EDUCATIONSHARED EXPERIENCES

& DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVESBY SHEYENNE RIVERS 2012

EDUCATION: THE BEGINNING

For thus project I wanted to focus on education, which is something that is very important to me. So much so that I want to open a school after I graduate, to create a similarly awesome experience I had.

My siblings and I have been rather lucky, because we’ve gotten to go to a lot of really great schools. Our path to a unconventional education began when my sister, Hannah , and I were sent to this little one-room school in the country. Of course being in the grades 5 and 3 we were not pleased to be leaving our friends behind to go to some freaky country school, luckily our parents knew what they were doing and soon we had tons of

INTRO

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new friends, basically the whole school, and were loving our new school. Eventually our younger brother and sister reached school age and got to come too, where we could all keep on eye on each other and help whenever needed.

After a terrible decision made by the government of Nebraska, all one-rooms were closed and we were left with only the local public schools to go to, a place where the teachers didn’t, really care if you learned anything.

Luckily we soon found Arts and Humanities, a small high school with a focus on the arts. These experienced changed the way I saw education and shaped who I am today.

A LETTER TO A SENATOR

April 12, 2005

Dear Senator,

My husband and I chose to move our family to the country and simplify our lives--which means we were looking to simplify our minds and souls, not just our clutter. This doesn't mean we live without electricity or running water, we live just like everyone else does except we've chosen to get back to the basics; simple, healthy foods, a sense of community, and a place where we can be mindful of our lives. Class I's are an extension of this mindful practice. They are basic, good education without all the bells and whistles of larger schools.

Most rural farmers and ranchers already live a simple life--not archaic, just simple, and that's the way the country schools are ran. Our school is far from being archaic or old-fashioned, we have a computer lab and the most up-to-date instructional materials; what we don't have is all the drama and

bureaucracy of the larger schools. We get down to the real task at hand in education and that's "learning". This more than anything we wanted for our 4 children--a chance to just learn without the distractions.

You could accuse us of being overprotective and maybe that's true, but in this day and age, I think the more time kids have to develop a strong value system on which to fall back on, the better they'll fair when faced with the peer pressure, delinquent behavior, and bureaucratic red tape of larger schools and society in general.

In this great state of ours, we are all given the freedom to live life the best way we can and that includes deciding the right schools for our kids. I don't believe we have it all figured out, some people relish in the drama of the big city, we've simply chosen a different path. We hope you all will honor this diversity by voting not to eliminate Class I schools.

Sincerely,Susan Ames Rivers Class I Parent

SUSAN

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THOUGHTS ON SUSAN

This letter had a couple more paragraphs opening it, but I took them out because they did not add any information that I felt was necessary for this project. The omitted part mostly just showed the anger and confusion of a parent who was helpless to do what they thought was best for their children. In this letter Susan’s views are quite clear about the system of a properly functioning Class One school.

As an update, the Class One schools were shut down all across Nebraska, leaving only private and public schools as an option, since charter schools are not at this time allowed in NE.

EXPERIENCE & REFLECTION

When you first start making decisions about education for your kids, you rely on convention. Typically the established system of public education will reach out to you and let you know what you need to do. You are contacted by the Kindergarten teacher and a home visit is arranged. As the fateful day approaches the apprehension builds and you cross your fingers that this is the best course of action for your child. If all goes well, you develop a report with the teacher, you trust, you get in the groove. If you’re like us, you start to get more involved to make the experience feel more personal, more authentic. You volunteer, you donate resources, you anticipate the needs of the system and you want to help your child succeed. You assure your spouse and your children that this is a good school and we are going to invest in it to make it even better. We were all in.

When we moved to the country, we knew that a new school was inevitable. Already in the habit of taking this subject serious, we

took a proactive approach to selecting the school that would eventually have four of our children in attendance. We set up an appointment to visit with the principal of the elementary school in the new district. The tour of the facility met our expectations and looked like a go. While attending a high school graduation party for a friend, we started telling of our eventual move to the new school. Our host suggested that we talk to one of the other families attending the party that night about the school down the road that their children attended. It was a one room school called Oak Valley.

