Alberton School changing model of teaching
Jeff Crews, superintendent of the Alberton School District, and Mica Clarkson at the entrance of the original Alberton School, are working this summer on a revolutionary technique of teaching that is fast becoming the model of public education. (Courtesy photo)
The American families that were adored in black-and-white on early television in shows such as "Father Knows Best," "My Three Sons," "Leave it to Beaver," "Ozzie & Harriet" are all gone, if they ever actually did exist in those idyllic settings.
Today's culture would be shocking to those studio families. What hasn’t changed as dramatically as most everything else, is elementary education.
It’s been close to the same template for more than 100 years. For Alberton School, the traditional model of teaching looks to be changing.
“When we went to school it was memorize, regurgitate and then take the pen and paper test,” said Mica Clarkson, the Principal of Alberton Joint School District No. 2. “We have been expecting them all to learn the same thing at the same time for over 100 years. You’ll do chemistry as a junior and physics as a senior, and so on. Generation after generation the journey through the 12 years is just about the same. We have not revolutionized education.”
Without a doubt, this past year of education has been the most challenging for students, teachers, administrators and parents.
As everyone heals and move forward, this is the perfect time to explore the education system and question whether it is truly preparing kids for a joyous and purposeful future.
“This is a reexamination of what we are doing as an educational system and what we want the outcome to be for our students,” she stressed. “Students need to become collaborators and creative thinkers and critical thinkers who can navigate the internet flawlessly. To find the relevant information and know how to use it. Our students will be facing the fact that there will be no low-skilled jobs in the future due to artificial intelligence that has been able to do physical work but now it is capable of performing low-skilled jobs.”
Clarkson added, “We’ve been so involved in 'No Child Left Behind' and 'Race to the Top' ideas. In reality, students weren’t able to do the things to become inspirational and find joy in their lives and purpose.
The pandemic may have brought this to the surface as many straight A students struggled because they lacked those skills of being self-motivated and they didn’t have a teacher hovering over them. Not everyone is collegiate bound, yet we are teaching them to prepare for college.”
The elephant in the room for generations has been the living conditions that are now being discussed openly and how these affect children. Single parent households, poverty, addiction inside families, abuse and abandonment along with other compelling challenges that were never discussed.
Dark family secrets that though evidence-based study, helped to create the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) which has become the trauma-informed education movement. For a taste of what has been researched, 'Most Likely To Succeed' is a thought-provoking documentary feature film that reveals the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods in today’s innovative world.
The film explores compelling new approaches that aim to revolutionize education as we know it, inspiring school communities to reimagine what students and teachers are capable of doing.
It has screened for thousands of audiences around the world, igniting conversations and empowering change along the way. Amazon Prime is one location to view it free of charge.
Jeff Crews is the new Alberton School District Superintendent. He is also the co-founder of Beyond the Chalk, www.beyondthechalk.net, which provides transformational learning experiences to teachers and students.
He feels technology, when used effectively as a tool by teachers and students, can facilitate the change from the traditional form of education to a 21st-century model.
Crews will also be overseeing the new Project Based Learning Design Coach in teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) which is a nationwide program that empowers students for a better future.
For the last year, Alberton School has been hosting Redesign Team meetings introducing this new formula and getting feedback.
Community members were invited as well as teachers, students, parents/guardians and promoted though Facebook, back-pack-flyers that were sent home with the students, on their web site along with email notices and reminders.
There are 48 schools in Montana moving this direction and are collectively known as Big Sky ChangED. Now, they are inviting people to the first annual Redesign Retreat which will have a team of eight nationally known educators, doctors and consultants that will clarify this new method and direction for education as a team.
It will take place Aug. 10-11 in the Alberton School gymnasium with seating for 75 but on-line for others. Registration and biographies of each speaker is at: bit.ly/redesignretreat21.
“This is more than exciting! The questions that we ask students should not have the answers on Google. This technique is going to be a major game-changer,” Clarkson said.