Announcements:
Phil
announced that commencement will be at
Gerry
Boarman will meet the faculty and be introduced to
the NCSSM community on Wednesday Dec. 1.
He will also have dinner in the cafeteria with the director’s council
and meet with the Board on Thursday.
Discussion:
Dot
asked the faculty for any comments or revisions to the faculty statement that
will be submitted regarding the third decade goals for NCSSM.
Faculty
comments and concerns included the following (organized by sections):
Who
will our students be in 5 years?
-
should the document say math, science, and related disciplines
-
are the humanities excluded too broadly?
This
section of the document was not changed.
What
can our program do to meet the needs of our students in 5 years?
- are we assuming such a leap that students will be primarily interested in technology - currently it is not advanced enough for that to be an attraction for students
-
will our technology offerings in five years be equal to the quality of our
offerings in math and science
- technology should be viewed as a tool to teach science and
mathematics
- technology will be added in some ways as a tool to support
other disciplines
The
document was amended in
#1 to state: “In addition, all areas of the curriculum ensure
that students develop appropriate technology skills within each discipline.”
-
#3 change vcr and overheads
to visualization and auditory technology
-
can we keep up to date in all fields
- is
having computer science different than keeping up to date in other disciplines
such as earth science
- should we “revise curriculum often to reflect new trends in
education?”
- computer science is correcting a deficiency but the other
areas are keeping up with the latest trends and enhancing current courses
- we don’t have enough teachers to add to our existing
curriculum
-
remove average from in front of conscientious students (#5)
-
add thoughtful to
#6
-
should we add in #4 different levels of different humanities courses
- the school’s position has been that we shouldn’t level in
the humanities because it is the one place where the students are all together
-
should document say that we may “include various levels of mastery of different
content level each year”
- the school would have to change its philosophy about what it
is expecting from the disciplines
- this would create different levels for different students in
all courses?
- if this is an elite school and students can’t do the
required work then we must recognize this and send them on –
-
#6 there are ways to exempt the requirements?
- who does the type of flexibility help?
- how does this affect their admission to the state
institutions
- will they have what they need to get into the college – be
careful to pay attention to the requirements of colleges
-
#10 was added to include attention to keeping the curriculum up to date and on
the cutting edge.
-
#11 added – we actively encourage our teachers to pursue professional
development and provide significant support for those activities –
-
should we add more about making healthy choices and encouraging an
altruistic nature in giving back to the world (see #9)
-
- the document is contradictory – we ask our students to be
excellent at everything and students at this school can’t do all of those
things
-
do we have to choose what we want to focus on?
- this document is meant to be the ideal
- we do want them to be excellent in all areas of their
education
-
can we accommodate student weaknesses?
- we are asking them to do too much
- we want more from them in terms of academics and student
life
-
could this document actually just be suggesting that we are providing
opportunities for them to excel in areas that they choose and that the choices
will be available
-
remember this is a school for students talented in science and math
- this list does not say we are trying to be the best at
everything
The
faculty was asked to vote to endorse the various statements included in the
document: (SEE FINAL DRAFT BELOW)
vote – who do we want our students to be?
20
out of 26 voted yes to approve this section
vote - can we pass this on to Phil Nelson as a statement of the faculty
goals for NCSSM?
22
out of 30 voted yes to approve the entire statement (SEE FINAL DRAFT BELOW)
Phil
summarized his understanding of the main thrust behind our goals:
this school wants to attract bright students
challenge them in math and science
prepare them to get into the best schools they can
so
they will blossom as adults
Draft 11/2/99
Ideas for the third decade. Submitted to Phil Nelson from the Faculty Council.
Who will our students be in ~5 years?
NCSSM seeks to attract and enroll motivated students who have exceptional talent and interest in math and science, and who are interested in achieving excellence in all areas of their educational experience. These students will want to participate in a stimulating academic and residential experience that furthers their scientific and mathematical knowledge in innovative ways and encourages the development of their reading, writing, analytic, artistic, social and physical abilities.
What can our program do to meet the needs of our students
of the future?
1. We have a broader computer science curriculum to include opportunities beyond introductory programming for students who are interested in this area. This curriculum might include courses, independent studies and mentorships. In addition, all areas of the curriculum ensure that students develop appropriate technology skills within each discipline.
2. We have physical spaces that are conducive to a wide variety of teaching methods including lab work, small group work, and class lecture. Labs are designed so students can work independently on projects when appropriate.
3. We have up-to-date, high-quality technology available both in and out of class. This technology might include computers, calculators, probes, microscopes, other scientific equipment, visualization and auditory technology, etc. Our equipment should be as up-to-date as or better than that available for our outreach programs and that which students might find in the best high schools in the state.
4. We provide opportunities for students to enhance the backgrounds they bring with them in a manner that permits students to be successful without being overwhelmed. We accommodate students’ weaknesses as well as their strengths. (This may include a pre-junior year summer program for some students.)
5. We address the physical well-being of the students with regard to nutrition, rest and play. We accomplish this by providing adequate, appealing and varied food; comfortable living spaces; and many and varied recreational activities that appeal to students with different interests. The academic work load is reasonable so that conscientious students have time to think and reflect, do what is needed for class, rest, and play.
We address the psychological and emotional well-being of the students by teaching and fostering healthy choices for successful growth in these areas.
6. We have graduation requirements that are rigorous yet flexible. Graduation requirements reflect the special math and science nature of our school yet also help produce students who have a variety of strengths, are articulate, well-read, thoughtful, and are good citizens.
7. We use the expertise of alumni and others in the Durham area to help teach our students or help faculty learn new skills and content.
8. We have a curriculum that permits and encourages students to engage in independent work in all of their classes. In addition, a few select seniors are permitted to develop and study a specialized curriculum that they design under the direction of faculty. This might resemble Project XL from 1986.
9. We have programs, both formal and informal, that help
students make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. These programs provide students opportunities
to develop their leadership skills by having to make decisions and lead others. Our entire program helps all students make
progress towards being responsible for themselves and considerate of the needs
of others. We provide experiences by which
students develop an altruistic regard for the needs of others, locally and
globally.
10. We have flexibility the allows for on-going revision of curriculum to reflect new areas of study and approaches to study so the academic experience is unmatched in quality.
11. The faculty actively pursue professional development activities
and the school provides significant support for these activities.
Who are the faculty in ~5 years? (not voted on and approved by faculty
council)
The faculty are a diverse group of accomplished educators who are particularly strong in their content area, who enjoy working with adolescents, and who enjoy the opportunity to continue to learn. We are diverse in age and gender as well as ethnicity. We enjoy interacting with students both in and out of the classroom and we are role models to help students make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. We understand that to continue to provide an innovative and fresh learning environment for our students, we must continue our own intellectual pursuits throughout our entire careers, and we expect the school to help us in these endeavors.