Muschoo ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
: We are a 6-9 New York City public school.  Students take all their classes
: using collections at 5 NYC museums
...
: They cover their regular
: curriculum using the museum collections.
...
: insights regarding museum learning.  What does it mean to have students in
: a museum for several years?  What should a museum learning curriculum look
: like over the course of junior high, and eventually, high school?  Love to
: start a discussion on this.

 At first I was impressed.  How inovative! How neat that a school system
could try this. But upon some reflection I have second thoughts.  The
beauty of education in a museum is that it connects formal school
learning to another place.  I think that the more connections
made in a kid's environment, the stronger the learning will be.  I don't
think education is better in one place than another, I think education is
better when it's in more *places*. By putting the school in the museum,
one or more of these places is eliminated.
  I'm more in favor of pre and post lessons in school about what students
will encounter in the museum.  And maybe a class at the museum about what
is encountered at school.  Throw in a TV show and a Saturday morning
program at a church about what is encountered at the museum and at
school, and invite the family along for any of these things and then you
may have something. This idea is not new, not flashy, is difficult to
evaluate, involves too many 'logos' for one agency to take the credit, and
probably wouldn't get publicity or funding.

Cathy "Somebody hire me, quick!" Brady