Student To Succeed). Both
start before school, and have seen youngsters progressing one to three years in growth as
measured by the Jerry Johns Basic Reading Inventory Test.
An even stronger guarantee comes from Master's Academy
and College in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Its promise: that students will become
"Master Learners" by age 12 or 13. 4
"Academically, that means a guarantee that 95 percent
of our students will achieve A level standing in their academic work," says visionary
Superintendent Tom Rudmik. He's spent years researching many models of learning,
including attending one of co-author Vos's ten-day Learning Revolution workshops.
He puts his goals boldly: "The future of Master's
Academy and College is driven by a powerful and compelling vision. Our mission is to
develop Master Learners who will be knowledge workers of the 21st century - young people
of academic excellence and noble character." 5
In the Canadian school system, 65 percent
examination results are classed as average, 80 per cent outstanding, and 90 percent is
very rate. Rudmik's goal is for 95 percent of students to achieve 80 percent or
better. The college is strongly based on values, character development, quality, high
technology and a strong emphasis on positive, bold, creative thinking. It also aims to
share great learning principles with schools worldwide.
4. Cater to all intelligence traits and
learning styles
In many ways, this is probably the most important single innovation that could
be made to greatly reduce school dropout rates.
In our view, research by Howard Gardner, the Dunns and Barbara Prashnig shows
beyond doubt that most dropouts do not learn best in schools that are geared almost
exclusively to only two of the seven-or-more "intelligence traits". And most,
too, are unfairly handicapped in a school environment which discourages kinesthetic
learning.
The Key School in Indianapolis and New City School in St. Louis, Missouri,
show what can happen when an entire school is designed to encourage every student to
develop each "intelligence" - and cater to different learning styles.
A similar example comes from Cascade Elementary School in the Washington State
school district of Marysville. Teacher Bruce Campbell has been a long-time fan of Gardner's theory, and has developed a
class-room setup with seven learning centers: a building and moving center for
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
