The Dream School.

As some of you may know, my greatest dream and goal is to create my own school. A school where all are welcome, and no one is turned away because they cannot pay for an education they rightfully deserve. I almost picture this as more of a learning community to where the entire student body are also some of the teachers. When I think of this idea I am overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that I would like to see in a dream school, and then it leads to thinking that the idea is crazy and could never come to fruition. But, why not? We were always taught when we were younger that we could do anything as long as we put our minds to it, then as time goes on we are pushed into accepting the status quo and accepting our public systems for what they are and hope that some "smarter" person comes along to complete the work. Again, I ask why? Sure back in days of old many of our greatest findings were found because of the work of one person or even a few. Even Watson and Crick need Rosalind Franklin's help when discovering the double-helix structure of DNA, but in this case it took years for Franklin to be recognized for that effort.

Anyway, my point that I am trying to make is why must we rely on some certain individual to come up with the next big idea and why must we rely on the few to rule our decisions when it comes to our educational future. I feel we are on the cusps of an Enlightenment like never before witnessed in the world because of the greatness of the Internet. It has allowed us to communicate our thoughts, feelings, procedures, and everything else in between faster than ever before. With that being said why are we still viewing schools like I did when I was going to school? Why is the structure of them still the same? And why do some people feel that once they are done with high school or even college that they are done learning? If we are wishing to see change within the world, we must first be willing to accept that change happens in the world, analyze that change to see if it is meant to form a greater world, carry out that change, and then repeat.

I bring this up only to ask these questions. What is you ideal school? How does it physically look on the outside? What unique programs would it house? What would be its purpose? How is it structured? What do you want to see our future generations learning in order to create a better world?

Here are just a few things that I would like to see in my dream school, but I want to see your comments/ideas on this because the next great idea is not going to be the work of just one person it will be the effort of us all.

• All ages are welcome and learning does not end at age 18.
• Learning based on competency not grades. Meaning that you only pass a subject if you can understand it and not coast by with a "C" or "D".
• Make learning how to handle money mandatory.
• Embrace the arts and not have them first or ever cut from the budget.
• It would have classes that reconnect us with nature and the ecosystem.
• Physical Education would not always encompass organized sports.

These are just a few of the ideas that I have swimming in my head, but let me hear your thoughts and comments. Thank you and happy learning!