The day that we visited Oak Valley, everything changed. We arrived very near the end of the school day. The students were scurrying about picking up books and papers, emptying trash cans, sweeping the floors. We immediately felt welcomed and at ease. Our new home site was about three miles from the school but it was still a half a mile past the tiny districts borders. We applied directly to the tiny school board and were accepted. We transferred the kids from their current school to Oak Valley two

TODD

years before we even moved into the area.

I think it took us a while to appreciate the specific elements that made this school so positively exquisite. Was it the teachers? The students? The dedicated parents? The community support? In reality all of these things contribute to a great school. But this place had something that made all of those critical components function at a higher level than anyone might reasonably expect. It had scale.

A one room school, I later learned is modeled after a home. For children, it is the perfect smooth transition from home with mother to school with a teacher. The building is just like a house and the teacher is just like the lady of the house. When the student joins this new family, they become part of a new community and develop a sense of belonging and responsibility to the group that is reinforced by their previous experience within the family at home. Even as a small child, you can see the big picture. You can easily wrap your head around everything that is going on at

school and how you fit in because the scale is small and manageable. You can’t sit back and be anonymous, because everyone at school knows what you are supposed to be doing and they will hold you accountable. As students grow and develop their own particular style of learning and working, teacher and peers alike will have the flexibility to adjust to the specific strengths and weaknesses. The multi age setting gives younger students a chance to learn from older students and older students an opportunity to learn by teaching younger students.

From the perspective of the parents the small school is welcoming and approachable. You quickly learn the names of the two teachers, one administrator and four members of the neighborhood who serve as the board of education. Everyone sits in the same room together making decisions about how to run the school and provide the teachers and students with everything they need to succeed. No red tape, just doing what needs to be done. As you might have guessed, we loved every

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minute of it. As the kids graduated to middle school and beyond, we kept searching for that feeling we had at the one room school. We wanted ownership and commitment. We wanted to feel responsible and empowered to make it a success. Most of all we wanted to see these things in the people in our school community. We wanted to feel the power of synergy that comes from working together to build something important and meaningful. What a great way to live.

THOUGHTS ON TODD

This is a very well written piece expressing the views on education that have helped shape those of my siblings. Its clear that this view point was reached through exploration and developed over a period of time, with careful consideration and research.

I think its interesting that there is less emotional responses, although you can definitely perceive how much he cares about small schools and the education of his kids. But its mostly about the hard facts. Although the intentions of this writing are quite different than those of the letter to a senator, which was meant to play on human emotion.

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EXPERIENCE:

At Oak Valley it was close knit. I personally knew everyone there, even the teachers. We didn’t have very modern techniques because we didn’t have a lot of money, but then again, it was so small that I was in fourth grade doing sixth grade math, so I was able to excel in those areas.

At Valparaiso, it was just the same as far as close knit, because it was just my grade that I saw and we had only 3 teachers.

At Raymond Central, the teachers are overwhelmed and power hungry, and they punish for stupid reasons which is why I am leaving to go to Arts & Humanities. Also, the teachers are teaching because it is their job, and they have to be there, but don’t want to. If they don’t want to teach, I don’t want to learn.

REFLECTION

I think it is lacking in a few areas and could improve.

(Although he originally said”I don’t have a view on education. I am a 16 year old boy. I wish the school would explode-- but not with anyone in it, obviously”--he didn’t want you to use this, but its clearly quite interesting)

SAGE

THOUGHTS ON SAGE

Its apparent to me through just these responses that Sage has a bit of anger towards larger schools. My own additional observations of him is that he is quite sensitive to the disposition of the teachers and is affected very negatively. He is quite smart, but yet he is not doing well in school, a direct result of his perception of his educational environment.

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EXPERIENCE OF OAK VALLEY

I feel that Oak Valley was a family of friends. I enjoyed Oak Valley because it was small and comfortable. Everyday that I went to school didn’t really feel like I was going to school, it felt like I was going to a friend’s house. The things I remember the most are the fields around it, the creek, the merry-go-round, that every kid had a smile and was ready to enjoy school, also the great field trips we went on, and the last thing is how we all cared about each other as a family. When someone was down everyone felt their pain and everyone worked together to lift each other’s spirits. I enjoyed my time there, but wish I could have had more time. I only went there from kindergarten to third, but those years were the best school years of my life.

