Class: SED LeadershipSubject: W6 How Listening to Students

Date: 2/26/15

Intro
o many schools were characterized by pervasive anti-intellectualism,
boredom and alienation among students
This sounds like my school. I remember it was so uncool to
get good grade. All the cool kids barely passed their classes
o lack of missing and focus
o offered a smorgasbord of courses but little of the intellectual depth
and rigor to develop substantive knowledge and high-order thinking
skills.
o bureaucratic division of labor, and a control system governed by
bells and arcane rules and procedures
o Smaller school are supposedly better than large ones
More individualized instruction and focus
Lower crime/violence
o Smaller school have a harder time maintaining elective classes
Finding: Learning from Student Experiences
o Doesnt actually state any findings
o Student opinions should be included in school decision making
Relationships Between Students and Teachers, and Other Adults
o Students are 2-3 times more likely to feel that teachers know them
well or that they can confide in an adult at the school
o Students have opinions about how teaching could be better
Be enthusiastic, be prepared/organized, show respect, use
discipline, check for understanding often
High-Stakes Testing
o Many students resent not only needing to take a test for graduation but
also that they are prepared more for the test than for life
Discipline and Safety
o Students understand the need for and importance of discipline and
safety in school
Their ideas for disciplinary procedures are similar to those
currently practiced in schools, but the emphasize looking at the
context of the incident
Student Goals and Motivation
o Students benefit from having concrete and obtainable goals rather
than those who have vague or ambiguous plans for the future
They are more likely to attend and pay attention in class

Class: SED LeadershipSubject: W6 How Listening to Students

Date: 2/26/15

o Children who have clear goals usually cite an influential adult as the
source of finding their goals
How Listening to Students Can Be Incorporated into School Decision
Making