Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
PopTech: James O'Brien: Hands-on Education
2009 PopTech Fellow James O’Brien assembled a staff of like-minded educators to create BCAM – Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School. The fledgling educational-innovation tank combines performance-based academics and professional training in media and arts to prepare teenagers for success in the 21st century.
The current education system in the United States is failing many of the young people it is meant to prepare to take their places as responsible, contributing members of modern society. The system as it exists is archaic, focusing on teaching knowledge and skills that are no longer relevant in today’s knowledge-based global economy. Many students are being totally lost in the system, missing out not only on personal fulfillment and growth, but also on the ability to become productive, engaged workers and citizens. Is there another way to approach how we educate our youth so that they are truly prepared to enter the world after high school? Is it possible to nurture and develop their innate curiosity into a lifelong love of learning that provides the foundation to become the problem solvers and innovators of tomorrow?
James O’Brien, principal and founder of the Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School (BCAM), is building an environment at that school to tackle these challenges, employing unconventional methods and approaches. The mission at BCAM is to support and provide a relevant education to ninth through twelfth graders, preparing them for college and careers beyond high-school graduation. The challenge is heightened by the additional issues of daily urban life: student literacy capabilities that range from college-ready to third- and fourth-grade reading levels; a student population that feels alienated and unmotivated and that lives in an environment of violence, crime and gang affiliations.
To implement their goals, the innovative staff at BCAM developed a “21st Century Professional Preparatory Model Curriculum,” which uses a three-pronged approach to educating students: academics, creative arts as part of the core curriculum, and professional development. Mr. O’Brien discusses how the school meets students at their level and works with them to develop their talents and skills. Academics are steeped in the inquiry model, and students are taught to relate the lessons learned in academics with what is happening in their lives and to connect with their communities. Because in New York state all students are required to pass five Regent exams in order to graduate from high school, preparation for those tests is incorporated into the academics portion of the curriculum. Arts, which include fine arts and media arts, are required for three years to foster personal expression and creativity. To foster professional development, the school partners with professional organizations and businesses where students serve internships that involve them in the work world. Mr. O’Brien is pursuing paid internships, which would give the high school students added incentive to be truly “invested” in their work and futures.
While BCAM is still in its infancy, it is an example of how educators are going outside of the current education model to create vital, engaged education systems that address the needs of young people and their world.
For more information on the state of education in the United States and a look at how others are revolutionizing education, check out these Web sites/video clips:
I found this video very interesting. James O'Brien is an inspirational, exciting educational leader. It seems his school has the potential to change young people's lives.
ReplyDelete