them! I resonate so deeply with your vision for education! I have taught college mathematics for 20+ years and I'm just going upstream now because I feel a call to help re-envision education for our children. I've been teaching high school math for 1 1/2 years now. I would love to teach at Galileo ....... and I am hoping my son can go to Galileo, however, he is #37 on the waitlist. We're crossing our fingers! Thank you so much for your posts, your vision, and your tireless efforts to transform education! xo
Love this , Galileo School ideals and your story . How does one achieve this “ fun “when relying on individual teachers coming from different backgrounds , bringing what they learned from other schools ? Galileo University ? 💗
Good questions, Lisa. I think if teachers held certain key principles and beliefs about learning, supported by the school admin and policy, then that could be a way to bring more joy to formal learning. It's kind of an unlearning in a way, of how they were taught, and openness to a new way to relate to students.
Michele, Love this! This is my daughter's first year at Galileo coming from Midway Elementary. Just in the month she has attended in person, I have seen a world of difference in her behavior and enthusiasm. My son is 18 now, but was diagnosed with "autism" at almost 2. He has been in the school system since that age and will graduate high school next year. I haven't had to deal with a "public school" setting since my daughter started school. Her first year in a public school was a disaster for me. So, the next year, I decided to apply to Midway and got her in my first shot. Needless to say, I was losing hope until now. Wonderful article...love the metonymy of love and nurture meaning "Galileo." I look forward reading and learning more. Have a great day!
It makes me so happy to hear this, Vanessa! It's why Galileo School exists--to nurture the unique gifts of EVERY student so they can thrive--at school and beyond school
Love this- of course, you are speaking my language! I dove into some of the lit on curiosity recently and am curious (haha) to hear thoughts on how it may also play a role in reimagined schools. How interested can we expect kids to be in all things vs how curious can we help them be about the world around them? How can we use them in tandem to create students who simply love to learn AND who develop deep interests in the process?
Yes, curiosity is important here too. Dr. Kelly, a former student, did her dissertation study on curiosity and found how much it's lacking, even in preservice teachers
During my last semester teaching at UCF, I'd give my students a set of assignments and ask them to choose 3, which were each due at different times. They had all of the assignment details in the syllabus, so they could choose an assignment in their interest area rather than something I thought they should learn. Plus, eager students could knock out the work in advance or do it early as it fit into their overall schedules. This made the due date simply a "do it by" a certain time, rather than "do it for". Hopefully this gave them more autonomy, I can't say for sure.
Love this idea!
Thanks!
Love this idea!
Thank you for these posts ... I just discovered them! I resonate so deeply with your vision for education! I have taught college mathematics for 20+ years and I'm just going upstream now because I feel a call to help re-envision education for our children. I've been teaching high school math for 1 1/2 years now. I would love to teach at Galileo ....... and I am hoping my son can go to Galileo, however, he is #37 on the waitlist. We're crossing our fingers! Thank you so much for your posts, your vision, and your tireless efforts to transform education! xo
Love this , Galileo School ideals and your story . How does one achieve this “ fun “when relying on individual teachers coming from different backgrounds , bringing what they learned from other schools ? Galileo University ? 💗
Good questions, Lisa. I think if teachers held certain key principles and beliefs about learning, supported by the school admin and policy, then that could be a way to bring more joy to formal learning. It's kind of an unlearning in a way, of how they were taught, and openness to a new way to relate to students.
Michele, Love this! This is my daughter's first year at Galileo coming from Midway Elementary. Just in the month she has attended in person, I have seen a world of difference in her behavior and enthusiasm. My son is 18 now, but was diagnosed with "autism" at almost 2. He has been in the school system since that age and will graduate high school next year. I haven't had to deal with a "public school" setting since my daughter started school. Her first year in a public school was a disaster for me. So, the next year, I decided to apply to Midway and got her in my first shot. Needless to say, I was losing hope until now. Wonderful article...love the metonymy of love and nurture meaning "Galileo." I look forward reading and learning more. Have a great day!
It makes me so happy to hear this, Vanessa! It's why Galileo School exists--to nurture the unique gifts of EVERY student so they can thrive--at school and beyond school
Love this- of course, you are speaking my language! I dove into some of the lit on curiosity recently and am curious (haha) to hear thoughts on how it may also play a role in reimagined schools. How interested can we expect kids to be in all things vs how curious can we help them be about the world around them? How can we use them in tandem to create students who simply love to learn AND who develop deep interests in the process?
Yes, curiosity is important here too. Dr. Kelly, a former student, did her dissertation study on curiosity and found how much it's lacking, even in preservice teachers