Reading Response 1- Rethinking High School

To begin with this response, I would like to first state that is has been a while since I have read this chapter in Rethinking High School: Best Practice in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, and if I remember correctly, I do not agree with the part on Reforming America's High Schools. It seemed as though everyone was complaining about high schools today and they state that the complaining is "much louder and more ominous, and it's coming from every direction" (Pg 2). I feel like the complaining is coming from within. From those who are at the center of it all- the teachers, faculty and staff, and of course the parents (whose complaints may be for different arguments than ours). This is because the teachers see what goes on, and what changes must be made. And of course, teachers are around other teachers, and that is why it is falsely advertised that the complaint for reform comes from every direction. This I believe is where the author got the idea for the start of a new school. Reforming, making change-finally. A change in curriculum and school experience is what I agree with. The feeling of a smaller school (or houses), voice and leadership, where both students and teachers exercise choice and make decisions, as stated on page 10, community experience, professional development, and relationships are all key principals of a reformed school for the better. This makes school seem more like "real-life", where the students actually learn and prepare how to live in our society now. So maybe I have to ask myself, "Do I hear a lot of complaining?" And if I do, which I do, maybe it wouldn't be so if I were teaching at Best Practice High School.