After having the opportunity to experience PSII from a teachers perspective, my eyes have been opened to the possibility of what education could look like. I would love to teach in a school like that where students can follow their passions. The idea that they are teaching students to become well rounded people and real life skills is very attractive to me. I was really blown away by the girl who was in ninth grade and was able to articulate her thoughts so clearly. She was filled with passion for the school and the ways that it has helped her. This opportunity almost made me sad to be learning and participating in typical public school. Are there ways we can bring these ideas into the public school framework? It doesn’t really seem like it in high school.

I personally wonder about how students who are interested in music get along there. They had a pretty nice music room but they obviously don’t have large ensembles to play with. Would that deter students from applying to a classical music school? If the student had a real interest in music could they do their inquiry around actually getting better at an instrument? It seemed like they had a music teacher but are the music classes limited to “pop” instruments or can they study classical?

Overall I was really grateful for the experience. I definitely hope to be able to go back sometime and find the answers to some of the questions that have popped up since leaving there. It might also be interesting to teach in a school like that someday.