A Design for Independent Study

Abstract

THE ORIGINAL IDEA for independent study came in the form of a request by several students to the administration. They pointed out that rigidities imposed upon them by necessity of group learning created disinterest rather than dedication, conformity rather than curiosity, and an enervating ennui rather than the excitement that learning should generate. In essence, they were saying what many students have been saying throughout the sixties-must I always be judged and accepted or rejected by group standards? Why is it impossible for me to establish my unique individuality in this system? Today's high school students represent the tested generation. They are constantly being compared to the group by the intelligence tests, psychological tests, class ranks, tracking systems, and achievement percentiles of one type or another. The major characteristic which has impressed me in three years of selection of, and counseling with, independent study students is the primacy they put upon independence. When they rebel, they rebel against group identification, group rules, and the group concerns represented by authority and/or the establishment. Much of this dissatisfaction is sophomoric but we cannot dismiss it there. Education, like society, has undergone a revolution in the past 30 years, and it is against this background