SIERRA

REFLECTION OF OAK VALLEY

My view on the education is a thumbs up. In my few years there, I feel like I have experienced and learned the most. Since it was a small school, there was only 3 teachers. These teachers were the best, and having not very many made it easy to get to know them. After knowing them a little while, you realize that they aren’t really teachers, but friends, and ya, I know it sounds cheesy, but its true. We learned many different things and they were all interesting. Some things we learned were the basic things, Spanish, German, sign language, square dancing and others. We learned many things, but in some ways it didn’t feel like it was learning.

EXPERIENCE OF RAYMOND CENTRAL

Raymond Central and Valparaiso are two separate things. Valparaiso is much closer to Oak Valley then Raymond Central is. Valparaiso was like Oak Valley, but up-graded into a bigger, but not better place. In Valparaiso, there were more kids and more teachers over all. At Valparaiso, there was a different type of teaching. You see, at Oak Valley, it was more laid back, I guess, and at Valparaiso, they were a bit more strict on teaching and on the rules. I went to Valparaiso from 4th to 6th grade. In those years, I found new friends that I wouldn’t have met if Oak Valley hadn’t gotten shut down. I am grateful for my new friends, but I also miss my old ones. When I became a 7th grader, I moved to the high school (Raymond Central). Now this was a really big change, even a bigger change from Oak Valley to Valparaiso. The halls are crowded with students and I just feel like a robot repeating the same thing everyday. Now it’s all bad. I do like some teachers and my friends are good. It just isn’t the same as it was at Oak Valley.

REFLECTION OF RAYMOND CENTRAL

The education at Valparaiso and Raymond Central is very different from Oak Valley. Since there are many more students at each school, I think the teachers are more stressed. Having teachers stressed isn’t good because then they focus too much on making sure everyone has the information but not necessarily understand it. At Oak Valley, the teachers could help you one-on-one, and if not everyone got it, then they could wait. They didn’t have to worry about meeting deadlines and having to rush. For me personally, I enjoy not being rushed and being able to take my time on things I need done. I believe knowing and feeling comfortable with your teacher is a big part of learning. I think one-on-one time with your teacher is important because you can ask questions about things you don’t understand. One final thing I would like to say is that bigger is not always better.

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THOUGHTS ON SIERRA

Although Sierra has struggled a bit in some the basics, such as math and reading, its very obvious that she is smart and observant. I was somewhat surprised by the length of her answer, although on further reflection it only makes sense since she is clearly passionate about her schools.

THOUGHTS OVERALL

Throughout all of these responses their is a strong sense of love for the smaller schools and a bit of resentment towards the larger ones.

I am curious to see how everyone turns out in relation to how long they attended small schools, which could become a larger study across the country.

There wasn’t much mention of Arts, which is in the statistics. Arts and Humanities is a focus high school through Lincoln Public Schools that offers a more intimate learning environment. When me and my sister, Hannah (who is not included in this

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book), and I attended Arts, it had four teachers and 70 students. It was different in a lot of ways from Oak Valley but still the same in the way that students got one-on-one attention, the strong sense of community and the personal accountability. It has now grown to around 100 kids and has a waiting list, just one more thing that shows how much smaller schools are loved.

SHEYENNEPershing:Oak Valley:Raymond Central:Arts:

HANNAHPershing:Oak Valley:Arts:

SAGEOak Valley:Valparaiso:Raymond Central::

SIERRAOak Valley:Valparaiso:Raymond Central:

1996-20012001-20052005-20072007-2009

1998-20012001-20072007-2011

2001-20072007-20082008-present

2003-20072007-20102010-present

K-45-8

9-1011-12

K-23-8

9-12

K-56

7-10

K-34-67-8

STATISTICS

Pershing Oak Valley Valparaiso Raymond Central Arts

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FIELD WORKANTHROPOLOGY @ MECA