Week 4 Individual Session: Schools - The Ups and Downs
Week 4 Individual Session: Schools - The Ups and Downs
Session Goals
❖ Discuss negative and positive aspects of schools in the US and Ukraine ❖ Justify why something is “bad” or “good”
❖ Discuss standardized testing
Pre-Session Instructions for Learner
❖ Make a list of 10 good things and 10 bad things about school.
❖ Watch this video about standardized testing. You will talk about this video in your next session.
Pre-Session Instructions for Volunteer
❖ Watch this video about standardized testing. You will talk about this video in your next session.
During the Session:
❖ [10 min] Share the pros and cons of school.
➢ Define “pro” and “con” if your student isn’t sure what these words mean (pro = good aspect, con = bad aspect).
➢ The learner should have made a list of 10 good things and 10 bad things about school. Have them share the list and ask them to justify 2-3 of the pros and 2-3 of the cons.
❖ [15 min] Discuss public and private education.
➢ NOTE: This activity is a good chance to compare the school systems in the US vs. the learner’s country. For each discussion question, offer your thoughts on the US school system after the learner shares about their country.
➢ Discuss public and private education with questions such as:
- Does your country have both private and public schools? If necessary, define public schools (free education financed by taxes) and private schools (each family pays for their child).
- Which type of school do you go to? Why?
- Which kinds of schools do you think are better and why?
- Which schools are more diverse: public or private? (If your student isn’t familiar with this term, explain that diverse = composed of people from different backgrounds, identities, races, etc.)
- Are there public and private universities in your country?
❖ [15 min] Standardized Testing
➢ *NOTE: *Learners will probably not be familiar with U.S.-centered standardized testing (PSAT, SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.). They may be familiar with English language testing (TOEFL, IELTS, etc.), which tests a person’s English ability.
➢ Define standardized testing and discuss the video, clarifying difficult vocabulary and concepts.
➢ Ask your student the following questions about standardized tests and share your thoughts and experiences on these topics.
- Are there government-sponsored standardized tests in your country?
- Are there private standardized tests that people in your country take?
- What is the longest test you have taken?
- Do you plan on taking an English language test? (TOEFL, IELTS) Or have you? If so, when and why?
➢ Discuss your opinions of standardized testing. Here are some questions you can use:
- Are standardized tests good or bad? Why?
- Is a 4-5 hour long test good at measuring a person’s ability? What if you get tired at hour 2-3? What if you lose focus?
- Besides standardized tests, how can we measure people’s ability? Grades, written reports, essays, etc.?
❖ [15 min] Reimagining Schools
➢ What do you think schools will look like in 20 years? 40? 60?
➢ What will be the new technology that changes the world of education? (You can share an example from the past, such as online grading and grade checking, which was an innovation in the early 2000s.)
➢ Should the ideas/voices of students be considered when changes are made in schools? Why or why not?
➢ What are the obstacles to giving students more authority over their educational experience?
➢ What is one change you want to see in your school? How would that change affect your school day? Do you think the change is reasonable? Can it be accomplished in the “real world”?