Introduction
“Good morning, students,” Crabapple greeted de M standing front and center of the orderly classroom. A crowd of over 30 students responded, “Good morning, M’s Crabapple.” She continued, “First we’ll take roll.” She then proceeded to call and tag each student as they responded, “present.” The following was an explanation of the proposed lessons for the day. Blackboard work was copied: much blackboard work, and the staccato of readings and copying interspersed with recitations, was interrupted once in the morning for a fifteen-minute break and again at noon for lunch. Drilling resumed at one o’clock and continued until broken by the bell for the last break of the day at three. “Don’t forget to study and do your homework,” the school teacher yelled at the mass of students who were running towards the exit as if they were abandoning a sinking ship.
Such might have been typical of “a day at school” for millions of students over a period of decades.
learning alternatives
Now, however, the traditional role of schooling has been radically altered. There are several viable learning alternatives available. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of each of these learning alternatives? Let’s see some of them.
race match
A correspondence course is traditionally a class taught by mail. Lesson materials arrive by mail. The student then returns their completed work by return mail and waits for the next lesson to arrive in the mail. The process continues and repeats until all required lessons have been completed. There is no teacher-student contact other than the written word. Some programs today allow contact by phone, email, or voicemail. Only independent and highly motivated students can greatly benefit from this type of learning.
field trips
Associated with both a traditional school setting and independent learning, field trips involve visiting students in a location outside of their school or home to learn about a topic or topic. Places visited may include businesses such as manufacturing facilities, a park, museum, zoo or aquarium, public service facilities such as fire stations, radio or television studios, hospitals or police stations. An effective learning strategy, this method requires a teacher or guide to fully achieve it. Additionally, scheduling visits to some locations may be difficult or impossible for the individual student.
independent study
Independent study involves designing a project that students then complete through various means on their own. Collective work may require a number of intricately interacting facets to complete. Investigative research, writing, field trips, interviews, extensive reading, and lecturing may be involved and required to complete project work. The final output is usually a presentation, paper, or report that highlights the details of the student’s work and the knowledge gained.
Vocational School
An educational stronghold for learning trades or technical skills, a vocational school teaches practical skills. Most of the time, students can be immediately employed in the private and commercial sectors by completing a course of study at a vocational school. Fields like health care, nursing, electronics, computers, construction, and manufacturing that have a demand for skilled labor or technicians receive a constant supply of labor from these types of schools.
Educational Television Course
The vast majority of major metropolitan areas have one or more public broadcast stations that present educational programming. These programs are often part of an accredited course of study at a local college or university. Students watch (and often record) television programs at home, take notes, and study broadcast material as an integral part of their learning. Another effective strategy for the highly independent learner, this method does not promote interpersonal contact between the teacher (if any) and the learner.
continuing education
When adults want to resume their education at some point in their lives, programs offered by post-secondary institutions that cater to the specific needs of these students are called Continuing Education. Some may only last a day or two. Other programs may run for weeks with intensity ranging from an hour or two per week to daily contact with the class. Courses can be in personal interest topics, such as ethnic cooking, gardening, writing, and photography, or employment-related areas, such as welding, plumbing, languages, painting, and construction. A very popular option today, these types of courses and programs promote interaction between students in the class, interactive learning and full contact between teacher and student. There is usually a lot of feedback between the teacher and the students, and among the students themselves.
We will likely never see a return to “traditional” learning as illustrated above. But with the growing variety of learning alternatives, there is certainly something that suits just about everyone. So get out of your rut. Take advantage of the opportunity: take a course and improve your mind and your life using one of the many learning alternatives available to you. If not, there’s always a Crabapple M’s waiting.
