Forging opportunities for hands-on learning through reconceived schooling.
Are you frustrated by the devolution of contemporary schooling?
I certainly am.
My name is Mark Campanelli. I am a parent of two middle school kids (girl and boy). I have grown utterly despondent with the current state of "modern" schooling.
I see my kids struggle to find connection to the real world with "math facts", meaningless computerized homework, and endless preparation for standardized tests.
I see burnt out teachers who have given in to the worst habits forged by a system that has forgotten that education exists to serve humanity, not vice versa.
I see YouTube videos that uncover nearly every corner of our wonderful world to curious kids, while those same kids struggle with the all-too-prevelant isolation, banality, or cruelty of social media and excessive screentime.
I see an educational system that largely misses the mark in its mission to forge the connection between a talented individual's pursuit of happiness and civil society's desperate need for critical thinkers, entrepreneurs, ceative and efficient workers, informed voters, and institutional watchdogs.
I imagine there is another way.
To really learn, many kids need to build things, experiment, break things, play rough, and challenge themselves and their peers through both competition and cooperation.
This is particularly true for boys, who are increasingly checking out of zombified schooling. And while girls generally adapt better to the current environment, they are nevertheless plagued with low self-esteem and toxic social pathologies.
Kids learn best by doing, not by sitting and memorizing "standards content" or taking endless "competency assessments". The teachers are the external guiding presence in this exploration, and they include parents, community members, and even other kids.
Think of a shop class or design studio lasting several hours each day, rather than one 40-minute period each day for one 6-week elective during one whole school year.
Think of a teacher facillitating the break down of projects into teams of students, with individualized tasks for each student on each team. The teacher also pulls in expertise from the community where needed.
Think of a student accruing a concrete porfolio of successes and failures, instead of merely doing everything for a report card and because "it will be needed in the next grade".
It's time for an alternative to our expired approach to schooling, which is downright inhumane to many kids and their teachers. It's also largely a waste of parents' and taxpayers' money.
I'm in the concept stages of establishing a new school based around a hands-on approach to learning, and I welcome your help.
If you would like to join this effort, then please reach out to me at mark.campanelli@gmail.com.
My resume is available on LinkedIn.