https://learningstorm.org/inquiry-tools/
In class this week we had Jeff Hopkins come and talk to us. Jeff is the founder of the Pacific School for Inquiry in downtown Victoria. Jeff is a teacher and has been the superintendent for the Gulf Islands school district, but left his position to open up PSII. He described to us the reasons why he started the school and a phenomenon called the “knowing doing gap”, which I’m sure we all know well. This gap is described by “I know this isn’t the best way, but were going to do it like this” or “were doing it this way because we’ve always done it this way”, a true buzz kill for creativity and innovation. Jeff was tired of this excuse, so he stated his own school.
As I said, PSII is not your typical school. The school is downtown Victoria by design, as the educators wanted the students integrated into society from the start. They go to the YMCA and Criag X for their physical education and utilize other aspects of the city center as part of their learning environment. There is structure, but it is loose compared to traditional school, kids aren’t tied down to a specific schedule and are free to explore topics and subjects of interest, even questions typically considered “taboo” and not worth study. Their school day starts at 9:30am, and they can sign in and out throughout the day if they have reason to.
The educators put the learners at the center, then focus on learning attributes and the bc curriculum last. This flips the whole model on its head… prioritizing individual learners and their goals and adapting the bc curriculum to fit their needs. Students may have many inquiries going at the same time and they may not follow the typical schedule, certain levels of subjects may even span multiple years… and that’s ok.
I love what Jeff and his team are doing for their learners. Students should have options in their education and be able to decide what works well for them. At PSII they have such support to explore and learn, which makes me hopeful for the future of education.
