My Wish For Public Schools

My wish for public schools does not include hiring more teachers, paying out more federal money, or longer hours. I truly wish that public schools would do the one thing that they do not do now - teach their students how to think. I do not mean spit out information like a computer. I mean think.

This would be my recipe for an appropriate school week
Monday - This would be the day you would introduce new information for the week in your class. You would take time to explain the subject and answer questions that your students might have. This would also be the day that you assign meaningful homework. A research project or book to read/ book report.
Tuesday - Thursday - This would be the day that your students begin challenging themselves. They can work independently, in small groups, etc. to reinforce what you taught on Tuesday. If it's a science class, the small group would be given an assignment related to the subject and it would be up to them to come up with a hypothesis, experiment, and results.  For Foreign Language class, the students can make up their own conversations one act plays or  games to reinforce the subject matter. The teacher would only be there to help facilitate the process. All the work would be done by the students.
Friday - Any assignments for homework would be done this day. Presentations given. Tests taken.

I think that real teaching means giving the students the information and letting them explore it. Just spouting information and then testing them on it is NOT teaching. Teachers should be mentors, not newscasters or documentarians. If necessary, spend extra money on teaching assts. or subs who can help the teachers do their job. Don't criticize a student if their answer doesn't match the manual - praise them for working out the problem on their own. The student can then be free to think for him/herself. Learning is not rote - it is a process. By guiding a student to their own self-discovery, you are giving that student tools that will last a lifetime. And who knows, you might just be privileged enough to be teaching the next Albert Einstein or Emily Dickinson.