We have all seen this image at some point in our lives either on a canvas, described in a book, or, where I first saw a one-room schoolhouse, on the television show, The Little House on the Prairie.

The image is pastoral, simple and nostalgic: A little wooden building at the top of a hill, small steps leading to the door, teacher (dressed in a floor length skirt, white collard shirt and her hair is in a bun) standing at the door, school bell in hand, ringing to summon the students to come in and sit down. Inside are hardwood floors, flip top desks with an ink well holder. Students sit in rows while the teacher stands at the front of the room and delivers information, while the students sit, obligatorily and receive that information.

We hold onto the image of the one-room schoolhouse so tightly it is the brand and logo for many schools, education companies, and other related education resources today. In fact, if you Google “school” under images, the second third and fourth image are one-room schoolhouses.

As we hold on to this image, we run our schools exactly the same way we did 150 years ago and we continue to operate using the one-room schoolhouse structure. 

Go into any public, charter and private school and you will see dozens of one-room schoolhouses inside a school, where the teacher stands in the front of the room and delivers information. The desks are in some sort of linear formation and the students are supposed to sit obligatorily and receive that information. The only thing missing is the ink well.

The classroom has become the one-room schoolhouse and is a cradle of isolation and stalled innovation.

In the old schoolhouse, the teacher is alone on top of that hill, with her bell. She has no one to collaborate with; she has no one with whom to share ideas and new techniques. That, unfortunately, has not changed. In fact, teachers today feel more isolated than ever.

Teachers stand at their door and welcome students, and when they shut that door, they are cut off from their colleagues. Administrators try to form professional learning communities and other ways for teachers to collaborate. However, the very structure and composition of our schools makes true collaboration impossible.

In fact, when teachers talk about their job they often use terms like, “my classroom”, “my lessons”, and even “my students”. They don’t see it as a collective or collaborative practice. In fact, many teachers are uneasy to open their doors to observers (this has a lot to do with the rigorous evaluations systems currently in place). And although some administrators and school leaders attempt in various ways to break down those barriers and cultivate true collaboration among teachers in the building, the current structure of our schools fosters isolation not association.

Students are isolated as well, categorized into classes based on their test scores, expressed using numbers 1-5 (The fact that millions of unique students in this country are placed into 5 standard categories is beyond ridiculous). They are isolated from others outside of their prescribed category except when they go to the lunchroom. And in some schools, talking is prohibited in the lunchroom. 

Inside classrooms, talking and socializing is limited because the isolative structure of the school is passed down from teacher to student and students are often punished for “to much socializing in class”. Teachers enforce the same rules imposed on them and the one-room schoolhouse cycle continues.

To break the isolation we have to redefine and restructure schools.

To revolutionize schools we must literally break down the walls. When new school buildings are constructed, those tasked with supervising this new construction should avoid building one-room schoolhouses within the larger building. In other words, the classroom must be completely redefined.

If more collaboration is what we desire, then build the structures that enable more collaboration to exist. Perhaps we abandon classrooms altogether and construct open spaces with comfortable chairs and round tables. I have talked to hundreds of students about what their utopic classroom would look like and they all mention things like couches, beanbags, and collaborative spaces.

Classrooms should be built to accommodate large numbers of students and where teachers can share an open space and work together with many different students.

Let teachers decide how and what they will teach.  They are professionals; they can handle this small responsibility.  Let them collaborate with students as to what they will offer in their instruction. 

Get rid of the bells that perpetuate the rigid routines and instead allow for a more organic and yes chaotic method of schooling. The bell is so linear, so structured, and symbolic of our 150-year-old ideas of what school is. Most importantly, bells perpetuate the problem of standardization and isolation.

Instead of bells, let students move freely throughout school and decide where their learning will take them throughout the day. Let them choose!  Choice leads to innovation.  I know, impossible right? Students will be hanging from the rafters, right? No, Not really. When students are given a choice they are more engaged and empowered in their learning.  We just have to  be willing to relinquish control.

We should also consider offering courses other than the ones offered 150 years ago.  

