My cousin’s son has just started his high school career at BHSEC, following a year of testing and interviews and worry about the next phase of his academic career. In learning more about what he’d be experiencing there, I started thinking about schools and progressive pedagogy and “flipping classrooms” and all the things that we’re told make for quality education.
During my public school career I was in classes that frequently taught to the middle ground: the students who most needed help were still lost, and those who were extremely capable were bored. Depending on the class, I was either learning something or doodling in my notebook. The teachers were, for the most part, uninspired and uninspiring. My 7th grade history teacher was one of those few inspiring teachers. The English teacher I had in 9th grade tried to be inspiring, holding special sections of instruction on graphology (how we girls could tell if a boy was interested in us) and using Pyscho-Cybernetics as a text (I kid you not).
