In Friday’s class we met Jeff Hopkins. Jeff is the founder and principal educator at our local Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII). I found myself REALLY wanting my kids to go there in high school! It seems like it would be a perfect fit for my sons who seem determined to only learn what they find interesting. Jeff kindly extended the offer to use and alter his inquiry templates found in his website for our own use. I just love free resources!

Reflecting on WHY I want my kids to go to PSII left me wondering though. Independent schools like PSII are being created to address needs that are not being met in the public school system. Jeff mentioned that educators at PSII consciously spend their time teaching their students to “unlearn” what those kids spent learning throughout their public schooling. It leaves me wondering why are public schools missing the mark? Is this an issue that should be addressed at the ministry level, or within each individual school?

The experience in my sons’ school is that they’re trucking along happily doing it the way it has always been done. Teachers there are frequently called “old school”. Worksheets, spelling tests, and timed math drills persist. I fully recognize that I must withhold any judgments on how other teachers run their classrooms. I don’t have enough experience to really understand beyond the idealistic.

The “new” BC curriculum and its core competencies seems to provide the freedom to pivot toward an inquiry-based classroom, and away from clearly stated content requirements. Teachers in BC have the autonomy to adapt this curriculum to any style of teaching, including inquiry, and yet teachers don’t seem to be taking up this form of teaching very often. Why? Does it take more preparation or resources? Does it take a whole-school approach to be successful using an inquiry model? Is this method supported by administrators? Why do inquiry classrooms tend to be in tuition-based schools, or in wealthier neighbourhoods?  I see we’re meeting with Trevor McKenzie next week and so perhaps some of these questions will be addressed as I know he is a practicing inquiry teacher within the public school system.

Various classes within our B. Ed. program have been promoting the benefits of an inquiry classroom through our discussions and guest speakers and it appears to be a wonderful way in which we can build upon the framework of the First Peoples Principles of Learning. The challenge for me as a pre-service teacher is learning how to support my future students in such a way that they don’t have to unlearn anything so that they can move forward.