Re: Teachers Propose All-Online High School Philly charter school

[Shulamit Levine <shulamit@TRANSPORT.COM>]

At 3:42 PM -0800 11/19/99, Judi Hirsch wrote:
>Hi Shulamit,
>    I use e-mail daily and enjoy it because I can dialogue with people
>afterwards and share what I read or wrote with them, but I don't think I'd
>enjoy it as much if it didn't have the "social" aspect. I'm not at all
>against any form of solitary activity, and actually love to do art and read
>and swim alone, but do believe that in order to have a just and democratic
>society, we need to negotiate the allocation of power, care for the disabled
>and elderly, protection of minorities and children, etc. How will this
>happen if nobody talks to anybody else?

As much as I support the idea of public schools, I recognize that not every
student learns well in a group setting.  Some students need to work on
their own because the schools move too slowly...others because the schools
move too fast...other just because they work better on their own than in a
group.  There are careers that need people who work better alone and others
that need people who work well in groups.  I think it is a mistake to
discount all the alternatives just because we believe that group learning
is better.  I've seen many public alternative programs that allow students
to work individually.  Those schools meet an important minority of the
students who need that setting.  I see the cyber school the same way.  I
would never want to do away with public schools in favor of cyber schools
or even the schools where students work independently...but there will
always be some students who will thrive in those environments who would be
failing and ignored in most public school systems.

Shulamit


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Equal Rights and equal access:  Accept nothing less!

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If prejudices belonged to the vegetable world they would
be described under the general heading of:
"Hardy Perennials; Will grow in any soil and bloom without
ceasing; Require no cultivation; Will do better when left
alone."
        Nell McClung
        notable turn-of-the-century Canadian Feminist

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