WHAT COULD SCHOOL BE?
"The fullness of our humanity, the sustainability of our planet, and the emergence of a better world rest within this new story of learning - a story that, by design, can bring us back to life." (Seed and Spark)
Last year, we began exploring this question with K-12 educators across the district. This question was inspired by the 9 Big Questions that Will Richardson and Homa Tavangar ask us to consider so we can avoid 'going back to normal.' As a district we have also been exploring pedagogies of agency and inclusion. Click the images below to learn more.
In a world that has been experiencing exponential change, we ask the questions: How might we reimagine school so all of our students feel seen, heard, valued, and empowered to make a positive change in the world? What changes does society need from school? What changes does the Earth need from school? Who is school? What could school be?
We all want to make sense of what we are doing as teacher-learners and teacher-researchers as we create opportunities for all of our students discover their strengths and use them to reach their potential. This sense making is collaborative work, and we believe that we can challenge and support each other as we explore these complex questions.
We know that there is no one answer and it is important that we come together in a variety of ways as we pursue all the potential answers, knowing that each one of us has gifts to offer as we influence important change.
As we inquire, we are connecting to and building on to our understanding of the OECD 7 Principles of Learning, the First Peoples Principles of Learning, BC's Early Learning Framework, and our District’s Strategic Plan.
What Could School Be?
2023 SYMPOSIUM
This May, we hosted our second annual What Could School Be Symposium.
During this three week symposium, 24 educator teams from school communities across the district (Kindgergarten to Grade 12) who are a part of our What Could School Be Network came together with administrators and teacher teams from each of the 46 schools in our district.
During our Symposium we:
1. Met with Will Richardson and Homa Tavangar at Rutland Senior Secondary School for an evening launch event where we considered together: What is the relationship between student agency, pedagogies of agency & inclusion, and Will & Homa's 9+2 Big Questions.
2. Over the next two weeks, we hosted one high school day, two middle school days, and five elementary school days, during which educators came together to listen to their colleagues and their students share how they have been exploring how they might innovate their learning environments with a focus on student agency.
In the morning: colleagues from all of our schools had an opportunity to listen to these learning stories (three were shared each day) and reflect on what was shared.
In the afternoon: the educators who shared stories opened up their classroom doors and visiting educators were able to experience learning alongside the students that were highlighted in the stories shared in the morning. Students also shared their thoughts with all of the visiting educators in student panels and then educators had some time to debrief the learning from the whole day.
3. Finally, we all came back together at a post-symposium event held at Rutland Senior Secondary school so we could reflect on what we learned and think about how we might continue to explore the question 'What Could School Be?' together. We co-created goals that we would like think about together in the 2023-2024 school year.
Check Out Some of the Highlights
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