A Different Approach to Public Schooling - Essay Example

In a gist, the authors foresee the growing demand for public schools to maximize funding and resources while attaining their goals at the same time. The three forms of schooling that Hill and Johnston have observed and foresee to be the new direction for public schools are virtual, hybrid, and broker schools. Virtual schools are those that offer online courses where students get access to education through computer technology; hybrid schools are schools that combine full-time, contractual, and technology-driven instructors, whereas broker schools are schools that hire teachers on a contractual or pay-per-course basis.

The implications of these different school forms to curriculum and instruction are tremendous. As the authors provide, there will be flexible hours of schooling, lesser tasks among school leaders and teachers, and wider coverage of instruction. However, the authors overlook the point that the transformation may greatly impact the quality of instruction to be provided. Individual monitoring may be less, thus assessment of individual needs and success will be inadequate. Moreover, the transformation might neglect students with special needs, thus making NCLB efforts in vain. Read More