Chapter 4: Schools as the Workplace for Students and Teachers

Throughout the reading we noticed many similarities and differences brought forth when we examine the book’s description of how schools generally operate and how the school our group made operates. For instance, our set up for authority and roles of members are quite similar to that of real schools. We had the higher authority and a chart that looked very similar to the chart on page 135. However, since our school was starting over due to the apocalypse we had government leaders and the president also involved making two new slots on the higher part of the graph shown in the book. Our system for communication is very similar to what the book describes having both horizontal and vertical lines of communication. In our school, Be You, there is this thought that though the teachers/staff seem to be active in choices they do not have as high a standing therefore they are unable to have as much say as those above them. In Be You it is about building up a nation for tomorrow, so we tend to be democratic much like most schools seen in the book.  Unlike regular schools we really do not seem to have looping or team teaching since we really have not had a chance to fully consider such things, but it would seem to be beneficial if we were to add this. Since we are building a school out of the rubble we only have one school in progress, which makes us very different from most because we are focused around that main campus where students come to us for an education. Since we only have one real school area there is no need for us to have districts, which is what we see schools today being. Even though we don’t have districts like the schools of today we do share similar people roles as they do such as a superintendent, school board, and lists of set rules that could be considered our policy.  Our students and community can work together to come with ideas to bring up at meetings that the public are welcome to unfortunately much like the unfair world today their voices are heard but sometimes don’t always affect the committee of school board representatives, the president and other governmental leaders, and those with higher authority.  As I mentioned before our government is quite involved in everything dealing with the school much like the federal government is said to be involved in the book. Our school and government feel that this school holds our future so we make rules and such accordingly to this thought process. We have the care of students in our mind constantly working to better thing for them. We do so through many wonderful funds brought forth by the government who is in charge of raising this world back up. We started on nothing having no real form of money since we lost all concern for this during the apocalypse instead worrying about our lives. Thus we really do not have a set exchange of money instead working together to build back up the world, which allows us all the resources it has to offer. Taking advantage of this we use it to our benefit making schools and funding the education through not money per say but whatever the government decides to come up with. This is where we differ from the schools mentioned in the book building their schools through government funds where the money comes through taxes the communities must pay.  As one can see form this the way we have made our school is similar to what the schools in the book discuss, yet our school system also has differences that set it apart from what is also mentioned in this book.