"The Juneau Community Charter School (JCCS) will provide a balanced education using developmentally appropriate techniques that tap into the child's need to explore and create in all fields of learning.
Our strong connection with parent and community resources gives students
diverse perspectives and unique learning opportunities."
---Our Mission Statement

 

APC CORNER of the WEEK

By James Gallanos

Our Philosophy

At our recent retreat, several teachers and APC members gathered on a Saturday as we had  heartfelt discussions about the the current status of the Charter school, our history of where we had come, and  also, what lies for us in the future.  Part of that discussion included the mission of Juneau Community Charter School and our education philosophy. Many of us have wonderful reasons for why they chose the charter school i.e., small school environment, emphasis on music, art, culture and community, parent involvement, etc... But the question arose if teachers, parents  the community at large was aware of the Charter school's educational philosophy and what makes this philosophy unique or different from other schools in the community.  As one of the teachers reminded us, we need to think about the Charter School in relation to theories of learning and knowledge. That is why we exist.

One of those theories that the Charter embraces is the constructivist approach. So we need to ask: what is constructivism, what does it have to tell us that is relevant, and how do we apply it in the role of teacher or  parent? There is nothing dramatically new in constructivism: the core ideas expressed by it have been around for a long time, but in my Googling there appears to be a new, widespread acceptance of these ideas, and research to support it.

Constructivism
The term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves. Each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning as he or she learns. But for learning to occur,  1) we have to focus on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the subject/lesson to be taught) and,  2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to experience (constructed) by the learner, or community of learners.

Principles of learning
As wonderfully characterized by a museum educator Prof. George E. Hein, here is a summary of some guiding principles of constructivist thinking that we can keep in mind when we consider our role as parents and educators? 

1. Learning is an active process in which the learner needs to do something; that learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge which exists "out there" but that learning involves the learner s engaging with the world. 

2. People learn to learn as they learn: learning consists both of constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning. Each meaning we construct makes us better able to give meaning to other sensations which can fit a similar pattern. 

3. The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind. Physical actions, hands-on experience may be necessary for learning, especially for children, but it is not sufficient; we need to provide activities which engage the mind as well as the hands.

4. Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning. Language and learning are inextricably intertwined.

5. Learning is a social activity: our learning is intimately associated with our connection with other human beings, our teachers, our peers, our family as well as casual acquaintances. Progressive education recognizes the social aspect of learning and uses conversation, interaction with others, and the application of knowledge as an integral aspect of learning. 

6. Learning is contextual: we do not learn isolated facts and theories in some abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives: we learn in relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our prejudices and our fears. Learning is active and social. We cannot divorce our learning from our lives. 

7. One needs knowledge to learn: it is not possible to assimilate new knowledge without having some structure developed from previous knowledge to build on. The more we know, the more we can learn.

8. It takes time to learn: learning is not instantaneous. For significant learning we need to revisit ideas, ponder them try them out, play with them and use them.

9. Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that motivation helps learning, it is essential for learning.  Unless we know "the reasons why", we may not be very involved in using the knowledge that may be instilled in us.

Please take a moment and reflect on your own learning, whether these principles resonate with your experience, and if so, how you incorporate a constructivist approach in your daily life and interactions with your family, co-workers and neighbors. Based on this philosophy, as parents, we our integral to our children's learning. So when we attempt to define and describe the "Charter school way", it is not a stretch to say that we embrace the learner in a community of learners. That said, we become the "Charter school experience".

 

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