Google Running a School

In San Francisco there is a special school founded by a former Google Executive. The AltSchool is an elementary school and is not your typical classroom. There are no desks and students have more freedom to learn what they wish to learn. They develop their own curriculum by exploring their likes and dislike as they learn. There are teachers move from classroom to classroom helping students throughout the day.

The AltSchool has started to expand their space to accommodate more rooms for learning. Since they are not typical classrooms, a school can be placed  in any type of environment. Unfortunately, the school does not come at a cheap price. Around $21,000 a year will get your child this type of education. The rooms are filled with  iPads, laptops, and other devices that assist in specific fields of study. The teachers that move throughout the building  monitor what the students  interest are and come up with a specific learning plan just for that student. If one student has a better understanding of a specific topic, that student will be placed in an  advanced classroom. For the students struggling in certain areas, like math for example, the teacher will allow the student to study the topic at their own pace and provide the student with extra assistance along the way. 

I believe this form of study and teaching is very beneficial to students in the long run. It is similar to that of college in allowing the student to pick their field of study. This allows the students to develop their true passion  at a much younger age. This could allow college students to have a defined path of study avoid switching majors. This could also ensure a college student does not have to put in extra years completing their major and lessens their debt. Tuition for these elementary schools is expensive, but still significantly less than one year of college.

The AltSchool is an intriguing new approach to schooling. I believe it would benefit students. I hope to see how the results play out whether this alternative to traditional schools is  beneficial or not. The fact that this type of schooling is growing shows that parents believe it could be beneficial to their child's education. It is similar to  a technology advanced Montessori school and will have some type of  impact on its students.  The money put into an elementary school child's education now, could pay off  in the long run. This allows the education of that child to be more of an investment and less of a cost.