Reading Reflection 2- BPHS

First and possibly of foremost importance, the Best Practices High School (BPHS) was started by a group of individuals with great energy and a similar vision of secondary education. Their ability to create and actually implement the classroom dynamics they wanted had the greatest impact on the school. The schools expectation that the teacher be a coach and model and not just a babble fountain of facts was tantamount to their success. Likewise, the emphasis on cooperative and collaborative learning helped foster the sense of community that the school sought. The individual attention afforded to the students with accommodation for the varying cognitive styles of students had a strong impact on the school. This troika of pedagogy created dynamic, engaging and community based classrooms that many of the tenants of the Second to None initiative suggested.
During my first clinical practice (CP1), I noticed that the school was making attempts to create a supportive environment. Many of the instructors on campus were involved in developing or implementing new programs such as the International Baccalaureate Program, a forensic science club and a Filipino dance club. They were trying to build the "climate" that BPHS recognized as important. Likewise, bulletin boards and all school announcements regarding upcoming college fairs and on campus visits by local colleges were abundant. Representatives from local community colleges were placed in classrooms as tutors and mentors discussing post secondary school opportunities.
The concept of getting teachers to coordinate interdisciplinary thematic units will not be feasible. The logistics are just too cumbersome in high schools that are so large and class sizes that are so huge. Moreover, many of the classes are represented by several different grades and the range of their aptitudes across content areas will not likely allow for this pedagogy to be plausible.