|
In the popular movie Benny and Joon, Johnny Depp plays an unusual young man. "Sam" can impersonate Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and other legends of the silent screen. He's a walking encyclopedia of film lore. But filling out a job application is a challenge because he can barely read or write. My favorite scene shows Sam at his brilliant best, doing a mime routine that attracts an audience of admirers in a city park. When he finishes to a round of applause, an onlooker asks if Sam attended a special school to learn such wonderful performance skills. Sam looks surprised by the question. Oh, no, he says. "I got kicked out of school for doing stuff like that." Too bad Sam's options were so limited. Today, a growing number of alternative school programs provide choices to students who, for a variety of reasons, feel as if they don't "fit" in mainstream schools. If placed in more traditional classrooms, they can wind up like the eccentric Sam: square pegs in a round world. Some grow disillusioned with school and drop out. Others get angry and disruptive. If they can find the right setting, however, these same students can often make academic and behavioral strides that amaze their teachers—and themselves. In this issue of Northwest Education, we hear from research ers who are excited about the results and innovations coming from alternative programs across the country. We trace where the alternative movement came from, look at the educational philosophies behind today's alternative schools, and show how these small programs are pioneering big changes in education. We also explore some of the complex social issues that have created such demand for these programs. As one teacher said about her students: "The stories these kids tell can move a stranger to tears." Some have been squeezed by poverty, hurt by violence, forced to grow up too fast because of teen pregnancy. Others have simply grown bored by a curriculum that doesn't touch their lives. We'll walk you through several classrooms in the Northwest to show you how these programs work. You'll meet the teachers who thrive on working with students others have found too hard to reach. And you'll meet several graduates of these innovative schools. Shined and polished by programs and people who wouldn't let them fail, they put a human face on the population so often labeled "at risk."
|
|
This document's URL is: Home | Up & Coming | Programs & Projects: Northwest Education | People | Products & Publications | Topics © 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Date of Last Update: 9/28/01 
|
