From School Choice to Student Voice - development of teaching programmes based on student interests

School Administrator, May, 2001 by Paul E. Heckman, Viki L. Montera

By attending to students' existing knowledge and interests, educators will move from mass marketing to a niche approach

On most major interstate highways across America one can find an exit that leads conveniently to a McDonald's, Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box or a host of other fast-food restaurants. These businesses are frequently situated in close proximity to each other. They provide the hungry traveler with a set of choices.

In Boston, 1,500 students attend Boston Renaissance Charter School. They come from different neighborhoods to attend this downtown school. The parents and children have chosen the Boston Renaissance Charter School from a marketplace of public schools in Boston.

Inside a school in Tucson, Ariz., older students are interviewing younger students to identify their interests. Items such as animals, bicycles, airplanes, machines, low-riders, flowers, cooking, dancing and music emerge as principal interests. The teachers will use this information to discuss these interests with all of the children as they determine how to pursue them as choices in their classroom work. The children, who are 1st graders, will select an area of interest to explore further.

Each of these scenarios involves a touchstone idea of American culture--personal choice. It is evident in the marketplace and in the discussion of school reform. However, it is infrequently embedded within classroom work for ensuring student engagement and learning.

Mass and Niche Markets

Like choice in the marketplace of fast-food eateries or other consumer items, much attention is placed on providing parents of school-age children with choices of schools and academic programs. The advocates for these kinds of choices build upon the accepted importance of choice among citizens in the United States and its success in our open economy. The rationale is that choice will improve parent and student satisfaction with and commitment to a school.

Individuals entering a McDonald's restaurant are not likely to ask for a Jumbo Jack or a Whopper. They went to McDonald's and ordered what is on the menu, not expecting items from a Jack in the Box or Burger King menu. Fast-food restaurants attract those who want what they offer and face little conflict over what is on the menu.

Supporters of school choice believe that parents and, therefore, their children should be able to choose schools that have a particular focus or have student accomplishments that they desire. This is not unlike choosing between a McDonald's and Jack in the Box because one favors the type of food, the quality and/or the price of the food.

Once inside, McDonald's patrons have other choices. They may choose a Quarter Pounder or a Big Mac. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions and special sauces are also available to add to the menu item selected.

Applying this idea to schools, parents and their children often have choice in the programs that are offered within a particular school. Program menu choices may include programs that focus on the arts or the sciences, or students may choose a program that focuses on specific careers, such as health care or technology. These choices grow out of mass-market principles. Goods and services can be made available and marketed to a mass of individuals and to their average interests. Parents may choose between schools and programs offered within a school.

Mass markets, however, differ from niche markets. Different restaurants and boutique shops exist on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., than in the strip malls of less-affluent communities in Los Angeles. A number of stores and restaurants are unique to Rodeo Drive and are part of a niche market, which focuses on the particular tastes and interests of a relatively small group of people.

On the other hand, McDonald's and Jack in the Box are part of a mass market. Fast-food restaurants do not flourish in or seek customers from Beverly Hills' most affluent neighborhoods. This does not mean that affluent Beverly Hills customers do not eat at McDonald's or Jack in the Box. It only means that the mass-market idea calls for menus to appeal to the masses of individuals who will come from the segments of the society that have the largest numbers of individuals.

Mass Production

The goods that are marketed in this mass-market system also must be mass produced. This is possible because mass production relies on standardization in all aspects of the system. The inputs, or "throughputs" as they are often called, and the outputs of the system are uniform.

The raw materials used in any mass production system have to be homogeneous. Little to no variation can exist in their essential features each time the raw materials enter the production system. The raw materials used in the making of a McDonald's hamburger, whether in east Los Angeles or east Boston, have the same amount of fat, lean meat and flavoring. They are the same weight, thickness and shape.

With the sameness of the inputs in place, it is now possible to have standardization in the mass production of burgers or any other goods. Burgers are grilled in the same fashion, at the same temperature, for the same amount of time. The manner in which the sauce, lettuce and tomato are placed on the buns is the same throughout the system, regardless of the locale.