Richard Caborn, a British MP (Member of Parliament) is wondering why the shiny new £4.7 million ($6,825,294) primary school is no longer being called a "school." Instead, they're calling it a "place of learning."
"We decided from an early stage we didn't want to use the word 'school,'" headteacher Linda "Dream Catcher" Kindgon told the Sheffield Star. "This is Watercliffe Meadow, a place for learning. One reason was many of the parents of the children here had very negative connotations of school. Instead we want this to a be a place for family learning, where anyone can come.
Negative connotations of "school?" How can there be a negative connotations of "school?" If anything, there is now a new negative connotation of "head teacher." As in, "Head teacher Linda 'Moon Unit' Kingdon is a politcally correct airhead."
"We were able to start from scratch and create a new type of learning experience. There are no whistles or bells or locked doors. We wanted to de-institutionalise the place and bring the school closer to real life," Kingdon said.
Hear that, thieves and vanadals of Sheffield? Watercliffe Meadow doesn't have any locks on the doors.
Councillor Andrew Sangar, Sheffield City Council's Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Lifelong Learning, told the Star, "It's a school, we consider it a school and that's how we refer to it."
I suppose you could let Watercliffe call themselves a dream factory if it made them feel better. But if the funding is only supposed to go for schools, then there's nothing in the budget for Meadows, Places of Learning, or Dream Factories. Tell them that and they'll become a school again.
If people have a negative connotation of school, it's the fault of the teachers, especially politically correct head teachers. If you don't want people to have a negative feeling about school, fix the school. Calling it something else doesn't change the feelings people have about it.
Because no matter what we call head teacher Linda "Mystic Harmony" Kingdon, I still have "negative connotations" about her.
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"We decided from an early stage we didn't want to use the word 'school,'" headteacher Linda "Dream Catcher" Kindgon told the Sheffield Star. "This is Watercliffe Meadow, a place for learning. One reason was many of the parents of the children here had very negative connotations of school. Instead we want this to a be a place for family learning, where anyone can come.
Negative connotations of "school?" How can there be a negative connotations of "school?" If anything, there is now a new negative connotation of "head teacher." As in, "Head teacher Linda 'Moon Unit' Kingdon is a politcally correct airhead."
"We were able to start from scratch and create a new type of learning experience. There are no whistles or bells or locked doors. We wanted to de-institutionalise the place and bring the school closer to real life," Kingdon said.
Hear that, thieves and vanadals of Sheffield? Watercliffe Meadow doesn't have any locks on the doors.
Councillor Andrew Sangar, Sheffield City Council's Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Lifelong Learning, told the Star, "It's a school, we consider it a school and that's how we refer to it."
I suppose you could let Watercliffe call themselves a dream factory if it made them feel better. But if the funding is only supposed to go for schools, then there's nothing in the budget for Meadows, Places of Learning, or Dream Factories. Tell them that and they'll become a school again.
If people have a negative connotation of school, it's the fault of the teachers, especially politically correct head teachers. If you don't want people to have a negative feeling about school, fix the school. Calling it something else doesn't change the feelings people have about it.
Because no matter what we call head teacher Linda "Mystic Harmony" Kingdon, I still have "negative connotations" about her.
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