Education Unfettered for NH Students

Imagine a student sitting in a stuffy classroom, bored and disengaged by irrelevant curriculum. For that teenager, school may feel more like a prison than an inspired spring of learning.

Just ask Fred Bramante, current member and former chairman of the New Hampshire State Board of Education.  He was that teenager, ranking 206 in his class of 212.  While Bramante became a math teacher and successful CEO, he never forgot his uninspired school days.

The NH Board of Education and other state officials began to take action, by examining how students might be more actively involved in their education.  These officials also focused on the school calendar and asked why it was unchanged for the past century.

As New Hampshire took bold steps toward fundamental education improvements, Bramante passionately supported reforms that gave more authority to students and changed outcomes for “students like me.”  See more about the overall education redesign plan here.

The New Hampshire Reforms

Handing the controls to students is unique.  While some school administrators might think that letting students direct their own education is a cockamamie idea, scandalously akin to letting the inmates run the prison, others believe it to be an inspired model for the 21st century learner.  Here’s what is happening today in the Live Free or Die state.

• Move On When Ready — NH educators are essentially handing over the keys to students by releasing them from a four year sentence for high school.  Strict grade levels are replaced by satisfactory demonstration of mastery in a subject, before moving ahead.  So that means students ready for advanced math, for example, aren’t held back by their age.

• Community-wide Schools — Education isn’t restricted to the physical school building, since all community resources play a key real-world role.  Demonstrated ability in karate learned at a local dojo will earn credits for PE class.  Blistering rock guitar solos learned in an off-campus rock band can count toward music requirements.  Interested in learning Latin?  Try the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS).

• Reflecting Real Life — By allowing students to build custom-tailored educational experiences from a collaborative group of peers, teachers (educational facilitators) or adults in the community, the dropout rate is expected to be non-existent.  Teachers can move out of their classrooms and, instead, personalize teaching for each student’s skills, interests and abilities.

Yes, this bold approach requires new ways of structuring the school experience for all involved.  The role of teachers changes from “sage on the stage” to learning mentor.  But when teachers, students, parents, and ultimately employers tell you that the current system is ineffective, perhaps a return to individual student responsibility is just what the school, district and nation needs.