Jason M. Howard (jhoward@WPI.EDU)
Sun, 18 Mar 2001 02:33:36 -0500 (EST)
Hi Pooja (and list),
I just joined the mailing list as well, and after reading Pooja's
email, I thought this would be a perfect time to introduce myself.
My name is Jason Howard and I'm coincidentally a senior at the
Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science (www.massacademy.org).
Education is both my passion and my adversary. Perhaps the public
education system helped me in one way -- to motivate me to fight for my
vision of what 21st century education should be.
I am a member of an organization which protests against the controversial
state MCAS test, I am a supporter of separation of school and state, and
I am anti-curriculum. I have written several essays (including "The
Science of Electric Trains -- And Why Public Education Opposes the
Fundamental Nature of the Universe" and "Games and Punk Rock -- The Hidden
Truth") which I plan to eventually publish in a book. I believe that
everything anyone needs to know can be learned by expanding his innate
interest in the world.
I heard about Sudbury Valley School from a friend who has a friend who
attends the school. Even though I am completely against organized
curriculum, my first thought was that it just can't work. But even I
needed to break our own prejudices; I very quickly became aware that SHS
is exactly what I have been writing about all this time.
I believe in a community of people who enjoy living (and thus
consequentially enjoy learning). I envision a place where the teachers are
just as much a part of the learning as anyone else; and students are just
as much a part of the teaching. Where freedom is the way of life. I don't
believe teachers must necessarily be certified -- if they're knowledgeable,
they can pass that knowledge on to someone else. That's how the world
works.
I would very much like to teach at a school like SVS. I would appreciate
it if anyone could provide me with advice to guide me on my journey to
that point. I plan on attending Brown University or Clark University next
year, majoring in physics and philosophy. (I've never come across an
unbiased program in education). But where do I go from there?
I will look forward to reading the list. Nice to meet yo uall.
Jason
On Sun, 18 Mar 2001, Pooja Agarwal wrote:
:) Hi everyone! My name is Pooja Agarwal, and I am currently a senior
:)at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, IL
:)(www.imsa.edu), a public, three-year residential "high school." I recently
:)found information about your school from The Ishmael Community
:)(www.ishmael.org). I am a fan of Daniel Quinn and his writings, and was
:)surfing his website for information and his thoughts on education. He
:)presented some very good points in his book My Ishmael, and was curious to
:)learn more. I stumbled upon a brief reference to your school and your
:)website, and continuted to surf my way over to www.sudval.org.
:) Your school sounds wonderful, and sounds like a place I would love
:)to be a part of. I wish I had known about it earlier. I just wanted to
:)introduce myself to all of you, as I have (obviously) added myself to your
:)discussion email group. If any of you feel uncomfortable having a complete
:)stranger reading your thoughts, please let me know, and I will
:)unsubscribe. I am just looking to learn more about myself and the
:)community around me, and it sounds like this is what your school
:)concentrates on.
:) Your website mentioned in the section "About Sudbury Valley" that
:)you accept "all applicants four years old and up, through and past high
:)school age." I am interested in receiving more information about how I can
:)become involved with your school, although I am "past high school age,"
:)and will be graduating from high school this June. If any of you have any
:)information you would like to relay, please let me know.
:) Once again, I am very interested in learning more about your
:)school, how I can get involved, and all of your thoughts on your school
:)and anything else in general. My contact info is below, so please contact
:)me if you could tell me more about your school, or anything in general.
:)
:)
:)Earnestly,
:)Pooja Agarwal
:)1500 W. Sullivan Rd.
:)Aurora, IL 60506
:)630.907.5252
:)pooja@imsa.edu
:)AOL Instant Messenger: shortandososweet
:)
:)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Mar 29 2001 - 11:17:06 EST