Write an essay on future schools within 200-250 words
Answers
Answer:
Right here in the United States are public schools that strive to bring the future into the present. One of those schools, A.C.T. Academy in McKinney, Texas, was created as an actual "school of the future." Originally funded by a $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the school is now supported by the McKinney Independent School District.
At the school, knowledge is "actively constructed by the learner on a base of prior knowledge, attitudes, and values." Sophisticated technology is in place to support the pursuit of knowledge.
The 250 Academy students all have access to a computer. The 12- to 18-year-olds each have their own computer; 7- to 11-year-olds have one portable computer for every two students; and 5- and 6-year-olds use computers at fixed stations. In addition, the students use multimedia computers, printers, CD-ROMs, laserdiscs, VCRs, video editing machines, camcorders, cable television, online services, and telephones -- simple but effective research tools.
A.C.T. Academy has formed community partnerships and business mentorships to foster students' learning experiences. The school is also in partnerships with other schools, colleges, universities, and research centers. The goal: to learn through all the different kinds of resources that real life offers.
Teachers assess student learning through portfolios and creative performance tasks. Again, the object is to use real-life approaches to assessment.
The Center for the School of the Future (CSF) is the brainchild of the College of Education at Utah State University. The center's main goals involve the creation and maintenance of a U.S. educational system that improves by selecting the most effective teaching practices. The mission of the center is to:
identify the most effective teaching approaches, techniques, and ideologies,
encourage innovations and their adaptation to specific circumstances,
assist the creation of a community of parents and teachers who support each other in improving schools.
The CSF is forming a Research and Best Practice Clearinghouse, a Parent Academy, and a Teacher Academy. Those organizations will contribute to the creation of model schools. Such model schools, according to the CSF, will stand for:
"equity and excellence,"
teaching of basic skills combined with creative problem-solving,
respect for individual values as well as diversity,
preparation for democracy as well as a world economy.