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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Week 3 - Free Response - SEED School


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It is not very often that a 60 minutes story has much relevance in my line of work. In fact, for as many issues as we have in education you would think there would be a featured spot for the subject in every broadcast. However, as I watched this story I was reminded of the good things that are happening in our profession.

The SEED school was created by Eric Adler and Rajiv Vinnakota and is based around the idea of boarding schools for the rich but intended for the less privileged inner city school student. Students are placed in a lottery and are allowed in no matter what their current education level. Many students come in with very poor basic skills yet go on to attend major four year Universities. So what is the secret to this success? What they found was that taking students out of their surroundings and putting them into an environment that fostered learning, the students were successful. To ensure this, students live on campus during the week, have access to mentors and tutors and are driven from day one towards a college education. There is not an option to fail and the dedication from the administrators down support this idea.

Watching such a motivational story, I began to wonder why there aren't more schools like this around the country. Why do we not take examples like SEED or High Tech High in San Diego and recreate these all over the country? I have no real answers to these questions and welcome any feedback.
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  1. AAHCMay 24, 2010 at 6:47 PM

    This is a truly inspiring and encouraging story. I am amazed by it and thank you, Nick, for sharing this video.
    I think I know the reason why we don't see many schools like that. The reasons why this doesn't happen much in other schools are mainly two. First, there are few leaders who want to devote their lives for changes. Second, there are few teachers who want to devote their lives for changes. I have always dreamt about that kind of school but I only dream about it. I don't act on. I only hope that someone else initiate it and I follow. Honestly, I was only thinking schools with talented and disciplined students. I was very embarrassed as I was watching the video. The way I complaint and the way I judged and gave up on those kids who barely pass my classes with poor attendance. I hope the government opens up more of those model school in every town and support devoted educators nationwide. This video was really refreshing.

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