3 – Of the variety of practices you learned about at BPHS, identify 3 that you think had the most impact on the school. Of course, please say a little bit why you think this may be true.
There were so many aspects of BPHS that were worth repeating, and it's hard to choose which ones were the best. But I was most inspired by the emphasis on integrative units, authentic experiences (especially when it interfaced with internships, the community, and other future opportunities), and mentoring models in which counselors and teachers were more involved in the students' lives. I would say that these fit into all 6 of the reform categories.
2 – Identify 2 practices at your CP 1 high school that match the vision in the Second to None document. Describe the affordances and constraints each of these practices seem to have had on the school environment.
At Vista High School, administrators tried to create a 3) Comprehensive Accountability and Assessment System. This unfortunately meant putting teachers under more pressure to produce higher test scores, placing more emphasis on standards, and even pressuring teachers to teach the same materials and units at the same time. Before we arrived at VHS, I know they also successfully taught an ITU that combined English with History, which might fall under 5) Restructuring the School; and 6) Creating New Professional Roles. The emphasis on standards really put a damper on things. It felt as if teachers were always holding their breath, afraid an administrator might come in and pose an arbitrary question to some random student, "what did you learn today?" There are so many ways to assess students; I'm not sure how these spot checks were a show of support and trust of teachers. And it must be difficult to teach (and learn) in that sort of environment.
1 – Identify 1 practice suggested in the Rethinking High School text that you predict will no longer be in practice at the school. Why?
I think it will be really difficult for the school to keep class sizes down, as there are greater demands for a mixed, diverse curricula and fewer teachers they can hire under budget constraints
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Whoa, do I so strongly believe that the idea to be able to walk into a classroom and ask a student "what did you learn today" is misguided. Real learning, especially what one is undergoing in the moment, does not lend itself to being answerable with such a question! Agreed further about the lack of trust and the poor climate it creates!! (something in what you said helped me understand that for myself better - thanks). And you are one more predictor about the scare that BPHS balloons in size! I think they are troubled to stay big enough to run! (150 students this year).
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