EDUCATION MATTERS—SANFORD SCHOOL'S PRIVATE SCHOOL BLOG

I spend a lot of time thinking about school, not just my school, but all schools. Education in our country gets a lot of attention—from parents, from media, and from politicians. This makes sense, because of course we all want what’s best for children—and their performance in school will have a direct impact on our nation’s future success. Unfortunately, and sadly, after decades of study, laws, and billions of dollars, the American K-12 education isn’t very good for most of our nation's children, and it’s far from being great.

There is one exception, in my opinion, and that is our private schools:

As in many industries, trends in education come and go—sometimes quickly. Each trend often comes with its own acronyms or new terms to describe specific types of teaching and learning. This can be overwhelming to parents who are trying to evaluate school options for their children. Sanford School’s faculty members have devised a “cheat sheet” incorporating their own observations to help you work your way through the current lingo.

In a recent TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) talk, now-former National Association of Independent Schools' President Pat Bassett presented on “Schools of the Future.” Rather than evoking a Jetsons’ cartoon with robots and hover crafts, the School of the Future looks and feels very much like many in our area. Such schools, Bassett claims, make five institutional shifts.