Re: school, work, and education

Clay Spinuzzi (spinuzzi who-is-at iastate.edu)
Thu, 03 Dec 1998 08:42:01 -0600

The recent discussion reminds me of a private school I attended during the
third and fourth grades. Each student got her or his own carrel (basically,
a cubicle) with a corkboard and tacks; a desk surface; and a drawer for
writing implements and whatnot. Students could not interact with each other
and could interact with the two "teachers" only through raising small flags
to get the teachers' attention.

There was no lecture or class discussion. Each student worked at her or his
own pace on printed workbooks.

At the end of each workbook section, the student would raise a small U.S.
flag to gain the attention of the teacher. Once the teacher gave her or his
assent, the student would go to a stand at the center of the room (the
"grading station") and grade her or his own workbook using a key. Based on
the quality of the grade, the student would then either redo the section or
move on to the next section.

The only interaction with teachers was at the end of the workbook, when the
teacher would give the student a one-on-one quiz, and at the beginning of
the class day, when the entire class would say the Pledge of Allegiance and
so forth.

I don't remember if we wore uniforms or not, but I believe that boys had to
wear ties.

Years later I described this bizarre system to a friend, who nodded and
said, "Oh, they were preparing you for office work."

=============
Clay Spinuzzi
spinuzzi who-is-at iastate.edu
Iowa State University
206 Ross Hall
Ames, IA 50011
(515) 294-9325
www.public.iastate.edu/~spinuzzi