Yes, the Scarlet Letter is part of the cannon and an important book; yes, algebra helps students with problem solving; and yes, European History helps built a foundation for other subjects.  But who cares?  The students don’t – they hate these classes. “I HATE SCHOOL; I HATE MY CLASSES,”  is something I heard daily by high achieving and low achieving students.  Shouldn’t we be listening?  If we were a hotel or restaurant we would do something to change if we received that type of feedback from our customers.

Let’s start listening and offer more than the one technology class.  Let’s transform curriculum and get student input before we establish a class schedule.  

We live in revolutionary times with the most innovative tools to help us redefine schooling. Yet we hold on to the archaic image of school.  Why? It isn’t serving us or students or our teachers. Let’s redefine, and restructure what school is in this country. Rather than push students and teachers into an old one-room schoolhouse day in and day out, give them the freedom and open space to create their academic reality.

 

 

9 Responses

  1. John Harkness

    RIGHT ON!!!!!
    What a concept: Actually listening to students. That is almost as innovative as administrators listening to teachers.

    Reply
  2. Jim Oase

    I see one room schools differently. No grades, teachers hired directly by the community, generally older students acting as tutors. My experience with students who attended one room schools when they joined our main school classes is they were months a head of us.

    On the playground, at home, any place but school we learn from mixed aged and skills groups. I look at one room school like environment as an education super charger. The youngest are taught buy those who learned that information before them. Two things happen, the younger person knows they will be the tutor next, the tutor will be asked a question that causes them to learn more about the subject.

    Further everyone will learn ethics, morality and integrity because they will be counted on to learn and teach, a skill needed to become good parents of the next generation.

    Where did grades and compulsory education come from? 1850s Prussia at the time Marx was active, which evolved into Germany and Hitler laws on education.

    Why classes? In large part, immigrants. Classes make mass education work like mass production in a factory. Mass production works best when every products produced is the same. No one us We the People are like anyone else.

    We have two consistencies, unique individuals and a common goal to survival. As humans joined humans in families, communities, states, and nations we learned to specialize, yet work together. Together we can make a pencil. Yet today, with all our knowledge and technology, no one individual can make a pencil.

    One room schools can and have a history of training individuals.

    We the People of our nation are dependent on remaining independent, unique individuals. We created a government of the people, by the people, for the people to insure our individuality.

    Jim

    Reply
    • Jim Oase

      Sure be nice to edit some of my grammar, structure and spelling.

      Jim

      Reply
      • Kathleen Jasper

        No grammar judgement here, Jim. We all make mistakes. Sometimes I go back and read previous blog posts I’ve written and cringe! :)

    • Kathleen Jasper

      I love this perspective, Jim. You were not the only one who saw the one-room school house like this. In fact, on Facebook many teachers said the same thing. I see your point for sure. So glad you’re here reading and commenting. Your perspective has many valid points. I love what you say about the education super charger; it’s a great way to look at the school house.

      Reply
  3. Sam J Shelley

    It should be a dialogue and not a monologue. Although society seems to prefer a monologue most of the time. There seems to be an unwillingness to engage. I suspect their mind has locked them in a box and they are afraid of being seen as “wrong.”

    Reply
  4. Dawn Casey-Rowe

    Great post. The idea of making collaboration space is really good. I did teach at one “school w/o walls” and it was pretty loud for me, but if it was EdCamp style where students could really choose and engage at times, that’d be great. I’d love for them to get assignments, have teacher mentors, and learn extra things outside the cannon.

    Reply
    • Kathleen Jasper

      Thanks Dawn. It is going to take a lot of time to change the system. Students constantly ask for more space, less rigidness and more time to work on projects the love. Why not let them? Thanks for your comments!

      Reply
  5. Jim Oase

    I believe the one room school house setting is the formal education setting that meets this statement; “…and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them,…”. We’re talking about “We the People in order to form a more perfect Union…”. Education is an inside and personal job.

    The bed rock of our nation is individuality that is entitled to each of us as a law of nature. The fabric of our individuality is woven together by dependence on each other remaining independent. The more technology we use the more individual skills we need. There are a lot more parts to an iPad than a pencil and no one person can make either one of them.

    Our nation’s strength is individuality. The common core of successful individuals, families, communities and nations is ethics, morality and integrity which are laws of nature from nature’s God. These are subjects no longer taught in K-12 compulsory education.

    Reply

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