Empowerment Academy

Empowerment Academy – As a young teacher fresh out of college, I was full of ideas about how to change education for the better. Empowerment Academy was my proposed concept for improving the state of compulsory public education. The idea was that when we legally require people to attend school, we are obligated not to waste their time.

I stand by my ideas, even though I realized quickly that public education had far too much momentum for me to significantly change it in my lifetime. If I had not had other goals in life it might have been worth attempting anyway, however, and I am currently working on an abridged version of my meta curriculum that may work well as an intensive camp or academic club. ¡Viva la Revolución!

The Empowerment Academy Manifesto – Can we blame dropouts for failing to see how geometry was supposed to help them pay the rent and find true love? Can we condemn someone for not voting when their only exposure to civics consisted of an essay quiz on the Federalist Papers? Should we be surprised that people prefer sitcoms to books after being presented with centuries-old portrayals of royal intrigue as though they were the pinnacle of literary excitement?

Miscellaneous

What's in a grade? – This paper describes an original, proven three-part evaluation system in response to the fact “that a letter grade from a public school teacher is about as informative as a zodiacal sign.”

Praxis Prattle – From my first blog; a short musing on a standardized test teachers have to pass to teach in some states.

[Back to Main]  ©2005 by Mitchell Howe