Today our class visited The Pacific school of Innovation and Inquiry and listened to the principle Jeff Hopkin explain how the school works and the idea behind the creation of this type of education. This school emphasizes inquiry based learning and encourages students to follow their interests. I had a hard time at first fully understanding this concept of education and I just couldn’t wrap my head around how they still incorporate the curriculum and how students are still able to carry on to post secondary. The idea of having no bells, no large classrooms, and integrated grades and ages of learners just seems so foreign after growing up in the public school system. It is hard to fully understand how the teachers keep on track of all the things that these students are doing and guide them within such a wide array of topics and interests. As a student I don’t think I personally would do well in this environment just because it is so different to what I am used to. After 16 years of sitting at a desk, listening and waiting for the teacher to tell me what to do and what to learn I would find it difficult to then be asked to take charge of my own learning.
Looking at the full picture though and listening to some of the stories Jeff and some of his students told. I can completely understand how this would work for a majority of learners especially in today’s learning environments where teachers are starting to explore different methods of education based on the needs of the individual learner. A student that I talked to while visiting the school described how she has experienced 3 different education systems moving from Alberta then attending Vic high then moving on to PSII. She explained how for her especially in math class, she never fully understood the lessons being taught and never was able to sit down with the teacher and ask all of the questions that she had. She felt like she wasn’t learning anything and all she was gaining from being school was anxiety and depression. She explained to us how starting at PSII was strange at first because it was so different from anything that she has ever experienced but she finds herself excited to go to school now and excited to learn the things that she is interested in. She is currently exploring her inquiry towards photography and film while learning Spanish and researching the effects and history of depression in young adults. Its stories like these that make me believe in this form of education especially in middle school or high school where students are starting to become more independent and focus on their own interests. I am not sure how this would work in an elementary setting but I think it can be explored and introduced by simply giving the students more autonomy in their learning so that they are able to focus on their interests and stay engaged. We may not be anywhere near what PSII is doing currently but I do believe with our new curriculum that we are heading in the right direction, and may get there one day.
